LEARNing to Tell Time

Having bad time habits can cause many problems. Poor time management stems from a lack of ability in managing one’s time efficiently. There are some common “time pitfalls” that most people fall victim to. Working on these bad time habits can surely improve the quality of life. We mostly learn to manage time from a very young age. But, as life gets busier, we can be more susceptible to faulty time management.

With the Ateneo and its students being the focus of this study, the following reasons for bad time management have come up in our group’s initial research:

Setting wrong priorities. Students tend to pay attention to other things rather than the more important work that needs to be done.

Procrastination. They waste a lot of time getting sidetracked and putting off work until the last minute.

Constant tardiness. Students also lose time whenever they are unable to meet deadlines or whenever they are unable to follow their schedules. Work then piles up and/or gets pushed back.

No schedule/unorganized. Sometimes, students don’t even have a to-do list or a schedule to follow. They can’t plan or organize work and they are unable to keep track of the things that they’re supposed to do.

Unpreparedness. Not preparing for a report or an exam for example, causes a student to cram. This often yields mediocre or very poor results.

Meanwhile these are some factors affecting time management:

Extra-curricular activities. Students spend a lot of time in their organizations and other commitments. 

Work environment. Work areas may not be conducive.

Health. Bad time management can affect one’s sleep or diet. It poses problems for our health and general well-being.

Study habits. Students with great study habits generally don’t face this kind of problem.

Workload. Sometimes students have too much work given to them or they have a really full schedule that’s why they tend to not finish their work on time.

Sooner or later the students’ poor time management skills take a toll on them and it gravely affects their lifestyle. They constantly feel under pressure and always running out of time with the amount of work they have to do. Along the way, they would soon forget things or tend to be careless. Also, they sometimes find themselves unable to start working and distracted. This is mostly caused by their lack of organization and bad planning. Stress is also a major indicator of bad time habits. Not only is it an inconvenience, it also affects their health and the quality of their outputs.

Lastly the group decided to take into consideration the following points for further analysis:

• “Power” of the planner/advantages of having a planner
• Different styles of managing time
• Tools/aids that can help manage time better
• Root causes
• Interests of people involved
• Possible solutions
• Aspects of a student’s university life
• Implications/results

*LA Campeña