#but it's gonna be an exercise navigating the internet avoiding stuff

[torgawl]

trying to avoid leaks like

[incaseyouart]

so this year is gonna be busy for me cuz i have some important exams, and my teachers assign SO MUCH HOMEWORK?? and i can't really find time to improve on art. so im curious, how YOU manage time with school and art??

I literally schedule EVERYTHING. Sticking to a schedule is very important for time management. Of course sometimes I do procrastinate but generally I stick to my schedule. Setting up reminders helps too!

Additionally, there is a lot more information/advice here: 

Hello! My name is Anna. I am a friend of Vic and she waskind enough to have me add on something to her post. This is a little bit of along post but it walks through a lot of ways to begin & maintain timemanagement so hopefully it teaches you something. 

First, I want to say that time management is intimatelylinked to self-control and both of these are mental “muscles”. What I mean bythis is…

… that you need to work out these muscles to have them grow. Not everyone hasamazing time management at baseline. However, these muscles bulk up quicklywith some perseverance. Time management and self-control become mucheasier. Don’t get discouraged. It will get easier! You just need to keepworking at it.

Second, Vic’s right that scheduling is one of the best waysto have good time management. This is because it makes you aware of exactly howmuch time you have to do things.

‘But how do I schedule?’ you might ask. My suggestion is toprioritize what you need to get done in a week and fill out your schedule inthat order. For me, that priority is:

1.    Clinic (I am in med school so “clinic” is aFamily Medicine clinic where I work/study)

2.    Other immovable things – dentist appointments,mandatory activities

3.    Studying – making class notes & studyingthem

4.    Social life - family/friends/my partner

5.    I try to exercise 3-4x a week

6.    I also have a chronic pain condition and need todo individual physiotherapy exercises (“physio”) minimum 4 nights a week.

I do schedule my life in this order and I use differentcolours in my calendar to keep it straight. Red is stuff I absolutely can’tmove (clinic & other immovable things), blue is studying, purple is socialstuff/other stuff.

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to increase the amountof exercise & physio I do. To keep me aware of them, when I completeexercise or physio I turn that block green to say I did it. Then at the end ofthe week, I count them up and see if I’ve met my resolution.

Here’s what this week looks like to me:

Make sure you use ALL of your day – don’t wake up in themorning and scroll for an hour on your tumblr without scheduling that into yourday. It’ll make you more aware of it.

To avoid getting overwhelmed, I don’t schedule mystudying/social stuff in for a given week until the weekend before. I sit downon the Sunday and stick in what I want to do for the next week. Right now, myschedule for next week looks like:

Third, self-control. One of my biggest issues is/was that Iwould get distracted by my phone and the internet when studying. Again, trustme on this, this comes with time and practice. However, I also use some handyapps to help me focus.

On my computer, I use “SelfControl”(if you look it up, it’s a skull on the ace of spades, which looks a littleintimidating but I highly recommend it). SelfControl helps you blacklistwebsites on your internet for a limited period of time (up to 24 hours but Iusually use it for 30 mins to 3 hours). This allows you to study or researchwithout getting distracted by Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, etc.

Link: https://selfcontrolapp.com

On my phone, I use the app Forest. Basically, you set a time for a pre-determined length oftime (10 mins to 2 hours) and you “plant a tree”. When you plant a tree, youcommit to not using the phone for that length of time. If you do navigate awayfrom the app or if you “give up” on the tree, it notifies you that your treewill die. And you don’t want to kill your cute little tree! It’s super fun andyou also get rewards for not touching your phone. Every day, you get to see thegarden you grow from your trees.

 Link: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/forest-stay-focused-be-present/id866450515?mt=8

 Fourth, some ways to save time:

·     Cook meals ahead on the weekend – I make a bigpot of something and just put in the fridge & eat from it during theweeknights

·     Put out your clothes the night before

·     Get up and put on Forest in the morning for 15minutes. Get entirely ready for school/work (pack bags, get on clothes/makeup)and then eat breakfast and go on your phone while you eat – that way you’re allready!

Fifth, I just want to say – be kind to yourself. You can’tschedule MORE time into your life; time is finite. You may try to schedule yourweek and say “there’s no way I can complete all of this stuff.” You’re going tohave to compromise. Maybe one day you study less and see family, maybe one dayyou say you need to study and can’t see your friends. Take a deep breath andsay “Time is finite but I’m working hard and doing my best and that’s all I cando.” Make sure you give yourself breaks and schedule times that are forwhatever your heart desires.

You’re not a machine. But you can be more organized and conscientiousof what you do with your time. And it is possible to do it! You’re just need tokeep working out those time management muscles. J

- Anna

Ps. If you have any questions for me about this approach orwant to join my Forest family and get us both rewards (haha but I’m alsoserious)– my twitter is @AnnaStellate.