As we talk today about how to improve time management for students. first I
think we need to dispel a common myth. And then get you a powerful tool so that
you can do this better. First of all, the myth. Time management. It's a myth. You
can't manage time. How would you do it? Where would you grab it? How would you
manipulate it or push it around? Can you save time? Not really. Where would
you keep it? Can you take some of today's time and apply it to tomorrow because
you don't want to use it yet? No. That's what I mean. Time management is a myth.
You can't manage time. Here's what we do know about time. We get the same
allotment every day, don't we? Every day. In fact, when people tell me, "Oh, I don't
have time for that." It's always a lie. If I say it, I'm lying. I don't have enough
time? You got as much time as anybody on the planet. 24 hours, 7 days a week.
True? How we use it can vary greatly from one person to the next? Really, instead of
saying I don't have time, we should probably say. "I don't value the activity
you're proposing enough to move other things." But that sounds rude, so we just
say we don't have time. The other factor that I think is important to consider is
we dispel this myth is that we could ever do anything at a time other than
now. When we're doing things it's now. Isn't it?
Can you do something later? No. I mean if you didn't do it right now, when you're
doing it, it will be now then. You can't do anything later.
When you do it, it's going to be now. That's the only time we can do anything.
So, with that understanding, let's see if we can apply some tools that will help
us with this. Students specifically tend to be under a lot of time constraints.
They feel strapped or stressed for their time. Part of this is because the general
guideline is that for every one hour in class, you spend 2 hours outside of
class doing your reading, you're studying your homework, your assignments. That's
the general rule. So, a student in college with a 3-course hour class is going
to be spending at least 6 hours outside of class. When you start to add
the classes together, you can see that this is a full-time job. Now, students at
different levels of schooling will have different requirements. But that's a
basic rule of thumb. 2 hours for every hour in class. When is that going to
happen? See the trap that we get into and may be that our students get into is
"Well, I'll do that later. No, you won't." Remember the myth? The only
time you can do anything is now. So, let's get clear about doing things now. You
can't do everything right now. In fact, right now, you and I are having a
conversation. You're not doing all that other stuff right now. So, let's define
now in a way that it can be useful for us. Now has a start time and an end time.
And a very specific task in between those 2 end points. The hour of
homework for example that needs to happen. It's not going to happen right
now because you're doing this right now. What now? This is where a calendar or
schedule becomes very useful. That's a way we can organize our Nows. My
calendar is simply a collection of nows. On my calendar, today is to spend this
time with you. I'm not doing anything else right now.
When you're watching this video, my now has already passed and I'm probably
doing something else. But right now while I have the camera in front of me, you're
the only one I'm talking to. Everything else has to wait for its own now. If you
look at tomorrow on my calendar, I have a whole bunch of nows lined up. Usually
with a client's name attached to it or a presentation that I'm giving or podcasts
that I'm hosting or whatever it is that I'm doing. Those nails are all lined up.
Start time, end time. Very specific tasks in between. What if I do the specific
task in the now that I planned it but I don't finish it. Yeah, does this ever
happen to you? Happens to me all the time. You create a new now. I think the main
part of this whole point is get clear about doing things now. And create the
now in which to do it. This is the best time management (Which is a myth)
technique that I could share with you. Before you move on to your next Now,
another powerful concept that comes from both philosophy and psychology is to
stay in the now. This is powerful. Especially for students who sometimes
wish as they're doing their studies that they were somewhere else. Staying present
has a double meaning. Present means here and present means now. Staying here
and now with the task at hand increases productivity and satisfaction. This is
really valuable for students who might not want to be doing this right now
but if they can stay present then this now becomes far more productive and they
get better outcomes. Stay here, stay now. When you're studying this particular
topic, be in that topic without allowing the mind to wander off here and in here.
Stay in the now. We get stuck in our own mind sometimes. And it's helpful to have
an accountability partner like a coach. Liveonpurpose.coach has a number
of resources for you. If this is something that would assist you in
moving forward with your goals, please check it out. You have some fantastic
people there who are trained in the principles that we talk about on this
channel. I'll see you tomorrow.