Time and more hours in a day are something many people wish for various reasons, whether
personal or professional. People may need more time during the day to get more work done,
spend with family, and even get more sleep. Time management was a behavior I felt the need to
change about myself. Time management can be classified as an effective skill ascertained from
our conduct. Time management, for me, in the past, has prevailed to be my biggest downfall. In
the past, I sincerely struggled with this matter, despite my efforts to have a completely rigid
schedule. It was a goal of mine to aspire to be like people who can do this effortlessly. A few
months ago, I sat down, brought a planner, and did some introspection on how I handle time
management. I realized that the most productive time of the day for me is evening and night.
This is when I get most of my work done for a class, as my brain is also active in completing my
duties at work. During these hours, I am either at home or at work. I have worked overnights
and, at times, double shifts at my job for over 15 years. Working 60 hours a week can be
overwhelming. I refer to myself as a night owl because daytime is my nighttime.
b While many people are productive during the day, I usually sleep since I just knock off work
at 9 am. At times, I was hard on myself because I felt like I had slept the day away. When in all
actuality, this is my due time to get an adequate amount of sleep. To this present day, I rarely
ever get a total of 8 hours of sleep a day. My mind is always racing with things I need to
accomplish—facets such as household chores, running errands, work-related duties, and
homework. For the last couple of years, fighting for legal righteousness for my daughter's death
has occupied most of my time. Both mentally and physically, this drains my soul. Before I
modified my time management skills recently, I must confess that I had a complete schedule
when my daughter was alive, and it was easy to follow. I would make it home in time to get her
ready for school by 8 am. I would nap until 1:30 and pick her up from school by 2:30. I would
assist with homework, cook, and spend quality time with her before it was time to go to work.
As a single mother, I would be so drained. However, I was overwhelmed but enjoyed every
minute of it. I was a hard-working mom for the seven years we had together.
b b Occasionally, I am still working when I come home from work in the mornings. b I have
conference calls with lawyers to go over the logistics of my daughter's case. This, in turn,
sometimes takes a toll on my whole day and schedule because it brings me back to a depressive
mindset. However, despite my emotional burnout, I still manage to rest and prepare myself for
work. There are many times I must suppress my emotions and pick myself up. When all I want
to do is stay in bed, sob, and pray. However, I will say that enrolling back in school was a big
motivation for me to fight depression and grief. It gives me something else to think about it
besides my current circumstances. However, it can also be another task that I have to focus on.
Completing assignments on time, studying, and absorbing what I am taught can be challenging. I
try not to burn myself out because when I procrastinate in doing tasks, I become anxious,
irritated, and lack motivation. I get the job done. However, I am rushing to complete it. This
takes away from the learning experience or joy in fulling the tasks. I apply more pressure on
myself in a self-destructive manner. When I follow a schedule and stick to a plan, I feel more
productive as I do not let the day slip away without completing tasks on my schedule.
b I could give others advice through acknowledgment modification and a rigid plan. Once you
identify any area in your life that needs change, you must accept your role throughout the
process. You should determine your strengths and weaknesses to see what works best. Then you
should develop a ritual or treatment plan to help determine ways to modify your behavior. I
learned a lot of helpful tips to help me with better time management. Writing notes, I have
established to be beneficial to become better at prioritizing my schedule. I create a daily
reminder on my phone and list tasks I wish to complete that day/week. My weekly weekend task
is creating a master schedule for my academic, work, and personal schedules. Prioritizing which
jobs require my immediate and which tasks are minuscule. Instead, the goal is to permit us to
make informed choices about how we use our time. Rather than letting the day slip by, largely
without our awareness, the time management procedures we’ll discuss make us better able to
harness time for our ends. What I learned about time management is that it doesn’t confine us. A
schedule should not be taken as a race but more experienced as a stepping- stone to help you
achieve your goals in life. It is also imperative to have a mental break and take time to relax.
Mental health can play a big part in how we treat ourselves when we become overwhelmed. The
purpose of a schedule is to enhance our lives do not hinder our lives. There is a lot of beauty in
life, and sometimes we just don’t get to enjoy it or notice it due to schedules and standards we
put on ourselves. In any aspect, changing any negative behavior takes determination, resilience,
and confidence in yourself. It is not easy to break bad habits, and there have been pitfalls
throughout this process. However, I still manage to get things done. At my own pace and what is
beneficial to my mental wellenes.
