Time Management

[Nabb 0]

I'm in the several months period between high school and university now, and I often (always) find myself wasting my time. I've been working on some Flash games for some time, but I often get distracted and find myself procrastinating away from the task. Are there any good tips to help me manage my time better?As a note, during high school I tried to manage my time and it didn't work out - during end of year exams I wrote a study timetable, but in the end it was just a sheet of paper with the days of the week written on it! I did next to zilch homework during the entire year (enough to get by), because playing games is so much more fun (yet I scored extremely high, but this is a different story). I tried using that google tasks from gmail to manage my time once as well, but it ended up only being used for one day. I really need time management help eh?

[rvalkass 5]

Everyone is different, and there is no way I can give you a surefire method to manage your time better. However, I can tell you some things that have worked for me, and you can give them a go. If they work, great! If they don't, try another suggestion.

 

Generally, I don't do well with time-management on the computer. I get bogged down in organising my tasks and time, without ever actually doing anything. I've tried using KDE's time management software, along with loads of other packages, and the to-do list in Google. None of them really did it for me, so I have gone for more manual methods

 

The first is using a whiteboard (dry erase board, dry wipe board, whatever you want to call it). I simply write down each task, when it needs to be done by, and a rough estimate of how long it will take (if possible). If it's a big task I'll split it down into smaller tasks, so you get a sense of achievement with each one Or, keep a rough percentage of how much you've done, or reduce the time that it will take. You can quickly add and remove tasks as you need them, change details, and you can always see how much you've got to do at a glance. You can also get lots of different colours and all sorts of things to make it look nice, or help you organise further. And it's all fairly cheap.

 

If you've got no specific tasks to get done then set yourself some goals. Down the side of the board write down some times or dates (depending on how long-term these goals are ). Split it down into the hours of the day, the days of the week or whatever works for you. Set yourself a goal for each time slot. If you use hours, they'll all be fairly simple things: read the next chapter of a book, do your washing, go for a walk, whatever. But they all help you to manage your time and stop you getting too carried away on one thing and realising a week later that you haven't actually done anything!

 

PostIt notes also work well. I have a shelf that runs above my desk, and I can stick PostIt notes to the front edge of it. Write each task on a PostIt, and stick it up. Order them by priority, when they need to be done, whatever you want. The advantage here is that you can reorder them without having to rewrite them. Again, if you've got no specific tasks that need to be completed, write some goals for what you want to get done, then stick those up. Give yourself a time to complete each one and pull them down when you've done them.

[buxgoddess 1]

I think to succeed in life time management is a must knowledge one should have. It is possible for all to cross the finish line but there is just one first and if one wishes to be a first he/she must know what to do, when to do and how to do. All of which is related to time at some extent. If your timing is right you win and even if you are the best and do not show up when needed you just perish. There are various courses given by various universities that relate to time management and are a real demand but at the end the lazy bones fail and the fast and witty wins. Time management and wisdom are both required but wisdom automatically involves the knowledge of time management. Hence a wise person will know how to manage time.

[Tramposch 1]

I have the exact same problem, actually. Though I don't play games, I just work on websites and broadcast live and such. But what I found out is that giving yourself rewards helps out a lot. Right now my current reward is a MacBook. If I get all my stuff done, I will be able to get one. This actually works out in 2 ways for me. One is that I will actually have the money from doing certain jobs and selling stuff on eBay. The other is that when my stuff is done, I will be ready for a new notebook.Find something you can work for. It doesn't necessarily mean buying something, but do something that will get you motivated. I too have tried countless times to create a schedule, but in the end I don't follow it or it just doesn't get made. I have always wanted to get started using my iPhone's calendar more often, but I just forget about it. Another important thing is getting in the habit of doing it. It takes about 3 weeks to make a habit. If you can find a way to remind yourself to make that schedule and do it for 3 weeks, you should form a habit and will not need reminders. Another thing that my parents somewhat threaten me with is think of what you will not be able to do if you don't get the things done. Then think of what you can do. I know I can score high on everything without doing homework, but I still do it because it makes my parents happy and they pay me more for higher grades. You just have to find that one thing that gets you motivated.

[Baniboy 3]

One word: Cellphone, yea that's right, cellphone. Just make your phone ring when you have to start doing something, and when it rings, don't think like "I'll play this game to the end then I start working", start doing it right away.This works great for me, when I start doing something I don't stop before getting it finished.This is easy way, if you have an old model phone, then do it with computer, but it shouldn't be something you notice when you look at it, but hear it when the time is right.Good luck with it, just be organized!

[miladinoski 1]

I'm very bad at managing my time, so I can't advise you because I always end with a big SPLASH

 

I tried RTM¹ and I used it only for one day. I tried PostIt notes (like rvalkass suggested) and I used them for a week and they got boring to me and I left them. I tried the traditional approach of writing my timetable on a notebook and that one worked for an hour. I tried turning off the computer and force myself to study and not be distracted. I always found another means of wasting my time invaluably, by: playing games on my mobile, watching TV, listening to music on the radio and putting my head on the pillow (which makes me really lazy), 'reading' an old newspaper I found lying on the table etc...

 

I need advice for how can I promise myself something and fulfill the promises that I do to me, because I always turn attention and fulfill the promises I make to my mom that I'll clean my room, to my friend that I'll come to him the next Friday and so on... I am hardcore when it comes to exams and questioning by the teachers w/ studying a lot the 2 days before the thing happens and being just generally lazy and not doing work in the week before which will significantly lower my chances of making a bad one.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!

 

¹ -- RememberTheMilk.com

[Nabb 0]

Thanks for the responses guys - I didn't actually realise before now that this was something that most people experience.A whiteboard sounds like it could be extremely useful, but I think I'll pass on this at the moment. I'll buy some PostIt notes (hopefully this year, but I'm bad at time management, remember? ) as rvalkass has suggested and see how well that works out. Tramposch's idea of using rewards sounds like it could work too, I might try that one too (when I can come up with something!)Something beeping in my face telling me to do something probably won't work for me - it'll just give the feeling of an alarm clock (which half the time I ignore).

[surbjit 0]

Well it depends are you a organised person?I generally loose track of time when on the computer especially when im talking to my mates on msn, time just flies by lol.

[Misanthrope 0]

I suppose I was fortunate to have come of age before the menace of video games and other high-tech gadgetry. Nonetheless, there is always something to distract you from you goals, that is why you need to be goal-oriented, and get yourself a day-timer or some other non-computer related calendar to reference throughout the day. Write up your itinerary the day before on this calendar, and check off the events as you finish them. General rule of thumb is get the drudgery out of the way as early as possible, then you can relax and slap yourself on the back for actually accomplishing something. And, if you must, return to your mind-numbing video game.