Improving Your Time Management - Essay Example

Part 2 Introduction: Covering My Weaknesses My personal development plan places focus on rectifying my weaknesses. It has been my experience that, among the weaknesses I mentioned, the most problematic are my difficulties in time management and my tendency to multitask and therefore procrastinate. And while the latter does have the advantage of getting more done in a shorter time frame, the resulting output might not be of good quality. Having said that, I feel both proud and disappointed in my multitasking skills; even when I do multitask, the work I turn out is still of rather good quality. At the same time, though, I realize that such output, while good, was not my best, and that I could have done better had I exercised proper time management instead of procrastinating. It is for this reason that I chose to work on my weaknesses as the focus of my personal development – in this case in particular, fixing my weaknesses will allow me to utilize my strengths to greater effect. Objective #1: Improving my Time Management Time management – a concept our parents and teachers have been beating us over the head with ever since elementary. Those of us fortunate (and diligent) enough to gain a good grasp of it early on usually end up becoming successful enough, while those who fail at it often end up failing at everything else. This is not too noticeable in elementary and high school, where students have their daily schedules predetermined – they know what time each subject is, which saves them the trouble of having to fix their schedule. In college, however, time management and/or the lack of it becomes more readily apparent. According to Penn State’s University Learning Center (2001), the greater freedom of movement in college means it falls down to the students themselves to manage their time as they please. Before discussing my time management issues, though, I feel it to be more important to first define what exactly time management is. According to Steve Pavlina (2008), time management boils down to deciding what one must do and then doing it. And while these steps may look simple enough to understand at first, another question immediately follows: what exactly should one do at a given moment? Opportunity costs also come into play as no matter what course of action one chooses, it will always involve forgoing the results that could have been gotten from the other options. Thus, as in business, it becomes necessary to choose the path with minimum cost, yet maximum satisfaction. In short, time management should focus on scheduling the best task for a given period of time. All other side effects such as lessened stress are secondary to that concern. All too often, says Pavlina, people focus on the second step – doing things at a given time, with less emphasis on the order of what to do. By my experience, this is useless on its own. For instance, I have a tendency of doing my homework assignments randomly. Time management in this case would mean placing the most difficult task first, getting it over with more surely than saving it for last. Not surprisingly, Microsoft (2010) has some time management tips on its site. The site describes one with good time management skills as using his time effectively and efficiently. He is capable of handling several tasks at once yet still focuses on the most important tasks. Unlike procrastination, in which one crams multiple tasks at the last minute, the person described above actually chooses a specific time to do what needs to be done. In short, one with good time management remains mostly untouched by stress in the face of multiple tasks, while procrastinators end up digging their own graves – their poor time management forces them to do multiple tasks at once, which they often do poorly. The same site lists some tips to follow in this regard. First off, it is important to assess whether one gives time for important and/or urgent tasks. Secondly, one must take time to manage his schedule – that is, he should be able to revise, add and/or forego tasks when needed. Long-term planning also works wonders as one takes every possible contingency into account. Staying on-task is also highly recommended, as is saying no to unnecessary distractions. In some cases, delegating tasks to someone else may even be recommended, especially if the person to be delegated to happens to be more skilled at that particular task. In relation to the long-term planning mentioned above, Thomas Horton (1992) adds that disasters and worst-case scenarios should be taken into account to maintain flexibility - presumably in accordance with Murphy’s Law. No matter what one plans, no matter what measures and precautions one takes, the fact remains that anything that can go wrong will, and even the best-laid plans are no exception. Planning for the worst at least means that one will be prepared if the worst does happen, as opposed to, figuratively speaking, being caught with his pants down. Even the tiniest setbacks, says Horton, can become the biggest disasters if one fails to set aside time for necessary troubleshooting and/or damage control. This in particular is something I need to learn, as I get easily frustrated when things go wrong. Most important of all, one must know himself in order to employ effective time management (Squidoo, 2010). Specifically, one must take time to understand the basic details about himself such as his personality traits, his values and life goals, and then set priorities from there. Carl Jung described 8 different yet equal personality types, each with its own preferences, strengths and weaknesses. This means that the effectiveness of time management techniques is not universal, and will definitely vary depending on one’s personality. For instance, some rely on detailed instructions to employ their brand of time management, while others can operate based on an overview of things. And if some methods are more effective than others, there are those that are barely if at all effective. The to-do list, one of the most popular ways of managing time, has been especially questioned. Sandberg (2004) notes how most people spend more time managing their to-do lists than actually doing the listed tasks. Furthermore, strict observance of these lists may end up causing one to waste precious time on activities that are actually not that important in the long run (Hendrickson, 2005). To be sure, listing down what needs to be done helps one know and keep track of what needs to be done, though some activities are more important than others. At the same time, though, the list itself can be a major source of stress as it forces one to complete a particular task ‘right now’, as opposed to giving ample time for its completion. Instead of stressing oneself out by