Does this sound familiar? You are
sitting at the computer typing away at your paper that is due tomorrow. You
think to yourself, “I need a break. I have worked on this for a while now and I
deserve a short break.” You get on Facebook to check out the TWU Health Studies
page and then you look through your feed. Next, you decide to visit Tublr,
Vine, YouTube and then you realize that hours have passed during your “short
break.” Sometimes it isn’t even the internet that sucks you into abyss of time
wasting. It could be Netflix, Vudu, or the gaming console. We all have the same
24 hours a day, but sometimes we want a few more hours a day just to get everything
done. On some occasions a whole extra day would be useful as well.
Unfortunately, we cannot create time, we can only manage it.
Time management skills are a difficult to master at first, but once you get into a routine you are an assignment completer machine! The key to time management is to maintain a healthy balance among work, school, family, personal time and don’t forget sleep. But everyone has different needs when it comes to time management. Some people need a schedule, others might need a list of things to accomplish and then there are those that need to have all distractions out of reach and out of sight. Let’s explore some options that could help you become a time manager extraordinaire.
Doris
This is not the same Doris found in
the movie Meet the Robinsons, a
bowler hat robot that tries to take over the world. Oh no, this is a friendly
and ease to use app that can be used on a computers and smartphones. It allows
you to make lists of items to accomplish or a to-do list. Once you accomplish
the task, simply select it and it checks the item and is removed from the list.
There is access to a task history which allows you to see all of your proud
accomplishments. Users can even make multiple to-do lists. If you are a person
who cannot seem to get a handle on what needs to be accomplished and just need
a list to remind you, then Doris is for you. More information about Doris can
be found here.
Rescue
Time
Do you have problems browsing the
internet rather than writing your discussion board post? Then Rescue Time is
the tool for you. Rescue Time is an app that helps users understand their daily
habits and what hinders their productivity. It is a program that runs in the
background of computers or mobile devices and records what the user is doing.
Rescue Time can provide detailed reports to show you how many minutes or hours
you spent watching those cute cat videos. On a good note, Rescue Time does show
you all of the important tasks you completed too. Say you get sucked into Vine
videos and you need a reminder to get back to work, you can set up a reminder
to work on your final paper after 10 minutes. For those of you who are hardcore
about being locked down to finish the literature assignment, Rescue Time allows
you to completely block the use of certain websites, so the temptation is out
of reach completely. The website block can be password protected. This might be
something evil that your roommate could hold over your head, so be careful as
to who sets up the passwords. To get more information about Rescue Time, click here.
Wunderlist
Is a great tool and is more of a
to-do list on steroids. Wunderlist list
not only allows users to make a to-do list, but it set reminders, due dates,
allows the user to add notes, upload files, add subtasks, email the file or
to-do list to others and even sets reminders for others. This is the ideal
group project app and if you are enrolled in course within the Department of
Health Studies, you know we like group projects. You can send reminders to the
group letting them know that draft one is due next week and that you need to
meet soon. Wunderlist even allows you to
have separate categories such as work, personal, family, school and the list of
movies that you need to catchup on because you cannot fit them all into your
schedule during the summer. You can find more information about Wunderlist here.
The great thing is that these apps
and programs are free! Of course there are some upgrades that cost some money,
but the free versions are effective. Each app is able to be used on several
devices too. Now you have some tools to help you become a more effective time
manager.
If you need more time management tips visit our other post: http://twuhealthstudies.blogspot.com/2011/11/time-management-tips.html
References
Rescue Time. (n.d.). Rescue time. Retrieved from https://www.rescuetime.com/
Seagull Systems Ltd. (2014). Doris. Retrieved from http://beta.dorisapp.com/
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1 comment:
There is no doubt with the fact that with a proper time management, the level of productivity is always at a peak pace. For a better control over the time management, I prefer keeping track of the hours spent on a particular task and project. That approach some what makes me manage the time with respective approach.
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