Time Management

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I started reading the assigned readings in Covey's book and the anthology with a closed mind. I assumed I had a good grasp on my time management and that I didn't need any help organizing my life. After I completed the readings, my perspective had changed. I realized that I was making many of the mistakes they addressed in the readings in my own life and that I did not have as good a grasp on my personal time management as I thought. For example, after reading the article about procrastination by Carl Pickhardt on pages 86-87 I realized that I was guilty of some serious procrastination. One of the points that he made that really stuck with me was, "Procrastination requires both delay and denial. Delay is the 'putting off until later' part; denial is the 'putting out of mind' part"(pg.86). Earlier today I had been thinking about all of the things I needed to get done and I remembered that I have a paper for a class that I am not too thrilled about writing. I decided to just forget about it for now or "put it out of my mind." I was guilty of trying to ignore the task until the last minute. After realizing that I was guilty of procrastination I decided to put into effect some of the ideas from the Design your own Anti-Procrastination Plan on pages 92-93 of the anthology. I decided that from now on I am going to implement the suggestion, "Start with the most unpleasant task---to get it over with---and work down until you get to the easier ones"(pg. 92). I decided that if I start with the task I am dreading the most I will definitely be less stressed than if I waited until the last minute to get it done. After all of this reading on procrastination I decided to do a little research on the affects of procrastination on college students. I found an article titled, "Procrastination in College Students is a Marker for Unhealthy Behaviors, study indicates," by David Glenn. A study performed by Fuschia M. Sirois, a psychologist at Carleton University, concluded that, "Such avoidant styles translate not only into late term papers but also to higher rates of smoking, drinking, and a tendency to postpone seeing a doctor for acute health problems." The point of the study was to show that procrastination can not only affect your school work, but your personal health as well (1). The principle of procrastination ties in with our readings in the Covey book as well. The third habit is all about putting "first things first" and prioritizing the important things in your life. Covey states that, "Effective management is putting first things first" (pg. 148) with Management referring to the discipline to carry things out. I know that I need to work on my self management, I tend to put what Covey calls "urgent" things first instead of the truly important. It is definitely more difficult to make myself write my paper than it is too get on Facebook or watch TV,  but I know now that it is important to start working to reverse my habit of procrastination and try understand what it means to put "first things first."

Notes:
1. Glenn, David. "Procrastination in College Students is Marker for Unhealthy Behaviors, Study Indicates." August 26, 2002.http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~wilkins/writing/Resources/essays/procrastinate.html (accessed 9/4/2010).