From Procrastinating to Effective Time Management by Ta'Keecia

From Procrastinating to Effective Time Management by Ta'Keecia - January 2022 Scholarship Essay

I have always had an issue with procrastination, I always waited until the last minute to get my school work done which can affect my grade because it doesn’t leave much room to ask questions about the assignment or to do research. I decided to change my mindset to be more efficient with my time management by using my goal and something I love too in my spare time as motivation and reward but I also needed a strategy to start and finish the work I started. Since homework is done online and the school provided an app that notified me of assignments and their due date, it made it a bit easier to stay focused on the work I had to get done and not miss any assignments. These combine improved my efficiency in time management during 2021.

My career goal is set but sometimes I may forget how important it is for me and the benefits that are yet to come once my studies are complete and how well I do will affect the outcome. Sometimes I needed short-term goals to keep me focused. I used something as simple as telling myself that once I complete a specific homework It will leave me with more time in the future, which could be the next day or the weekend, to watch my favorite show or follow up on content posted by my favorite artist. I was surprised at how well it worked because most times people tell me to use my career as motivation but sometimes that’s not enough to get me started on the little tasks, therefore I learned that motivation can come from anything, anyone, or anywhere

I also learned that assignments may seem extremely difficult until I start them, then I realized how much easier it is than I thought. I decided that with each assignment I will start it even if it is just writing the title or one sentence or even just reading the instructions and jotting down what I plan to do. It is not always effective but I was able to manage my time a lot better and no matter how little I did, I tried to start the assignment because starting it is the hardest part. Also to remind me to continue what I started, I set reminders on my calendar or leave the tab open on my computer so I will see it and remember to continue. Leaving the tab open works the best for me because I don’t like seeing more than two or three tabs open at a time so it pushes me unconsciously to finish the assignment as soon as possible so I can close the tab. With these changes, I can continue to improve my time management skill which will be helpful not just in school but also in my private and work life in the future.