Essay on Time Management

Submitted By stephleigh13
Words: 1375
Pages: 6

Time Use:
The following list is the amount of hours I spent on different activities during the course of five days:
Classes: 3 Hours
Eating: 5 Hours
Errands: 0
Family/Social: 22 Hours
Meetings: 1 Hour
Phone/Computer: 6 Hours
Sleep: 39 Hours
Sports/Fitness: 4 Hours
Studying: 30 Minutes
Travel/Car Time: 4.15 Hours
TV/Video Games: 11 Hours
Work: 26 Hours

My time was used wisely for the most part, however, there is definitely room for improvement. There were days where I spent a lot of time browsing on the computer or hanging out with my friends and family. I could use my time more wisely by shortening the amount of time I spend with my friends and family to get other things done. By shortening the amount of time I spend socializing during the week, I could focus more on my homework and not put it off until the last minute. By working on my homework during the week, I could enjoy my weekend more because all of my homework would be completed during the week.
On Mondays and Tuesdays I noticed that there is hardly any “me” time because I have work and school. However, on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays there is lots of “me” time because I get done with work at 1 and have nothing going on after. On Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays I usually come home from work and work out right away. This is the activity I enjoy most during “me” time. I usually work out from 1:30PM-3PM.
I could invest my time better by making a daily schedule that had time slots. By using time slots, I could make sure I stayed focus throughout the day. Instead of browsing the computer 6PM-8PM during the week, I could be doing homework so I could enjoy my weekend and not be stressed about all of the things that I need to get done.

Obstacles to Time Management
After looking at my daily time summary sheets, I noticed that there were a few obstacles that kept me from doing what I wanted to do. For instance, on Mondays and Tuesdays, I always have work and school. I work 6:30AM-1:00PM and then have to leave for class at 2:30PM. On Mondays I get done with class around 6, however, on Tuesdays I don’t get done with class until 9. Because of this, I have not gotten the opportunity to work out, which is something that I want to make time for every day of the week. If I don’t get the opportunity to work out, I notice that I get crabby. I also notice that I don’t have as much energy, which is why I want to make time to at least work out for thirty minutes a day. In order to workout on Monday or Tuesday, I either have to wake up earlier to get my workout in before work, or I have to do it after class. Either way, I need to make time to workout for at least 30 minutes on those days.
Another obstacle that I noticed after looking at my daily time summary sheets was that I am not making enough time to study. I usually do all of my homework on Sunday, which causes me to be super stressed. Instead of waiting until Sunday, I should take at least one hour of my “family/social” time to do homework. By doing this, I won’t be stressed come Sunday and I can actually enjoy my weekend.
The third obstacle I noticed is that I spend a lot of time on the computer. This would be okay if I was being productive when I’m on the computer, but half the time I am just browsing the web or shopping online. I need to shorten my computer time and use that time to do other things, such as homework or working out.
The fourth obstacle that I encountered this week was having my friends and family ask me to do something with them when I had tasks that I needed to get done. For me, it is really hard to turn down friends and family because I like spending time with them. Because of this, I sometimes put off everything that I need to get done for a later time. In order to make sure I am getting everything done, I plan to tell my friends or family that I need to finish my homework or complete things on my to do list before I can hang out with them. This will help me not