1.1 Taking Control of Your Time
The first step to effective time management is recognizing that you can be in control. How often do you find yourself saying, “I don’t have time”? Once a week? Once a day? Several times a day? The next time you find yourself saying this, stop and ask yourself whether it is really true. Do you really not have time, or have you made a choice, consciously or unconsciously, not to make time for that particular task or activity?
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When we say that we don’t have time, we imply that we don’t have a choice. But we do have a choice. We have control over how we use our time. We have control over many of the commitments we choose to make. And we also have control over many small decisions that affect our time-management success, such as what time we get up in the morning, how much sleep we get, what we eat, how much time we spend studying, and whether we get exercise. All of these small decisions have a big impact on our success in college and in life.
Being in control means that you make your own decisions. Two of the most often cited differences between high school and college are increased autonomy, or independence, and greater responsibility. If you are not a recent high school graduate, you have most likely already experienced a higher level of independence, but returning to school creates responsibilities above and beyond those you already have, whether those include employment, family, community service, or other activities.
autonomy Self-direction or independence. College students usually have more autonomy than they did in high school.
Whether you are beginning college immediately after high school or are continuing your education after a break, make sure that the way you spend your time aligns with your most important values. For instance, if you value becoming an expert in a particular academic area, you’ll want to learn everything you can in that field by taking related classes and participating in internships. If you value learning about many things and postponing a specific decision about your major, you might want to spend your time exploring many different areas of interest and taking as many different types of courses as possible. To take control of your life and your time and to guide your decisions, begin by setting some goals for the future.
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