Where did your time go?

   Three weeks into school and students are already falling behind schedule. It’s too soon to be falling apart and too soon to be disappointing other people. I am not sure at what point in life procrastination kicks in, but I’m going to date it back to high school and a made-up syndrome called senioritis.

In high school—when teachers used to hold our hands, as they like to say—students would have every opportunity to make up assignments, tests, absences, etc. In college it is different but people take too long to realize that. I’d say that if it takes more than a year, then the person is not responsible, therefor not reliable.

I know I probably sound like a hypocrite to all the people that know me, since I do procrastinate, I admit it. As a matter of fact, I procrastinated writing this column. However, I never fail to meet deadlines, and you’ll never see me failing a class or getting fired from a job because of inadequacy and this comes from a guy who works two jobs and takes five to eight classes a semester.

Now, this is where my ill-given advice comes in, it’s all about time management. We need to learn how to manage our time and our life, meaning that we have to know how to make time for our obligations, family, friends and all else we deem important.

A lot of people try to fit everything into their to-do list when in reality you can only tackle a couple of things per day. Others leave things for last minute and go around saying, “I work best under pressure”—I actually find myself guilty of saying that. And sure, you can do it all under pressure, but can you do things under pressure when something unexpected comes up and you can no longer complete your previous task? Sometimes tolerance is not what you need, but more time.

I’ve tried doing things as soon as I get them, and if I don’t finish them I at least start them. Therefor if some unexpected plan interferes I already have something done. I’m not going around pulling my hair screaming as much as I did previous semesters, so I’m guessing it has been working for me.

I encourage all to do the same and act a bit more responsible since we are in college, the “adult world.” As I mentioned previously, it is too soon to be falling apart, and if you’re already stressed out then what do you expect will happen a month or two from now when you are in midterms and finals? You’ll find yourself asking where all your time went, and you’ll listen to yourself lamenting those extra hours you spent online creeping around other people’s Facebook accounts.

Alejandro Alba may be contacted at prospector@utep.edu.