Make Time Work for You

Everyone has 24 hours in a day. But have you ever felt like 24 hours just aren’t enough? If so, it’s time to look at how you manage your time. Here’s how Ava and Ben found ways to use their time more effectively.

During the winter vacation, I tried to plan ahead and wrote down what I had to do in my planner. However, at the end of the day, I found out that I didn’t finish many of the things I had to do — or worse, I didn’t even start. I always wondered why. How could I be busy all day but not finish much?

One day, I saw my sister tracking her spending in a diary. She always knew what she spent her money on. That gave me an idea: maybe I could try this out with my time.

So, I started a time diary. Every hour, I recorded what I was doing. When I looked at the results, I was shocked! I spent too much time on my phone instead of doing my tasks. That was a wake-up call.

Since then, I’ve been keeping my time diary every day. I not only list my tasks but also track how much time I actually spend on them. By doing this, I can stop wasting time and finish more things.

Three weeks ago, I had an important exam. I sat down to study, but my mind kept wandering. I thought about snacks, games, anything but studying. An hour passed, and I barely did anything. I needed to do something about it. I thought for a while and realized I had to manage my time better.

I made a deal with myself: study for 40 minutes, then take a break. I grabbed my mom’s kitchen timer, set it, and got started. But after just 15 minutes, I was already losing focus. 40 minutes felt too long, so I reset the timer for 20 minutes. When it rang, I was still focused! After I tried a few more times, I finally found the time block that works for me: 25 minutes of study and a 5-minute break. From then on, I’ve been making study plans by using this time block. It has made a big difference, and now I can stay on task.