Okay, so we all procrastinate a lot. I know I do more than others (because Netflix is so addicting) but this article has some suggestions on how to get your life together AND be a music major.
I mean, everyone should know how to manage their time a little better in order to get everything done as well as sleep a decent amount every night.
Enjoy!
http://web.csulb.edu/depts/music/wordpress/bccm/2014/08/time-management-101/
It's an interesting paradox: we need 9 hours of sleep on average to be successful as musicians and perform at our optimal quality. But the academic side of music and our other classes cause us to lose those hours frequently. I'm with you, I'm awful at time management so I seriously might print off those grids to use!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post Mariah! I have trouble keeping myself well rested and balanced with my practicing and school work. I find it crazy that with the amount of sleep we really need to be 100% efficient is taken away from us by the amount of things we have to get done and prepare. I think this article has some really good points that I will use!
ReplyDeleteLike Caleb, I do agree that this article raises a paradox that is very important to us. The amount of time that is needed for us to accomplish what we need to during the day plus the amount of sleep that is recommended for us is greater than the amount of time that we have. If we then factor in all of the distractions that we have access to (Netflix) we face lots of long nights with little sleep. With the tips in this article, some of these long nights might go down in number.
ReplyDeleteLet me tell you, my first semester's time management was BAD. So I've been trying strategies similar to this to help with this semester's time management. I've tried probably at least 50 times throughout my life to make a clear, planned schedule that'll tell me when I practice, when I have classes and rehearsals, when I sleep, when I have down time, etc. and I usually stick to them for about a day and then they go out the window. EVERY TIME. This semester I've created one of these in my head, rather than a super organized one on a sheet of paper, and it's working out well. This way I feel like I have more flexibility in how I can spend my time, but I always know what I need to do on a given day.
ReplyDeleteMost people find that planning things out and writing them down works best. tere's a great saying, "Failure to plan is planning to fail." Some of us do well with a lot of improvisation, of course! But on the whole I've always found that I, and pretty much everyone I've ever known, gets the most done when we plan our time in writing.
ReplyDeleteThis article stressed me out a bit (creating elaborate schedules isn't really my strong suit). I understand the importance of sticking to a schedule to achieve goals, but it's not really how my brain works. Hopefully I'll get better at diligently following a schedule in the next couple years, but it'll definitely be an uphill battle.
ReplyDeleteI did like how the author mentioned scheduling in sleep. As college students, and especially as music majors, I think we often push back our bedtimes because we think we need that one hour more of practicing. This leads to a lot more stress, sickness, and probably limits how focused and successful we can be the following day.
I cannot make a schedule and stick to it. I always find myself needing to do something and then working my way around the schedule I have to try and fit everything in! I think being flexible is really important in the music world. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that making a practice schedule, rehearsal schedule etc. is a bad thing. I think those are of course important things, but realize that conflicts come up, sometimes people get sick. Schedules are made to make life easier, not cause more stress. Keeping that in mind is helpful when trying to keep balance.
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