Patty Gonzalez
English 250
K.Warren
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Nowadays, there are a lot of Students that tend to fail there classes or decide
to drop out of college because they don’t have the time to go to school. Most
don’t know how to manage time wisely. Trying to find time to go to school,
study, and work is hard. Most college students have a full-time job as well as
being a full-time student. I know that I have struggled and faced some
obstacles in trying to keep up with my classes as well as performing all of my
duties at work. Some of the things that help in managing time was using a planner.
For me, I found it a little hard to try to find time to study between
having a full-time job, being a full-time student, and follow up with my
oncologist. What made it easier for me to do is to have a planner and write
down everything from hanging out with friends, watching television and all that
I have to get done. For example, I had an essay assigned to me, and my boss
told me that they really needed me at work all week especially on the 
weekend. Knowing that I
was going to work all week, I decided to break down my days in my planner. I
would take a notebook to work and freewrite my essay.
Because I was free writing, I didn’t pay attention to spelling, structure, or
grammar. I just wrote down all that I knew about the topic, everything that I
still wanted to know and some notes of my own. Knowing that I had only nights
to work on my essay worried me, but because I had a planner handy, I used it to
know what I needed to get done. Because we
have a computer in the break room at Ross, I was able to use it and save my
work onto my memory stick, which made it so much easier for me. Knowing that I had
no free time, made me think that I would have a not-so-good essay. But when I
got it back, I realized that I had gotten an “A” on it. Because I took it step
by step and followed my planner, I did a good job on it.
At work, I would let my manager know when I could work ahead of time if I knew that I would have a test, midterm coming up so I could have time to study. If there was no way that I was able to get time off, I would take homework or book to study while on break or lunch. My manager at Ross knew that I was going to school full-time as well, so he would understand when I was late or couldn’t be show up because I had to do something for school. He was very understanding. I tend to do homework little by little because it helps me better. For instance, if I would be working on an essay all day my essay would only be okay, but if I break it down like one paragraph a day my essay would be better. I can’t be on a certain subject for a long time because I would get bored. I hate when deadlines change on me because that means I have to rearrange my schedule at work, but I know that in college that could happen so in that case I would do my homework as soon as I get it.
At
first, it was very hard for me to get use to the change of always having
something to do. Without school, my schedule was busy already. For, I had to go
to my oncologist at least once a week. That was hectic because I was working at
Ross full-time, so making the time to go to
My
sister Maricela Gonzalez is currently attending 
going
to school full-time, having a full-time job, she is happily married and has
three beautiful girls. The oldest is six years old and she has twins too they
are five years old. She has been working for the bank for five years. She loves
it very much. When I asked her how she did it, she said, “Just take things slow
and don’t stress about little things” yes things were rough for her at first
but with time she got used to it. Being a supervisor is very stressful, she
says, because you have to constantly be making reports to your manager and make
sure everyone is doing their job. Using a planner was her life saver, she said.”I had to write everything in my planner, and I mean
everything, even to watch TV I would check off things as they got done, and
when I would have extra time I would go back and make sure I didn’t miss
anything. In my free time, I would be in school with a tutor to make sure I did
my work the right way” she said that she basically lived on campus. There were
times that she wished she would have more time to go to a tutor, but with her
job and her kids it was impossible. There are times that she feels like just
giving up because her girls don’t see her that much. Her 
oldest, Leslie, told
her,” Mom, why don’t you play with me and the twins anymore? We miss you a
lot.” When she told me that, her eyes got watery. Because, she wished that she
could spend more time with them but the reason why she is going to school is
for them. So she has a good job to get them what they want. She wants to be a
good role model. To prove to everyone that if she can do it anyone can. My
sister is my role model. I don’t know anyone else that is a full-time student,
full-time worker, and a full-time mom. That has to be very hard, but she is
able to pull it off.
According to Jennifer Nichols, “Get Time on Your Side,” she asked college students around the country to see what their biggest problem in college was most said, finding time. There are several steps to take in order to make it work. Dr. Edward O’Keefe, author of Self Management for College Students: the ABC Approach suggests “listing your goals for college. Don’t limit your goals to academic ones.” Seeing your goals written down for you will make you feel like it’s worth spending time on them. The next step is to determine how you like to work. Being in college is very different from high school. In high school you had a teacher you would constantly remind you of deadlines. In college it’s all up to you to get it done, you work independently. Always ask yourself if you work best with a full or empty schedule, a morning person or evening. Jennifer Nichols has a very good guideline to follow for being on top of your schedule. First, keep track of your time; students who do this realize that they had way more time than they thought they did. Second, write stuff down. You can use a laptop or notebook to write down notes or any important information given to you. Third, balance your class load. Having your classes in two or three days is better than to have them all throughout the week. Fourth, make use of daytime hours. A lot of first-year college students tend to wait to do homework at night, but its best to do it throughout the day in between classes or breaks. Fifth, take a break. Make sure that when you pick your classes you have breaks in between to take a walk and distract yourself. Sixth, talk to your professors. Don’t be afraid of them. They are willing to help you but you have to ask for it. Seventh, don’t sweat the small stuff. Don’t worry about house chores you need to do it’s not worth the extra stress.
In conclusion, having time management will benefit you in the long run.
Somebody who is able to use his or her time wisely has the ability to go
further in life. There will be times when all you want to do is give up, but
just pull out that planner and follow it. Having a planner is very useful. It
has helped my sister Maricela and me a lot. Without
that planner, I think we would have both gotten lost and just quit. But we were
organized and followed our planner. I believe that everyone especially
first-time students should use one to see if it works for them. But believe me,
it will make a difference to know that you broken down your day, and you will
be able to get things done on time. You will be able to see when you can go and
just have fun. The most important thing is to take things step by step. Don’t
rush into anything.
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Works Cited
Gonzalez, Maricela (
Nichols, Jennifer. “Get Time
on Your Side.” Careers & Colleges 24.5 (March 2005): 25-25.
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