Universities unintentionally teach bad time management skills. It’s no wonder students struggle with staying on top of things. If you’re having a hard time you need to know two things:
First, you’re not alone.
We only post the things that make us look good on social media. If you think you’re the only one having a hard time, think about this: Have you ever noticed that when you ask HOW someone is doing, the typical response is for them to list WHAT they are doing?
“I’ve got this homework and that project and this meeting and I can’t believe my classes on opposite sides of campus are only 15 minutes apart and…”
That’s code for:
“I’m stressed out of my mind and I can’t even separate my well-being from my to-do list.”
Second, you’re not the only one to blame.
Most of us get pretty down on ourselves when we get behind. “If I were smarter, this wouldn’t take so long.” “If I weren’t so lazy,” or “If I had more self-discipline,” Sure, those things can help. But you also need to recognize that Universities are consistently raising the bar.
There are lots of reasons for this but the result is always the same: your school expects you to earn more credits than in the past. Your school encourages you to participate in more extracurriculars than in the past.
How did this happen?
It starts in high-school.
How do you get into college? Step 1: get good grades. Step 2: extracurriculars. The guidance counselors tell you to sign up for extra curriculars to boost your college applications. It doesn’t matter what you sign up for, but do something. And so you join the German, photography, and chess clubs. Never mind that they have nothing to do with your dreams.
When you get to college, its the same story.
Career counselors scare you with depressing job market statistics. They let you know that landing a job is a lot more competitive than it used to be (that’s true). So in the interest of avoiding the blank resume students take on extra curricular activities. The next thing you know, you’re scheduled wall to wall with clubs and sports and so on and you’re still trying to figure out when it is that you’re actually going to study.
But everyone around you is doing the same thing. So it must be the way to win… This all stems from the faulty notion that if something is good, more of it is better. I’ll say that again,
the FAULTY notion that if something is good, more of it is better.
Here’s my point: most students are overloaded.
The school requires them to take an incredible course load and add a bunch of out-of-class activities on top of it. If that describes your life, then take a minute and breathe. Give yourself a pat on the back. You’re doing a lot, which means you’re probably better at time management than you think.
Most time management books, blogs, courses, coaches teach you ways to get more done in less time. But they miss the fact that if you make more room, you’ll just find something new to fill it with. At the Intentional Academy we’re teaching two fundamental time management ideas: First, there are a number of methods to improve the quality of your effort so that you can accomplish more. Second, and much more importantly, we show you how to focus on the right things. We teach you how to say “no” to good opportunities so that you can say “yes” to the great ones.
IF YOU’D LIKE TO LEARN MORE, I’m building an online community called the Intentional Academy for people like you. People who are tired of business as usual. People who want to take control of their time and learn how to launch the career of their dreams. Just fill out the form on this page to join for FREE today.
