TIME – something everyone struggles with. Time is a tricky thing. Many people are always scrambling to finish their projects, deadlines, and everything else in their lives. They are always wishing they had more time or thinking, “Wow, that went by fast.” If they feel like this, it’s probably because they have poor time management skills.

Time management is very important, and something I think everyone should learn. In my experience, I have noticed many occasions where someone could have been less stressed out and or gotten more done if they managed their time better.

I talked to a few people at Waltham High School about their own time management. I asked questions like, “How well do you think you manage your time?”, “What time management skills do you use,” and “How do you think you could manage your time better?” The answers varied, yet they all kind of connected.

Delegating is a skill that most people don’t have. They always end up piling up their work loads and it becomes too much and overwhelming for them. But when you do learn how to delegate you will feel more confident and at ease with the activities and work you do end up doing. Learning how to prioritize and cut out the things you don’t need to do now and focus more on the more important activities is essential.

Things like making a schedule with dates and times could help you stay organized and limit your workload. This is important for everyone, teachers, students, parents, etc. With schedules you have to learn how to prioritize. Sit down and break down all the activities you have to do. Put them in order of most important to least important. Then set specific times to do these important things each day. For example, homework is important so you want to make sure you finish that before you start doing the other less important activities. Some of the students I talked to said they spent every free second in between other activities doing homework. While waiting for sports, before work, or any other free time is when many students do their homework, because they usually don’t have time to solely focus on their homework.

For many people it will be hard to change your habits. But if you adjust your schedule slightly each time, you will eventually see a big difference. Mainly, you will experience an emotional change because you will feel less stressed, you will have more time for yourself, and the things that make you happy, and you will get everything important done. 

So if you need help with your time management, you should prioritize, make schedules, and delegate to improve your everyday life. It can and will make a big impact on your life once you start to put your life together in an organized way.