1440: The Magic Number
It's not about how much you have; it's about how you spend it.
Whether it's money or time, good budgeting is the key to successful spending.
Congratulations! You just found out that every day, at exactly Midnight, you will be awarded with $1440. You must spend all it and there is no restriction on how you spend it. Sounds good, doesn't it? How would you spend that money every day?
There are countless ways to go through that money. However, to get the most from your money, it's a good idea to sit down and come up with a plan--a budget--on how to spend it. You can get a little, or a lot, depending on how you budget.
Every day, we are given 1440 minutes to spend. Most of us go through these minutes without giving much thought as to what we are doing with them. How many times have you reached the end of a day and wonder "Where did all the time go?"
Many students are incredibly busy, with school, work, friends, etc. We all have so many things to do, so why do some people seem to have so much time to get things done, while others never have enough time?
You may have heard from teachers, parents or others that one of the best study skills to have is time management. But, in order to manage your time better, you first need to know exactly how you're spending it now. It may seem like you aren't in control of your time, but that's because you don't know how you are spending it. Once you get a clear idea of where your time goes each day, you'll be able to take better control of those valuable minutes and hours.
I could give you a nice, neat list on how to save time. However, in my experience as a teacher, I've found that the best way to tackle time management is to first have students take ownership of their time by creating a "Typical Day Schedule". By the end of this activity, you'll probably be able to answer that elusive question of "Where did the time go?"
Get two pieces of paper and do the following:
1. On the first piece of paper, write down the days of the week and any special or significant activities that happen on those days. For example, you may have band lessons on Wednesdays, swim class on Fridays and work on Saturdays.
2. On the second paper, you will create a one day schedule: Write down each hour of the day, starting at Midnight. So, you should have a list that looks like this: 12:00, 1:00, 2:00, etc.
3. After you have all 24 hours listed, pick one day of your week, go through the day and fill in every activity you do. Be as specific as possible. No task is too small (getting dressed, driving to school, hanging out, homework, whatever). Each of these things takes time and need to be put in the schedule.
4. As you fill in your activities/responsibilites, you can draw arrows to indicate time spent on each item. For example: if you have band practice from 3:00 to 5:00, just start your line at 3:00 and draw it down to 5:00. You can use different colors to make it easier to read. Be creative, but make sure you can read your work when you're done.
Once you are done, you will have a clearer picture of exactly how you spend your day.
Now, think about the following questions:
1. What parts of your day take up the most time?
2. What activities are mandatory (and, yes, school is one of those...)? Which may be changed?
3. How much time are you putting into school and studying? Be honest! You're not getting graded on this, remember?
4. Which activities mean the most to you? The least?
After answering these questions, you need to see how you can rearrange your schedule to make the most of your time. Where can you make more time in your schedule? Adding even 20-30 minutes a few days a week to your study schedule can make a big difference. Don't think that you have to add hours every day to your study plan. A little goes a long way! In the next article, you will read about how to make the most of the study time you've carved out of your day.
In the meantime, remember that YOU are in control of how you spend your time: waste as few of those 1440 dollars--oops, I mean minutes--as possible!
