Achieving a happy medium

2012-09-18

Going into the college life, I had no idea what to expect. I found myself wondering several times how I would balance academics, social life and DECA life. However, one thing that I learned during my time as a high school DECA member is the importance of effective time management and the skills you need to achieve it. One thing about college is that you are essentially in control of your own time. That being said, I have discovered that no matter how much control I have, at the end of the day, there is still a task or two at hand. Effective time management means prioritizing your responsibilities in a manner in which everything gets done as quickly and efficiently as possible. In others words, it is a happy medium between quality and quantity. For me personally, one of the easiest ways that I have found to manage my time most effectively is to create a written calendar with important assignment due dates, as well as exam days and class times. From there, it makes it easy to see what “free” time I still have available in my day. Then I can structure a study/work schedule that helps me effectively complete the things that I need to get done and turn out quality work. I challenge you to examine your own schedule and see if you have it balanced in a way that helps you find that happy medium. If you are struggling to make it all work, examine how you can move things around to help you take the quantity of activities and produce the highest of quality in all you do. You deserve to achieve excellence in the outcomes of all of your goals. The key is finding a balance, or a happy medium in meeting your expectations for your learning career.