Journal #14:
1- My self management system has been horrible this semester. I know it is no excuse, but when starting to college I had a job at the same time so sometimes I prioritized my job. When I started to realize that I was doing this, I decided to cut down my working hours. When I did decide to cut down my working hours, it was too late because most of the material for all my classes had already been covered and I missed out on a lot. When trying to remember what homework I needed to do for the following day, I had to ask a peer of mine or else I would forget. In order to prepare for a test, sometimes I felt like I would just be able to do it without studying but this didn’t work out so fine. I began to study days prior to exams as soon as the semester was almost over. I currently use this “last minute” / remembering everything on my own system, because sometimes I feel like I work best under pressure but then again it doesn’t work out for me because I end up feeling stressed out since everything is piled up on me. My system is not effective at all and I’m still working on it for next semester. I’ve learned that this is obviously not effective if I’m trying to get through college.
2- I honestly wouldn’t use the next action list because it requires me to write more information than I need. I feel like I would be able to work better if I have a concise list, in where I can just get to the point. I like to keep it short and simple and then be able to get to it. A tracking form seems more organized because I would be able to jot down what I have to do and then go back and see if I checked it off & actually got it done within the time I was planning to do so. A project folder would come in handy because I’m still working on my organization skills. All throughout the semester I lost papers and was all over the place in having a organized project folder everything would become more simple. I could start using my phone for self management by setting daily alarms, especially when it comes to waking up in the morning for a class. I would also be able to time myself while doing homework, and give myself enough time for every course not just one. The best hand written system would be to obtain a dated planner where I would be able to refer back to everyday.