Time flies when you manage it well

On Monday, the Center for Multicultural Equity and Success held another installment of its Maverick Success Workshop, this time teaching students the ins and outs of time management.

As a college student, time management is a critical skill to have in attaining success in school — as well as in one’s professional and personal life. Learning to navigate life’s rough waters and mark off designated time for select events is a tricky but worthwhile skill.

In charge of the event was Sherona Stewart, Minnesota State junior and speaker for the Maverick Success Workshop. For her, time management is key to a sustainable, enjoyable life.

“(Time management is) using effective time management to balance college life academically, and personally while enjoying the process and learning how to adapt to new responsibilities,” Stewart said.

Students have a lot on their plate weighing them down during the school year. Lengthy papers with fast-approaching deadlines lurk behind every corner, and daunting finals peer over their shoulders and breathe down their necks.

This can make it easy for students to feel worn down. According to Stewart, the introduction of time management to an overloaded student’s schedule can fix almost everything.

“It will assist them throughout their life with fulfilling their responsibility, either for current or post college life,” Stewart said. “It also reduces the daily stress because the person is fulfilling their responsibility and is flexible with managing their time. Students also have time to relax and do extracurricular activities with family and friends when time management is practiced properly.” 

Some time management tips to bolster productivity and eliminate stress include: setting goals, breaking up large tasks into smaller, more manageable ones, and creating a schedule.

Setting goals, daily or weekly, prioritizing what is important, and finding out which daily routine works for you. Understand that every bad or good decision comes with a consequence and time management is a learned skill, so practice becomes perfect,” Stewart said.

By setting goals and eliminating time wasters, students can keep themselves on track. Goal setting should not be a haphazard thing; rather, goals should be based on what the setter can realistically achieve to get the best results.

Creating a schedule can help students set aside time for everything they want to do over the span of a day. Not just homework, but family, friends and alone time as well.

Breaking large, daunting tasks into smaller, more bite-sized ones can prove very useful. Staring at a long to-do list or a massive homework assignment can be daunting, but breaking them all down can help students stay motivated to complete them  and do their best work.

The Maverick Success Workshop takes place twice every other week, in CSU 201 in the Centennial Student Union.

Header Photo: Students gathered in CSU 201 once again for another installation of the Maverick Success Workshop. This week’s theme was Time Management. Other themes include studying tips, stress management and relationship building. (Dominic Bothe / The Reporter)

Write to Joey Erickson at joseph.erickson.2@mnsu.edu