relying on a to-do list, it would be more helpful to set aside definite time periods for different tasks. For example, rather than a to-do list saying ‘chemistry readings’, a more effective way of time management would be to read 5 pages within 30 minutes, followed by a rest period, and then another 30 minutes’ reading time. That way, the seemingly daunting task is made that much more manageable. Objective #2: No More Multitasking Multitasking, as defined by Christine Rosen (2008), describes one’s attempt to do multiple tasks at once, as quickly and efficiently as possible. This skill is one most commonly used by students and office workers alike as they attempt to finish as many tasks as they can in one sitting. Call center agents may be struggling to finish a report while helping out a caller with his inquiry. I for one remember many occasions in which I was doing both my English major composition and a homework assignment for, say, geometry. Good or bad, the fact of the matter is that everyone but everyone has multitasked or will end up multitasking at certain points in time. More often than not, though, the flaws tend to outweigh the benefits. Claudia Wallis (2006) states that the brain is unable to fully focus when multitasking, which in turn means that one becomes more error-prone. Not to mention, it often results in the combined tasks taking much longer to do than if they were done separately. In this way, not only does one sacrifice the quality of his work, he in fact takes more time working as well. This has actually happened to me more than once. I often chat on Yahoo Messenger and Facebook while I type my compositions and research papers, and sometimes I end up using chat-speak and spelling shortcuts for those assignments. Even worse, I even end up getting distracted completely, like when I watched a video on Youtube and ended up forgetting I had a 5-page essay due the next day. And while, for the most part, I still manage to double-check my work, I still sometimes end up overlooking important points. In short, multitasking actually gives me more trouble in exchange for the trouble it saves me – I get to do multiple tasks at once, but the quality of my output ends up suffering. Rachel Ricucci (2010) also adds that there are proper times and places for multitasking. Talking to a friend while watching TV is a common example of multitasking, as is listening to music while brushing one’s teeth, and is proof that multitasking is not always bad – in fact, some don’t even know that these examples are already considered multitasking. I myself didn’t know until I read the article. And of course, there are other instances of multitasking that one would be ill-advised to do. Texting and/or talking on one’s cell phone while driving is up there, as is doing one’s work while watching TV. I even read a news article reporting how one girl died from electrocution after she tried to plug her laptop beside the bathtub, apparently desiring to access her Twitter while taking a bath. In all but one those cases, one of the activities requires undivided attention to be done properly. There have been too many cases to count in which one met a vehicular accident because he was busy on his cell phone while driving. The last case in particular was unbelievably stupid, in my opinion; social networking sites such as Twitter, despite their fans’ claims to the contrary, are not that important. And if the other examples were irresponsible uses for multitasking, this last one was both irresponsible and stupid – not to mention, an extremely stupid way to die. As described above, there are situations in which multitasking is ill-advised. However, recent research has uncovered that multitasking itself has its flaws. According to Rubinstein and Meyer (2001), it takes time for one to switch between tasks when multitasking. Specifically, cognitive processes taking place between the prefrontal cortex and other regions of the brain take time when one switches between tasks. Specifically, it takes a bit of time to redirect one’s focus and mindset from one context to another. The time lost – only a little less than a second – may seem insignificant at first, but those seconds can ultimately add up to equal an hour’s worth lost to multitasking. And of course, sometimes victory and defeat, not to mention life and death, can occur in less than a second. One second is all it takes for a driver to barely miss hitting a lamppost or another car, and one second is all it takes to land a buzzer beater that could very well win a game. All in all, multitasking has its uses just as it has its flaws. The title for this section may have been a misnomer, considering how downright impossible it is for a student like me to completely stop multitasking. The tasks I can afford to do by themselves, though, I could get over and done with as soon as possible so as to avoid having to multitask later on. Conclusion It should be noted that both my issues are related to each other – my poor time management is what led to my penchant of (unnecessary) multitasking. I thought it best to try to get rid of these weaknesses early on, given how often such weaknesses often turn out to be one’s own undoing. And even if these weaknesses don’t end up ruining me completely, it would still help to address them. If and when I fix them, I can achieve so much more. References Elisabeth Hendrickson. (2005) “The Tyranny of the “To Do” List”. Sticky Minds. Retrieved 05/04/10 from http://www.stickyminds.com/sitewide.asp?ObjectId=6656&Function=DETAILBROWSE&ObjectType=COL  Horton, T. (1992) The CEO Paradox. New York, NY Learning Time Management (2010) Squidoo. Retrieved 05/04/10 from http://www.squidoo.com/learning-time-management Pavlina, 8. (2006) Personal Development for Smart People: The Conscious Pursuit of Personal Growth. Hay House. Ricucci, R.P. (2010) The Pros and Cons of Multitasking. Suite101.com. Retrieved 05/04/10 from http://www.suite101.com/ Rosen, C. (2008) The Myth of Multitasking. The New Atlantis – A Journal of Technology & Society. 105-110. Rubinstein, J.S. and Meyer, D.E. (2001) "Executive Control of Cognitive Processes in Task Switching," Journal of Experimental Psychology - Human Perception and Performance, Vol 27. No.4 Sandberg, J. (2004). “Though Time-Consuming, To-Do Lists Are a Way of Life”. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 05/04/10 from http://www.careerjournal.com/columnists/cubicleculture/20040910-cubicle.html. Time Management (2010) Microsoft Education Competencies. Retrieved 05/04/10 from http://www.microsoft.com/education/competencies/comp_timemanagement.mspx Time Management (2010) Universal Learning Center. Retrieved 05/04/10 from http://www.ulc.psu.edu/studyskills/time_management.html Wallis, C. (2006) The Multitasking Generation. Time Magazine. Read More