Time Manglement/Under The Wire

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I'm enrolled in two on-line college courses this quarter. I know, I'm crazy. I also have 3 part time jobs, three church callings, a house to run, a husband to keep happy, a 12 year old son to raise, and an 11 year old daughter whom I'm homeschooling!!

Well, one of my courses kindly provided us students with a little survey so we could get a handle on our "time management". One of our assignments was to respond to the survey. I'll post the survey and my response:

SURVEY

Before giving thought to the question of priorities, please use the following skill assessment to help you understand your own use of time:

For each set of statements below, mark the number which best describes you.

1 I like to set my watch at exactly the correct time.
2 I like my watch to be set a few minutes ahead of the correct time.
3 Most of the time, I do not wear a watch.
___________________________________________________
1 I tend to arrive at most functions at least five minutes early
2 I tend to arrive at most functions exactly on time.
3 I tend to arrive at most functions a little bit late.
___________________________________________________
1 In the course of my daily activities I tend to walk and talk quite fast.
2 In the course of my daily activities I tend to take my time.
3 In the course of my daily activities I tend to walk and talk slowly.
___________________________________________________
1 In high school I almost always completed my daily assignments.
2 In high school I usually completed my daily assignments.
3 In high school I often failed to complete my daily assignments.
___________________________________________________
1 I like to finish my assignments with a little time to spare.
2 I tend to finish my assignments and reports exactly on the due dates.
3 I sometimes finish assignments and reports a little late.
___________________________________________________
1 I rarely spend more than fifteen minutes at a time on the phone.
2 I sometimes spend more than fifteen minutes at a time on the phone.
3 I often spend more than fifteen minutes at a time on the phone.
___________________________________________________
1 I rarely spend more than an hour eating a meal.
2 I sometimes spend more than an hour eating a meal.
3 I usually spend more than an hour eating a meal.
___________________________________________________
1 I never watch more than 1 1/2 hours of TV on a weeknight.
2 I sometimes watch more than 1 1/2 hours of TV on a weeknight.
3 I usually watch more than 1 1/2 hours of TV on a weeknight.
___________________________________________________
1 I never spend more than an hour surfing the Web or talking on a chat line at any one time.
2 I sometimes spend more than an hour surfing the Web or talking on a chat line at any one time.
3 I usually spend more than an hour surfing the Web or talking on a chat line at any one time.
____________________________________________________
Now add up the numbers you have marked: _____. The higher the total, the more you need to work on time management skills now that you are engaged in college study.

If your total is over ten you probably need to adjust your priorities and begin to take more responsibility for managing your time.

After completing this activity, please write a 3 paragraph response to the following questions:

How would you evaluate yourself as a time manager right now? What do you see as your greatest asset in terms of time management? What do you think will be your greatest hindrance to effectively manage your time? How do you intend to deal with this hindrance? How might you use your assets to overcome your weaknesses?

And my response???


I scored 15 out of a possible 54 points in the time management quiz/test. Although I agree I might benefit by managing time differently, I don’t really agree with the premise of the survey itself.
I will explain this in part by going over some of my answers and discussing my thoughts here:

I set my watch to the exact time. I set all the clocks in my house as close to the exact same time as possible. This is partly because I do not like to be late for things, I have respect for others, and I like keeping my schedule running smoothly. But mostly I set my clocks like that because I have a slight obsessive compulsive disorder. (Ha! I don’t know if I really do, but it seems like it.)

I don’t walk and talk fast during the day if I can help it. When I am doing that, that is when I know I am overworked, overbooked, and overwhelmed. I don’t think that is a good ‘skill’ to develop. I think it creates a sense of stress within the people who are around you and it only helps to make you feel too busy. Being calm and relaxed is better for everyone and is generally more productive in the long run.

I eat my meals slowly. The variety, quality and abundance of food in this country is a luxury and should be enjoyed. Taking time to be very conscious of the taste, texture, flavor nuances, smells and colors of your food, paying close attention to the effect of food in your body, expressing gratitude for the food you have, and being aware of the nutritional value and ingredients of what you are eating makes for an ‘alive’ experience. As a matter of fact, there is a new movement in the world called “slow food”. Check it out. Wolfing food down so you can get on to more ‘important’ tasks, without thought of what you are doing or what you are eating, causes overeating, gastrointestinal problems, and a lack of gratitude or a sense of life’s pleasures. It’s not a goal of mine to eat faster.

Surfing the internet is one of my time-suckers. I am extremely grateful that I was born in this era, where I can get instant answers to any question I have. I realize that I may not always come across accurate information, so I have to be discerning, compare results, and use critical reading/thinking skills. And I can loose a lot of hours if I am not careful, because I get too deep into finding out more and more about a subject. There have been times that I have stayed up most of the night surfing the ‘net. This is one thing I plan to control as I take these on-line course. I will allow myself 1 hour for pleasure surfing, but only after my assignments are done.

I don’t like talking on the phone. I think my teenage years of constant talking burned me out. :-)

Television is not a problem for me. Although there are some informative programs on television, most of it is pure crap. I am stunned at the poor quality of programming anymore. I haven’t paid for cable for over 10 years. I can’t justify the waste. With the three channels we do have at our house, I use television. When I want to unplug and vegetate I watch a program or two. Or I put in my own dvd’s. I watch maybe 3 hours of television a month, not including dvd’s.

The point I’ve been trying to make is, rushing and running through life isn’t better. Doing more outside the home and family isn’t a healthy priority. The average student these days is no longer a kid working a part-time job and goofing off with friends. The average student today juggles work, family, education, household chores, church obligations, and other big demands on their time. To imply that anything is more important than the health and welfare of the family is wrong. Some things are necessary, such as work and school, but they should never be more important than fully experiencing this life and world and loving our people. Don’t get me wrong, we chose to take courses and pursue more education, therefore we must complete our assignments and finish our courses. That is why a survey on our time habits will help us think about and accomplish those things. I’m glad our teacher provided it for us. But I had all these other thoughts as I was doing the survey, so I had to share them.

The survey suggests: “If your total is over ten you probably need to adjust your priorities and begin to take more responsibility for managing your time.”

I think that is dangerous to suggest. Maybe it should read: “If your total is over ten you probably understand your true priorities and are responsible for your loved ones and your community.”