Managing yourself, your home life and school can be difficult in the chaos of the semester, but there are ways to do it and do it effectively. 
Success in anything boils down to habits. A habit is defined as, “The intersection between knowledge, skill and desire,” says Dr. Roger J. Ward, Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs at The University of Maryland. All three of these attributes must be in place to form a habit.
The first kind of habits to form are for personal effectiveness. Be proactive, meaning, be responsible for your own life. When things happen, it’s up to you how to react. Dr. Ward says, “[What] we have complete control over is how we think and how we act.”
Have a vision. When you get in the car to go to school, you have the destination in mind, otherwise you would drive around in circles. In the same way, when there’s a big project, a long paper, or something almost impossible to do for class, remember your goal. Set a plan and don’t procrastinate.
“Until you start doing something, putting that plan to work, nothing is going to happen,” says Dr. Ward. Learn to manage yourself before managing anything else.
With the many things that students have to manage, it can be especially difficult to balance everything and greet the end of the day without stress. “A lot of the stress we cause ourselves is because we didn’t plan ahead and we didn’t manage our time effectively,” says Dr. Ward.
Make a roadmap for your own personal management and organization. In that roadmap, identify your priorities, organize them however needed and execute your plan based on those priorities. There may be speed bumps and detours, but keep in mind where you want to go. With a little planning, preparation and positive habit forming, you can be effective in everything you do this semester.
Check next week’s edition for the second type of habits to form to be effective this semester.
Meggan Lanahan
Reporter