Lao Tzu commented that time is a created thing. “To say ‘I don’t have time’ is like saying, ‘I don’t want to.'” How you spend your time signals your values and priorities. Show the world what matters to you while using our 12 Days of Time Management for Teens:
Ever notice how a runner will race a marathon differently than she will a sprint? The main distinction lies not in the nature of running itself but rather in where the finish line is placed. The endpoint defines the race.
Your academic career and the bright professional one that is sure to follow look very much alike: lots of projects, some of them sprints and some marathons. But every opportunity you’ll have to display your mastery shares one important trait. Every one has an endpoint.
The end of a task may lie when the work must be submitted. At other times, the day of the test or event marks its terminal point. Even ongoing jobs or roles still include important junctions, often dictated by the calendar but sometimes by the rhythms of an industry.
While some endpoints may full us with dread of the unknown, the end of a task should be embraced. No less a luminary on productivity than Stephen Covey identified the ability to Begin with the End in Mind as one of the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. He may have taken a different approach to endings, but still acknowledges their importance.
Why should you care so much about endpoints? Because they define the scope and duration of work. Placing the finish line further away does not, as Aesop’s regretful hare learned, mean that you can begin the race later or run more slowly. Rather, once you know where the race ends, you can select the proper pace needed to finish strong. And when the race ends, you know the time for running is over: don’t expect to be able to submit work past your deadlines. Work to the end, then relax. Then get ready to run again!
The 12 Days of Time Management for Teens is inspired by and draws liberally from Etienne Garbugli’s excellent Slideshare presentation, 26 Time Management Hacks I Wish I’d Known at 20. Obviously, we think this advice is valuable even for students younger than 20!
Mike Bergin