Study Skills - Task 7

Time Management
By Suzanne Cunningham

I thought I had it sorted! However, as I tried to complete this assignment, by my third draft I began to realise just how far off the mark I am.

I started the year with high hopes and grand plans. I went through my diary and wrote in our schedule according to the online timetable. I made lists of my regular clients and my daughters activities. I even printed off the assessments from the course pages and put them all in date order in one assessment folder so I can work logically through them. My husband travels for work at irregular times and for extended periods, so I knew that I had to plan my life as if he is not here – if he is, bonus! Even before taking on the commitment of full time study I carefully considered my existing daily and weekly commitments and identified that I would be able to find a workable balance. I was going to fit it all in during school hours and the occasional late evening so that I would still be there for my family. I usually have extraordinary time management skills which have served me well in the past. To be honest, I really don’t know how it has all gone so pear shaped.

So while I have been sitting here trying to reflect on the important areas in my life that I need to prioritise (daily/weekly household tasks, my daughters activities, my study, my relationships, my work, my health), it has become clear that one of my biggest problems (or weaknesses) is the inability to identify which is the most important item and give it top priority (compared to identifying the most pressing problem that needs attention now). Does it change minute by minute, or day by day? Am I considering what is more important to others instead of what is more important to me, and is this wrong? This then lends itself to the second biggest problem of my inability to say no and to be less of a “people pleaser”.

Typically in the past I have taken other peoples schedules and worked mine around them. This could be because my husband has always travelled to varying degrees, so we have always had to work in around his schedule. Now that our daughter is getting older and has numerous activities each week, here is yet another schedule that I need to work around. Prioritising time for me is proving to be a major challenge. I usually book my clients in when it suits them, not necessarily when it works for me, and as time progresses I am seeing and feeling the negative impact all this “people pleasing” is having on my physical and emotional health.

I believe that I have time management in day-to-day family life fairly well nailed. My diary is my bible and it has all our external commitments listed to avoid double bookings or missing something. We are prepared and on time for events and activities. We eat and sleep at “normal” times, and there are always clean clothes to wear. However, it appears that I have some major work to do to get my own personal priorities and time management sorted so that my studies are given the due care and attention that I intended at the start of the year.

My first step is going to be to create a realistic schedule based on the three week cycle we have with our block courses. During the two weeks in between blocks there will be a limit to the number of clients I see in a day and in a week. I will also need to start occasionally accepting the offers of help from family members in an attempt to free up time I normally spend driving to, and waiting at, my daughter’s activities. Perhaps I will need to go as far as allocating a particular day of the week for a specific subject, just to ensure I concentrate on one thing at a time. Most importantly, I am going to prioritise some play-time for myself. I haven’t skated in months. It was my “happy place” when I felt down about being back in Dunedin. The personal challenge it presents is so rewarding when you master a new skill and break through boundaries. Not to mention the friendship and camaraderie I have with my fellow adult skaters. It really is a different experience that bonds you with others who are taking on this unusual challenge at a later stage in life.

Watch this space… The old and revitalised Suz will be back