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                                                                       The Essence of Time

                 There is not enough time in one day! This is a statement made by most people in the world today. The biggest issue with this is that there is more than enough time in one day. There are 24 hours in one day, if managed correctly, a lot will get accomplished. There are different reasons for multitasking, but there are more reasons why it isn’t at all possible. Great authors such as Sarah D. Sparks and Steve Mueller give great demonstrations on this topic. These demonstrations indicate why time management and prioritizing are important. However, they also state why multitasking is not humanly possible.

               Should I type this paper and cook at the same time? The daily battle of multitasking is constant but according to Sarah D. Sparks the brain can’t be in two places at one time. In todays’ society, Larry D. Rosen says,” on average, he found, 13-to 18- year-olds use more than six types of media simultaneously during out-of-school time.” This may contribute to students having difficulty concentrating on lectures. A major issue in the world today is texting, which causes students to miss vital information during lectures. Multitasking affects student’s attention while listening or reading. Distractions affects remembering what was taught and getting the brain back focused on the lesson. During recent studies it was found that students who multitask performed 10% to 25% worse than students who focus their attention on one thing. One specific study in 1992 called the “Marshmallow Test,” proved a series of events. It showed that self-control, and delaying gratification can increase success in life and college. Also, other studies show it takes longer to multitask than focusing on one individual task at a time. This plays a major role with decision making while multitasking and delays the second task. Having to make a decision while concentrating on something else causes a “bottleneck” in the pre frontal cortex of the brain according to Steven G Yantis. (Sparks)

                 Life can throw a curve ball and force a person to have to complete more than one task at a time. I tried multitasking to perform my everyday life duties. I found myself doing this while cooking, cleaning and preparing my son for school. By far this was three of the hardest things to do dealing with my very young child. I was; baking fish, vacuuming the floor and helping my son with homework. In this process I did get everything accomplished. Unfortunately, I burned my fish and forgot to vacuum my bedroom. In addition, my son didn’t color his homework, which was in bold letters on paper. I realized if I had just helped him with homework first, cleaned second, and cooked last. Then I probably would have been successful with everything fully. As humans we are able to switch our attention from task to task, but it is physically and mentally impossible to operate as a computer.

                   According to Steve Mueller, some people are able to accomplish so much more than most the population. Prioritizing your day can be a big task in life but the key to success. Steven Covey who wrote the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People came up with a matrix to help people with managing their time. It takes a skill to manage time and Coveys matrix allows a person to organize priorities. It is important to know the difference between important and urgent; important meaning responsibilities that help achieve one’s goals and urgent meaning it needs to be done as soon as possible. This has a lot to do with addressing a task immediately or postponing it. There are four quadrants to separate the importance. Quadrant 1 is urgent and important and needs immediate attention. Such as family time and academic deadlines. Next quadrant 2 is not urgent but important and should be used for long term strategizing. This can include reading investment books. Quadrant 3 is urgent but not important and should be minimized as much as possible. This should include doing favors for friends, weekly meetings with neighbors and interruptions doing important times of the day. Last, quadrant 4 is not urgent or important and should be eliminated. These are things such as: cellphones, television, or social networks. Mueller suggest doing a weekly assessment of your task and urgency to help fulfil deadlines. Time management is very important in everyday life. People who don’t use time wisely contribute to their lives becoming very difficult and unorganized. (Mueller)

                    It’s a given fact that managing time is very difficult. Most people struggle all their life not being organized. I plan on implementing Covey’s time management matrix to organize my life. I have been living just with my schedule in my head. Now after writing down my responsibilities in Covey’s matrix. I’ve realized I have a lot of time and waste most of it on my cell phone. Therefore, I plan to use it more wisely and productive. After putting my responsibilities in the matrix I realize my homework and running my business are my Q2 main goals. I will be setting weekly goals to ensure a successful academic year. This should include going over financial statements for my business on a monthly basis.  In addition, to family time, I will prioritize and schedule my work load better.

                   In conclusion focusing the attention on one task at a time and time management are very important. Self-control and discipline can lead to a very successful career. Knowing the difference between important and urgent are important factors of time management. This should include using the time management matrix. This ensures that deadlines will be met and unimportant things will be eliminated.  

 

 

                                                                            Works cited

Mueller, Steve. “Steven Covey’s Time Management Matrix Explained” planet of success, 9 October 2015, 23 March 2016                                                   <http://www.planetofsuccess.com/blog/2015/stephen-covey-timemanangement-matrix-explained>

           

Sparks, Sarah D. “Studies on Multitasking Highlight Value of Self-Control” Education Week15 May, 2 February 2016 <2012 http://edweek.org/ew/article/2012/05/16/31multitasking.eph31.html>

 

 

 

 

 

                                                 

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