Time Management: The Greatest Ally/Enemy by Zayne

Time Management: The Greatest Ally/Enemy by Zayne - February 2023 Scholarship Essay

There are many skills required to do well in school: whether it be teamwork, communication, or problem solving. While all of these are important, they don't even come close to the most important skill for success in education. That being, time management. It usually ends up being the deciding factor in success or failure, but it is something that is far too often overlooked.

In elementary school, kids are starting to get used to having more responsibility in their lives, especially relating to education. One thing they rarely learn, however, is time management. Usually their teachers, or their parents, make sure they have everything done on time, and follow a schedule. This all changes when middle school rolls around, and they are handed a lot more responsibility, with a lot less structure.

Students get blindsided by homework, and deadlines, and often become overwhelmed by it all. Some will adapt, and get most everything done on time. These are generally the kids who will succeed in school, with good grades, and extracurricular achievements. Others will not be so lucky, and will fall behind, struggling to ever catch up. This can mean they have no opportunity to develop time management skills, and so go into high school completely unprepared for the next level of responsibility.

These kids are usually the ones who struggle with grades; who know the material, but don't do anything on time. It may be because they simply don't know how to manage their time, or, they think its pointless to try, since they've struggled so much with time management in the past. We usually label these kids as simply uncaring, or dull, but often times the truth is, they simply don't know how to manage their time.