Tag: college

Posted on

Taking Your Time Back

Do your weeks feel hectic? Do you find that you never have time to breathe? Are you up until the wee hours of the morning finishing assignments? You have come to the right place. I have three tips on how to organize your planner for a successful workday. Not only will your planner be pretty, you will feel a sense of completion and maximize the time God has given you.

Before we begin, I use a Passion Planner. I like this planner because it allows me to account for every hour of my day and has many places for drawings and notes. Now grab your free passion planner printout here and we will begin.

COLOR

Each class, activity, work, social engagement and bible study has its own color. This allows me to see how much time I am investing into each activity. In my planner I draw in the time I am doing each activity. For example: I have class from 4:30-7, so I mark that block of time out for class.

I even plan specifically when I will be doing my homework. This sets visual boundaries and keeps me accountable for my time.

Feeling like you are doing homework or work projects in every “leftover” second of the day isn’t fun. This is why I have started to treat my workdays as 7am-5pm much like a professional business day. By deciding when my work time will be I have room for free time, which I also plan.

Color in action

As you see in my example, work time. exercise time and even social events. Some weeks I plan in watching the bachelor with my friends. Using assorted colors allows you to see where you are spending your time and it’s pretty.

 TASKS

Write down all the tasks you want to accomplish for each area, using the pre-determined color. Here I used seaweed green for one of my classes. Below I have written down all the tasks for the class I’d like to complete this week. When you have identified everything you want to complete, it will make your homework time smoother. These tasks are all the things you want to complete during a week.

snapshot of my weekly agenda

Separately, I suggest getting a small notebook or using notes on your phone to create a checklist of the tasks you must complete for the day.  The success you will feel from completing the tasks is so refreshing. Your energy will also be maximized because you have a daily goal you are working towards.

TIME

So that I am on top of my schedule, instead of my schedule being on top of me, I sit down on Sundays and plan out the upcoming week. Of Course, you can choose the day that suits you best to plan. I like Sunday because it feels like a breath of fresh air or a restart as I step into a new week. Whichever day you choose be consistent so you can stay in control of your schedule. The best part is – it only takes about 15 minutes and I feel way more confident going into the week.

So why color code and write out all these tasks? 

You will feel more peace going into your week. You will notice you procrastinate less. You will be satisfied with the work you complete. So this week I challenge you to down load the passion planner or purchase your planner of choice, get some markers or fancy pens, and give your self 15 minutes.

P.S. If you like an online calendar these same principles apply to you as well.

Proverbs 16:3 MSG

Put God in charge of your work, then what you’ve planned will take place.

Posted on

Brain Games or Action Steps

We are a week and a half into the new year. Everyone is high on motivation and getting those New Year resolutions completed. For many of us those resolutions are just empty words we cling to hoping that one day we will be: healthier, spiritually stronger or spending more time doing the things we love. STOP CLINGING TO WHAT COULD BE AND START DOING WHAT IT TAKES TO GET THERE.

Today I am going to share how I am taking control of my 2018 instead of watching it go by hoping, wishing and dreaming for a different outcome.

Dream Board in the Making…

  1. I got my butt off the couch and got some paper. I then wrote down all I wanted to accomplish this year under the different categories: health, hobbies, spiritual, school, work and financial.
  2. I then went to my local craft store and bought a poster board.
  3. Once I arrived back home I compiled all the craft supplies I owned and all the magazines I could find.
  4. You know what comes next…
  5. With my goals set and my crafting supplies ready I began to look through the magazines for pictures that were inspiring or represented what I plan to achieve.
  6. After 7 hours of looking, cutting and glueing I felt inspired for the year to come.
  7. Its not enough to just make the poster, hang it up where you will see it everyday inspiring you to make real change

Another fun way to get on track of your dreams and goals is to make lists. Not the kinda list that sits on your desk hoping to be acknowledged, a living list.

As a college student winter break can be exciting having a whole month to get stuff done or it can feel like a drag once you hit week 3. This year for break instead of wishing I would read a book, paint or get a coffee with friends I made a list of everything I wanted to get done this break. What made this list successful…

  • I wrote down everything I wanted to do
  • I then made a detailed chart of how it would look to accomplish each task.

For example one of my goals this break was to read. I expanded this in my chart by explaining that I would like to read 1 1/2 books this break. By expanding what reading looked like for me I then knew what I needed todo to accomplish this goal. Other goals my be a project coming this spring semester and planing how to get  it done without the panicked procrastination. Or maybe starting that hobby you “wish” you did. Whatever the goal it is possible. Just take baby steps.

If I’ve learned anything its that setting the timer for 30 minutes and then starting any task you want to achieve, time will go by in a jiffy. So don’t get to January 31st wondering what happen to the New Years resolution, make a dream board, make a list and then go achieve it.