Nowadays, it is evident that time is speeding by faster than we can keep track of it. It seems like yesterday was January 1st, and now, all of a sudden, we are a week into August! And with the tasks of everyday life, it’s even harder to keep track of our time. We seem to wake up, and all of a sudden it’s the evening again. Soon enough, we’re off to bed. With this ongoing system, it’s hard to accomplish much. There are so many things we might want to achieve in a day, but due to our lack of time management, those things remain untouched and undone, simply lost goals that we may never attain.
Perhaps you’ve tried to manage your time in the past. Maybe you’ve seen YouTube videos from self-acclaimed “productivity gurus”. Maybe you’ve read a couple of articles on managing your time, but what was the outcome? Were you successful? Did you manage your time wisely, or did you fall prey to procrastination and laziness? How do you manage your time now? Although reflecting back on our behavior can often make us feel guilty, it is better to analyze our habits and start improving. But how, you may ask? How does one become productive? How does one combat laziness? Overall, how does one
manage their time?
Well, my friends, the answer isn’t all that simple. Unfortunately, there’s no magical secret to managing time; it really starts with you! Getting started and putting in the effort tend to be the hard part. But of course, while we may not have lemonade right away, we do have lemons. (Ok, the analogy wasn’t the best, but you get my point!) We can’t automatically become productivity gurus, but we can definitely set ourselves up to manage our time in the best ways possible. On that note, I’ll introduce you to a method I really like: the 8-8-8 method. The 8-8-8 method essentially divides your day into 3 blocks. There are 24 hours in a day, so each block consists of 8 hours. One block is dedicated to sleeping, the second block is dedicated to studying/working, and the third block is dedicated to relaxing or engaging in hobbies/personal interests. This block system allows for you to get 8 hours of productivity in, and then spend the rest of your day however you like. However, oftentimes our work doesn’t fit evenly into one block, thus impacting the other blocks, and impairing the 8-8-8 method. Despite this, I still think the 8-8-8 method is a great method, especially for the holidays. You might be thinking, who would want to work for 8 hours on a holiday, which, trust me, I totally understand. But I think holidays are actually a time for you to unleash your best self. You have no work or obligations stopping you (hopefully), so you can take that time to improve yourself. Maybe you’ll take the time to study in advance for your classes. Maybe you’ll read some books you didn’t get to read during your work/school days. And best of all, you’re in charge! You can determine how many hours you would like to dedicate to your work and you can decide what times work best for you. The first step is to get started. As a tip, I’d suggest you start by writing your goals, as well as a schedule/time frame in which you want to achieve them. After that, the ball is in your court! You’ll already be a step into managing your time wisely!
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Cover Photo by Lukas Blazek on Unsplash