Time Strategies

I sometimes have trouble using my time wisely. I am a procrastinator sometimes, but other times I am ahead of the game and get assignments finished early! Reading a couple of the selected articles has helped me realize ways to stop procrastinating and get work finished. 

In The Psychology of Checklists, I was able to read about how completing tasks off of a checklist allows us to reward ourselves. It may not be a physical reward, but it allows a feeling of accomplishment. A specific part of this article that I found interesting was when it mentioned gamification. This is essentially the way that we take normal and boring tasks and turn them into a fun competition that incorporates a reward system. Looking at the way I get schoolwork finished, I can recall numerous occasions where I have used gamification. The article also discusses how making lists can be extremely helpful. This semester, I plan on making more physical lists so that I can see all that I have to do and then cross it off to feel a sense of accomplishment. I know that just crossing something off a list doesn't seem like much, but it can be extremely helpful!

Checklists are helpful

In How To Beat Procrastination, it mentions to visualize how great it will be once the task is finished. I can definitely relate to this. It seems as though sometimes dreading a task is worse than doing the task itself. If I change the way I think to more positive thoughts of accomplishments, it may be easier to start and finish a task! Pre-committing will be an idea that I will use this semester. Discussing my workload with my roommates will hold me accountable for what I need to get done. This semester, I got very lucky with my school schedule. I only have class on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. This schedule is nice, but can also be a little dangerous for me. Procrastinating until the due date, especially for this class, is not an option. Using the time I have off and the time in between classes to get work done is essential. The schedule that Laura made for me is something that I really plan to follow this semester. 

These articles were able to help me find new ways to complete and think about tasks.