Time is valuable, once it has passed it is something that you can never get back. Many people are always wishing that they had taken advantage of time that has already passed. This is because they lack proper time management skills. People dedicate their time to things that are unimportant: social media surfing, excessive talking, and watching television. People also don’t take time to plan out their day ahead of time.

Time management is extremely important for our everyday lives, especially as adults. The problem exists in schools, jobs, and homes. Students struggle with keeping track of their work and deadlines because of the lack of time management which has a negative effect on their grades. When grades are affected negatively, the problem becomes serious. Some adults don’t manage time well when it comes to their job. They come to work late often and don’t finish work at the time the boss has set. After coming to work late so many times, warnings, and write-ups build up, and this eventually leads to termination. Adults and children also struggle with managing time at home. Adults forget to pay bills sometimes which usually results in services such as lights or gas being interrupted. Children lose track of time when it comes to doing chores at home; they wait until the very last minute to do their chores. If it doesn’t get done, they miss out on the opportunity to get an allowance, and they face possible punishments from their parents. With simple time management skills, all this can all be avoided.

There are multiple solutions for managing time. Certain things and situations must be prioritized. When you are not aware of deadlines and time constraints, this leaves room for failure. Begin by identifying your short and long term goals, then take them and place them in order from very important to less important. After you’ve decided on which items you want to prioritize, create a plan that will lead you to successfully achieving your goals in a timely manner. Take things one step at a time. Achieve your goals at your own pace; you are managing your own time. You begin to manage your time more effectively, and there is no room for failure. Planning ahead is one key to excellent time management. Not having an organized routine to get through the day can result in frustration, stress, and not being able to accomplish goals. Once a plan is made and a day is organized, people will immediately notice the perks of time management. Most of the frustrating situations that people face can be avoided with effective planning and organizing techniques.

I have come up with three specific ways to obtain overall satisfaction with one’s day. One way to avoid disasters when it comes to managing time is to plan ahead of time. If the day is planned ahead of time, a person can just flow throughout their day without even thinking about it. John Casey says, “Technology helped get you into the time bind in the first place, so use it to help get you out. Try some of the many personal scheduling software programs that allow you to keep a calendar, and ‘to-do’ lists, on your phone or computer.” Whether it takes writing things down in a planner or scheduling your day on your phone, it is a good idea to plan ahead of time. According to Joe Matthews, “Carrying a schedule and record all your thoughts, conversations and activities for a week will help you understand how much you can get done during the course of a day and where your precious moments are going. You’ll see how much time is actually spent producing results and how much time is wasted on unproductive thoughts, conversations and actions.”

Another way to prevent losing precious time is to avoid procrastination. Procrastination is one thing that everyone struggles with, whether it be a student, parent, or grandparent. To avoid procrastination, one should set a deadline for oneself, and if it’s not complete, there should be some type of consequence. Maybe, you’ll have to run an extra mile when you work out, or wash dishes for an extra day. Punish yourself with something that you know you won’t enjoy. And if you do meet your deadline, reward yourself. One of the best ways to avoid procrastination is to “Bargain with yourself. If you finish the business plan now, you can go to the movies later.”

The best way to manage time is to block out anything that will get in the way of you completing your tasks. It can be social media, family, friends, or just about anything that will get in the way of you taking full advantage of the time you have in a day. In other words, you should basically put your life on “Do Not Disturb” when you know that you have work to get done. According to John Casey, from WebMD, one should just “learn to say ‘No’, turn off your cell phone and beeper. When someone asks you to do something that you really don’t have time to do, say no, politely, but firmly. And don’t allow yourself to feel guilty.”

While planning ahead is a good idea, putting your life on “Do Not Disturb” is a better idea. With planning ahead, you run the risk of perhaps losing your daily planner. If your planner is lost, then how will you know what you have planned for the day? Kelly Brickley put a humorous twist on losing her daily planner, she says, “Whether you call it a planner or an agenda, this little book becomes the lifeblood of many college students. If you’re anything like me, any possible event is in your planner. Assignments, exams, birthdays, BOGO Chick-fil-A sandwich days — you guess it, it’s in there. So you can imagine what it’s like to lose that precious book, even for a day.” Even if one chooses to use an electronic planner, what if the battery dies on the device in the middle of the day? When you put your life on do not disturb, you have the control, and you will be able to better focus on what need to be done.

Avoiding procrastination is an exceptional way to manage time wisely. The idea of bargaining with oneself is clever, yet not really thought out. I agree that people will reward themselves for completing tasks. Honestly, who would punish themselves for not completing tasks though? I can envision parents implementing this idea with their children; however I cannot envision an adult punishing themselves. It’s better for a person to just put everything else aside and focus on their work that needs to be done.

Though difficult, putting one’s life on “Do Not Disturb” is the best option. Everyone might not even be able to completely shut down everything, but it’s proven that people are able to focus better when there aren’t any outside distractions. Time management is extremely important for our everyday lives, especially as adults and students. Being able to block out things that aren’t important is a key skill that leads to excellent time management. Students will be able to do their work on time, resulting in better grades. Adults will be able to get to work on time, resulting in keeping their jobs. Parents will be able to pay bills on time, resulting in uninterrupted services. Children and teens will spend less time on their devices, or watching television, resulting in chores being done on time. Putting life on “Do Not Disturb” is the absolute best option when it comes to managing time effectively.