It's about Time Management

"Yesterday, today and tomorrow are not consecutive, they are connected in a never-ending circle. Everything is connected." Nothing really related, I just like this quote very much. Remember the 'buffet' on my plate in the last post? Now we're organising it.

What inspired this post was a message from my friend, asking, "How do you finish physics, stats, further math and chem homework, work on your personal statement, deal with the student council stuff and also watch your dramas?" I love how she included dramas in the list. Speaking of which, I finally persuaded my father to get us Netflix and life is good.

Now, back to the point of time management. " Work expands to fill the time allocated." That's Parkinson's Law. Basically, the more time you have, the more time you need. If you're struggling to finish your work, what you need is not more time, but higher efficiency and more focus. We all procrastinate, who doesn't? For me, I use the time I procrastinate to do some other stuff that generates value. For example, my alsco work is actually just me procrastinating. Not gonna lie, I actually enjoy all this event organising stuff, I've learnt so much, although it might get a little time consuming sometimes. This is where sorting out your priorities plays a huge role.

What is your highest priority? That is a question you need to ponder. In Pre-U, you might not have the same aims as your friends. Be clear of what you're aiming for and work for it. If you know that you need to put in more effort than other people, there is no shame in studying round the clock. If you're looking for what they call 'life', by all means, go ahead. It differs for everyone, so don't feel pressured if you're not working as hard as the person next to you in the library. I never allocate time for the student council stuff. When I need to complete a task, I just do it asap. Never would there be a 2-hour session for it in my plan, it usually comes with something else, like working on my personal statement, or doing math. This boosts my efficiency as well, because I hate having a lot on my to-do list. What about Netflix? It's during meal times for me.

Most people would wonder, would co curricular activities interfere with your studies? I've heard the best answer to this just now. "Anything can interfere with your studies." This is very true. Even without co curricular activities, who is to guarantee that there isn't another distraction? However, no matter what co curricular activities you are involved in, your grades should be your highest priority (especially true if you're in A level). After all, what can all the other qualifications give you if you're not hitting the bare minimum? They say, results isn't all. Yes, it isn't, but looking at this small scope where all universities are looking for good results as one of their criteria, don't try to do anything extra if you can't cope with what you need to achieve. The rest are only plus points. Know your limits, test them out if you need, if you ever feel like you're not doing as well as you want to, make the necessary changes to improve it.

Long story short, time is relative. (Let's not go into the interesting physics of this). Time management is a vital skill. There is no other way to attain it other than having the experience of juggling your time between loads of stuff. This is what high school trained us for after all. After all is said and done, I enjoy this busy life, I feel like I'm working towards my dream and I just love our library (although it's literally a refrigerator). For now, I'm just going to chill out for the weekend, I feel I've worked enough for this week. Finally, go explore all the other things you can do other than studying before all the mocks exams come avalanching.

~Carpe diem~