There are many sayings about time. Some will say that there is not enough time: “There is never enough time, unless you’re serving it.” Some will say that those who say that are just confused: “Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours every day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein.”
As college students, one of the many things most of us fail at is time management. Honestly, college is not that hard; it is finding enough time among all of the freedom and distractions to study and go to class that gets difficult. If one does that, one will probably find that passing is not that hard.
With that said, hopefully it becomes clear that time is the most valuable thing. To me, my time is worth more than anything that I physically own. Perhaps this is because I do not have much of it for myself… or maybe I just do not own much stuff.
Currently, I am enrolled in 22 credit hours, although I really have about 27 hours because I cheat the system. I also run on the track/cross country team, and am involved in clubs and volunteer activities. Among all of this, I have to find time to practice, do homework, fix people’s computers, write silly articles and pretend to be socially adept. Of course, I also have to sleep, eat, use the bathroom and – occasionally – shower.
My GPA is not horrible (3.64 last semester), I have not been kicked out of music school or the track team yet, and I seem to have friends. Therefore, I am content. This is why I dislike the excuse, “I’m sorry, I just don’t have time.” In my mind, there is nothing for which I do not have time as long as I want to make time for it.
Last year, my coach sent us an e-mail on Sunday with the coming week’s workouts. That Monday’s workout was 14 miles in the morning and six to eight miles in the evening. I e-mailed him back saying that I did not have time to do that (I had classes starting at 8:30 a.m. until late afternoon), and his response was something along the lines of, “Well, do it anyway.” So, I thought about it. Then I did it.
I did my homework, then I took a nap. I woke up around midnight and did my 14 miles. I got about six hours of sleep, went to classes, then did my six miles later that evening after classes. It was that day that I realized two things: one, weather of 100 degrees plus high humidity does not work well for running, and two, I have time to do whatever I want to do. I will make time to do whatever it is I want to do.
You do not “not have time.” You just wasted it talking to your friend that you passed while walking out of class, then that other friend while you walked into the Danna Center, then another friend in the lobby of your residence hall.
Two hours later, you finally make it back up to your room, and you have forgotten what you had planned to work on, so you go on Facebook and waste another hour. Then it is time to eat, so you go eat with your friends, and you guys run into some other people, so you spend a good while chatting in the O.R.
I am being serious when I say that I have run into people while heading to a destination, and they will tell me, in the midst a half-hour conversation, “I am so busy today. I have all this work to do, and I haven’t done any of it yet.” Do you find yourself doing stuff like this? Maybe you just do not notice it.
When asked what I wanted for Christmas this year on the extra credit section on a midterm, I said “breakfast.” It may seem like a silly answer, but there are many implications behind it. First, this is my hoping that I will be alive some time in the future.
Second, if I am alive, I will want to eat breakfast, and so will you. If you go to breakfast with me, you are giving your time, which you could be spending on something or with someone else, to me. What more could a person give to me than their time and attention? Nothing is worth more to a person than their time, and I have it. Doesn’t that make me feel special?
Lastly, good food and good conversation means quality bonding, which is good.
My advice is to get off Facebook, Twitter, 4chan and Reddit. YouTube is ok; it can actually be helpful. Also, texting and IMing while doing work only makes the work last twice as long, and it becomes lower in quality. Also, by getting off Facebook, you save yourself the trouble of getting angry at people’s incredibly dumb status updates. I digress; that is a discussion for another time.
If you set your priorities straight, you will not have trouble finding time to do everything that you want to do, even your low-priority activities. If you find yourself low on time, try re-evaluating your schedule and focusing on what is important, whether that be practicing for an extra half-hour or taking a nap. Naps are wonderful. Be sure to give the people you care about the time they deserve, and watch out for those who say they care but do not give you any time.
Kenny Tsao is a music education junior. He can be reached at
In My Opinion is a weekly column
open to any Loyola student. Those
interested in contributing can contact
