Strengthening My Time Management and Motivation Skills by Lydia

Strengthening My Time Management and Motivation Skills by Lydia - January 2022 Scholarship Essay

2021 was a challenging learning year for most students, myself included. I was online from January to April before returning in a hybrid model for the last quarter of the school year. Learning online was very difficult for me. I struggled to keep on top of assignments, as well as mentally. When I spent hours working in front of a computer with little to no hands-on assignments, it was easy to get disinterested and struggle with motivation.
In-person school can make it much easier to keep on top of assignments. Due dates are final, and much of the work is done in class with a teacher and other students to keep me accountable. While we were learning virtually, I had two hours a day in google meets, and the rest of the work was done on my own. At the beginning of 2021, I would finish my online class, then waste most of my day procrastinating on the work I had to complete. In an attempt to reduce the toll stress had on my mental health, I decided to change this. After classes were over, I set a timer for an hour and completed as much work as possible before allowing myself a break. Often after the hour, I would feel motivated to complete the assignment. Slowly, my assignments stopped piling up, and I left very few until the last minute. Practicing this habit for months gave me the ability to start working at any given moment and be productive.
This fall, my school finally went back full time in-person. While this had many positive aspects, such as improvements in my connections with my teachers, it also limited the amount of time I had to do assignments. Between school and my extracurriculars, it seemed like I had to do schoolwork whenever I was home. With this influx of schoolwork, I needed to be efficient with my time, and I turned back to the habits that I had learned earlier in the year. Immediately after returning home from school, I would start on my homework, allowing me to balance soccer, orchestra, church activities, and a healthy sleep schedule while maintaining my 4.0.