Adolf Cedric F.

Tiangco
11 - St. James

Be a Time Manager, not a Time Slave

Time plays a significant role in our life. In fact, it is one of the most important
things in our life, yet we waste so much of it. The average office worker puts in eight
hours of work a day but is only productive for about three hours of it, while the more
immature students are much worse in managing their time. It is not that we have a
short space of time, but that we waste much of it (Seneca & Costa, 2005). Time is
equal for all of us. We all have 24 hours a day, but what differentiates us from the
likes of Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos is that they work smarter and not harder, while we
don’t, or do it in a relatively lower efficacy and efficiency. Time management is key.

One such way of working smarter is identifying and playing to your strengths
when studying. According to American psychologist Howard Gardner (1986), this is
what we call the theory of multiple intelligences. The eight learning styles are visual,
auditory, physical, logical, verbal, natural, social, and solitary. Visual refers to the
usage of our eyes, an example of this is using a visual aid. Auditory refers to the
usage of our ears, an example of this is listening to the teacher. Verbal refers to the
usage of our own words, an example of this is reporting a presentation. Natural
refers to the understanding of our surroundings, an example of this is direct
observation when conducting data. Physical refers to the usage of our body, an
example of this is doing a hands-on. Logical refers to the usage of reasoning, an
example of this is solving a word problem. Social refers to groups of people,
examples of this are studying with a group of friends and explaining a topic to a
friend. Solitary refers to being alone, an example of this is reading a book by yourself.
Research shows that each learning style uses different parts of the brain, so we
remember more of what we learn by involving more of the brain during learning.
However, we can just use what style we are most comfortable with and what works
for us the best.

Speaking of smart, there is an acronym for achieving your goals easier, and
that is SMART. SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and
timely (Doran, 1981). When setting a goal, it should be as specific as possible so it
will be clear to your mind and formulating a plan will be like a walk in the park. Your
goal should be measurable so that you can track your progress and stay motivated.
Your goal should also be achievable and realistic so that you will not be put off by a
long-term stagnant progress. As what American abolitionist Frederick Douglass
mentioned, “No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you
are still way ahead of everyone who isn't trying.” Lastly, your goal should be timely
so that you will be able to avoid procrastinating, as it is the last thing that you want to
be doing.

The most important part when studying is to know the reason why you are
doing it in the first place. When you have a motivation in doing something, it will be
converted into energy and you will be more productive, and after a while, it will
become a habit, thus making you more disciplined in the process. The difference
between a student who studies just because and a student who really wants to learn
is enormous. Now, while learning is really great, a balance in life should be
maintained. A good holistic health ensures that a person is physically, mentally,
emotionally, socially, intellectually, and spiritually healthy. Be sure that you are taking
a break, interacting with people, learning something new, exercising, sleeping well,
drinking plenty of water, and eating nutritious food, as all of these are scientifically
proven to improve performance.

Now, for practical tips on how to manage time as a student. Technically, we

can’t manage time. It moves forward continuously and we can’t control it, but what
we can control is how we use the limited time we have here on Earth. First thing you
should do when thinking of time management, is organizing your workload. Plan
ahead and set a schedule on what you are going to do. Make sure to prioritize the
hard ones first because after that, finishing all the minor tasks will feel like nothing.
Avoid planning fallacy, a phenomenon wherein a person underestimates the time it
takes to complete a future task, therefore feeling unproductive when they couldn’t
finish it. Also, take down important notes during discussion, and review it before and
after classes. Lastly, set up an ideal environment so that there will be no distractions
nearby, as it will most likely eat up all your time.

When working on a project or studying, you can always try to seek help from
others, may it be them assisting you, teaching you, or just them listening to you
explaining a concept. As English Poet John Donne said, “No man is an island.” Also,
avoid distractions like noises or social media, for example. Rather, use the internet to
help you learn more, you can use spaced repetition flash cards like Anki or note
highlighter like LINER, for example. You can avoid procrastination by implementing
study techniques like Pomodoro for example. In this technique, you work intensely
for a set amount of time, usually 25 minutes, and then have a break for a short
period of time, usually 5 minutes (Cirillo, 2009). With this technique, you will feel
more guilty when you can’t hit your goal of intense focus time, and you will also feel
more relaxed as it has break times in between. Lastly, don’t multitask as it is
scientifically proven to be less efficient. What actually happens when we multitask is
that our brains shift its focus from one task to another, making it much harder for the
brain to focus, concentrate totally, and think intensely.

When done working, you should reward yourself by giving yourself an ample
time to rest or do what interests you like playing games or watching movies, for
example. Also, try not to be a perfectionist and fuss over every unimportant details in
your work, as you’re probably just the only one who notices it, anyways. Remember,
learning is the most important part of education, so you should know the difference
between memorization and understanding (Mailhot, 2020). Memorization is you
being able to remember the definition of something word-for-word, while
understanding will make you able to explain a concept to a kid in simpler terms, and
most importantly, in your own words.

In conclusion, time is the same for all of us, it is limited. Therefore, we should
use it wisely. We can practice time management by knowing our learning styles,
applying SMART in our goals, knowing the reasons why we do these things, having
a holistic wellness, and changing small things to our lifestyle that will slowly but
surely improve our lives in the long run. Knowing these tips and tricks is the
difference between someone who manages their time, and someone who let
themselves be managed by time. Be a time manager, not a time slave.