At 5 a.m. on Monday when your alarm goes off, the snooze button feels like your only friend. The party weekend is over. You have to get ready for work, finish your English paper, and study for your midterms. It's already that busy time of the semester and your brain feels like it's ready to explode.
According to Sandra Dannenbaum, a Counseling and Consultation clinician, if this sounds like your life, you're afflicted with a case of bad time management.
"Time management is a skill and it's very challenging, but it can be learned," she says. "It's about entering adulthood and learning how to go through life."
Dannenbaum says that those students who work and go to school have better time management skills than those who have a lot of free time to spare.
Miles Campos works 20 hours over the weekend for Tricare, a military health care system in Phoenix, while maintaining a full-time student status at ASU.
"I work 10 hours Saturday and 10 hours Sunday, but I can study at work so that definitely helps [with my time management]," he says.
Campos, who is a Chinese language major, says he spends approximately six to eight hours studying for a single test. He says he sets an alarm on his cell phone to remind him a week before a paper or test is due.
"Naturally I am a big procrastinator, but as with every other skill you have to work on it and the phone alarm has been working for me," says Campos.
While Campos is satisfied with his grades, he says that he misses out on his social life.
He and his girlfriend have occasional arguments about lack of time spent together, but they try to make things work.
Kristin Cuvelier, a graphic design junior, has somewhat of a more relaxed schedule than Campos. She is a full time student and works about 14 hours a week at the office of the vice president for Student Affairs. Cuvelier says that she is able to successfully juggle school, work and social life, but admits that once in a while she has trouble with her studying skills.
"I tend to procrastinate, especially when it comes to heavily involved, time-consuming school assignments," she says. "But, I always manage to turn assignments in on time. I seem to work well under pressure."
Dannenbaum says that some students need that extra pressure in order to do well, but she says that the tendency to cram things for the last minutes is a bad habit.
A crucial step in facing time management problems is prioritizing and identifying what are the most important things in your life says Dannenbaum.
"In students' case, their main job is to be a student," she says. "Partying should be further down the list."
So, how can a student recognize a time management problem? Dannenbaum shared both symptoms and solutions in order to identify and improve your time management skills:
Time Management Symptoms
According to Dannenbaum, if your answer is yes to the following statements, you might have a problem:
If you're not meeting your deadlines and turning in a less than desirable level of work.
If you're having arguments with your significant other, because you're not available to them as much as they want you to.
If you're not having time to do what you want to do, but what you have to do.
If you're experiencing headaches, increased anxiety, feeling overwhelmed and anxious.
Time Management Solutions
But don't freak out yet -- Dannenbaum offers solutions as well: Structure your day and create a 24/7 "ideal schedule." As Campos pointed, it can be challenging, but it's a learning process. Try his phone alarm system and set it in advance for your upcoming tests or papers.
Find a balance between your chill time, date time, social activities and allow a certain number of hours for your class material. This seems to be working with Cuvelier, as she tends to finish all her work during the week and leave the weekends for socializing.
Improve your study skills by going over your lectures and rewriting your notes on the same day of classes. Be creative and make your learning fun. For example, Campos in order to has downloaded Chinese dialogues from the computer to his iPod, so he can listen to it while he walks around.
And the most important factor is to watch the amount of alcohol you're consuming says Dannenbaum. She says that any above normal consumption of either alcohol or cigarettes is a certain sign that something is wrong. Don't be embarrassed to seek help from a counselor if things get out of control.
Reach the reporter at ljiljana.ciric@asu.edu.