If I knew all the words

Have you ever asked yourself how some people are able to work so many different activities into their schedules while others barely seem to have the time to attend classes? are they smarter? Probably not. More organized? Probably. Better at managing time? You got it!

Time management is important to any person, but particularly to student organizations members and leaders. Involvement in extra or co-curricular activities means that in addition to classes, homework, meals, jobs, and socializing, another significant amount of time is taken up with organizational obligations.

Time management is a personal skill; only you know your peak work hours, your attention span, your eating and sleeping needs– which must be planned for. Finding a time management strategy that best fits your needs is important.

Follow what I call the Big Five:

1. Plan-Individuals who set personal goals have a greater chance of success. Create realistic goals, believable and achievable. People who set goals also evaluate their progress and make any necessary changes on a regular basis. So, if you want to better manage your time, your first step is to set the goals you would like to achieve, either for the semester, year or throughout your college career.

2. Assess- Assess how you currently use your time. You cannot make productive changes unless you know what areas need to be changed. Keep a log of your time and find the breaks in your day where you can make changes. Begin to prioritize your activities and work your way down your list.

3. Organize- Ideally, you should make a list each morning of everything that you need to do for that day. Some people find it more helpful to list their “things to do” in 5 to 7 day groupings. In this way they can plan for longer projects and get a better sense of their week. Whichever method you choose, keep in mind that everyone has good and bad days. Don’t hide if you don’t accomplish everything, just include the uncompleted tasks to your next day’s list and get them done.

4. Prioritize- After you have recorded these “things to do”, go over the list and rewrite in priority order which things you need to do at the top and less important/pressing tasks at the bottom. Keep in mind due dates, commitments you have made, and whether or not these tasks involve other people. How you choose to prioritize is a very personal matter. What is important is that you are responsible with your priorities. Review your personal goals-how do these priorities fit with your goals?

5. Schedule- The last thing to do is to take this list and begin to work these “things to do” into your schedule.Remember to leave room for breaks, socializing and those unexpected things that pop up. There’s no use making a schedule that is impossible to follow.

Try these suggestions, see what works for you best, and then be sure to integrate them into your learning lifestyle. Learning effective time management now will help you throughout your personal life and professional career.

Learn to say now. You will reach a point when there is only so much that you can do instead of burning yourself out or not doing quality work. Learn to balance how much you can do with what you need to do.

photo from flickr gamookie

As a senior public relations student, active leader, and former Panhellenic Vice President of Recruitment for Greek Life at the University of Oregon I’ve taken on the role of team leader and manager of my peers in various situations. Along the way I’ve learned a few tips I thought I would share with my peers for when they take on this role. Whether it is during a plans and problems class, campaigns class, your account team at work, or a sports team being a leader can be a tricky task.

When I was in kindergarten I learned the concept of ’sharing’, now some of my classmates didn’t quite grasp this idea of sharing like I did. In team efforts you share your thoughts and ideas to accomplish a common goal. More often than not a team leader emerges to help guide your team on the right path to this common goal. These leaders have two choices, they can MANAGE the team or they can LEAD the team. This is a fine line and only few know how to truly LEAD a team to success.

When dealing with your peers, especially as students no one wants to admit that someone else is smarter than they are. So the leader needs to be aware of its member thoughts and feelings and follow these six steps on how to successfully lead your peers to accomplishing a common goal:

1. Gain Trust-you must show your team members that you are there to work with them.

2. Listen & Collaborate- Let your team members know their voice is important. That their ideas are valuable and you can work together to improve the path to your goal by working together. More heads are always better than one!

3. Avoid Micromanaging-As a leader, when you begin to micromanage you lose the trust of your team. You begin to take over their task and it becomes a one man show. This defeats the purpose of the team.

4.Direct constructive critisism toward your goal- If team members are off task or moving in a different direction come together as a group and define your common goal again. Never put down a team member but build off what they’ve done and find a way to move on from there.

5.Express Each member is vital to group success- Without the team you as a leader will be alone to accomplish this goal. Every person brings ideas, personality, and passion to your team. Without certain members you may not be able to move forward. Be a cheerleader. Let them know without them this project would not be happening

6. Communicate-Without communication your team will go no where. Your team must trust that they can come to you for help if they are stuck. Without communication the team doesn’t know if they are moving forward or standing still. Communicate the good and the bad. Each member must be knowledgeable about all aspects of your project.

You learn how to lead as you experience it. Leading can be intimidating because everyone is looking to you for direction, but turn it around and make it a group effort where everyone is a part of the process. When you are a successful leader it encourages others to do their part become a part of the team. For more information and leadership skills check out the resources from the Holden Leadership Center at the University of Oregon.