Time Strategies

I selected the 2 hour/day MWF schedule, but I typically can't predict how my weekly breakdowns are going to look until the semester actually starts.  I've spent my first 2 years of undergraduate school trying to stick to a routine weekly schedule, but I just haven't been able to make my mind function on a week-by-week basis.  Instead, I tend to live out my semesters in exam cycles.  I've accepted that different methods work for different types of students, and this is one that has worked well for me so far. Each week is different depending on how close I am to the next wave of exams, but I wouldn't consider it procrastination.  I think this is just a recurring cycle that highlights my strengths rather than my weaknesses.  I work best under pressure and at night, so I spend my time directly after exams completing all of my work so I can spend my most productive hours studying.  

One of the articles, 3 Steps to Recapture Time, highlighted some of my biggest weaknesses in time management.  I am guilty of yielding my first 15 minutes every time I sit down.  I try to justify it as a reward for the work I'm about to do, when I should really just bite the bullet and get started.  I also have a bad habit of taking breaks when I've come to a challenging problem, one that does not make me eager to start working again.  Instead, I'm starting to actively take breaks when I come across easy tasks, this way it's much easier to motivate myself to start working again.

Analog Clock, Photograph, Source: RawPixel