Colonel Brown's Time Management System

I never really had a problem maintaining grades when I got to college, but I continued my old habits of missing deadlines, forgetting important engagements, and losing personal items.  I had a good support system in place (I lived in a sorority house and was an AFROTC cadet), but I didn’t have parents and teachers breathing down my neck anymore.  So, I floundered a bit.  One morning during my sophomore year, I walked into a regularly-scheduled progress meeting with the Detachment Commander, Col (Ret) Philip Brown.  As per usual, I had forgotten about the meeting, failed to set an alarm, woke up late and ended up tearing across campus wearing the T-shirt I’d slept in the night before.  I stumbled in the office about ten minutes late.  I was terrified.  I thought for sure that was the end of my scholarship, that I would be forced to enlist and never be heard from again.

The Colonel surprised me by chuckling and saying “forget about the progress check, I’m going to teach you how to manage your time”.  Huh?  Manage my time?  Can you even DO that? 

Before I reveal Col Brown’s secret formula, let me throw a disclaimer out there:  I do not use this system anymore.  It is GREAT for high school and college students and people without children.  If you’re a parent (especially of young children), or have an “on-call” type of work schedule, this may not be appropriate (you’ll understand when you see the process…it’s very rigid).  This system is just not suited to my particular situation, but it’s too good not to share.  Give it a shot.

What you need:

• ·         A day planner with one page for each day (preferably broken down into 30- or 60-minute chunks) and a space for notes at the end of the day.  I recommend a Franklin Covey Ring-Bound Daily Planner http://franklinplanner.fcorgp.com/store/category/prod216/US-October-2012-Planners-Refills/Original-Ring-bound-Daily-Planner-Refill

• ·         A paper clip

• ·         A pack of index cards or small notebook

• ·         Your work and/or class schedule

• ·         Your class syllabi and/or a list of any engagements and recurring events

• ·         A PENCIL (don’t use a pen!)

Here’s the process:

Step1)  Go to this month’s calendar page and write down any major/recurring assignments, meetings, social events, kids’ karate classes, etc.  Go to the day pages that correspond to the events on your monthly calendar, and write down these engagements in the appropriate time slots.

Step 2)  Turn your planner to tomorrow’s page.  Look at your various syllabi/schedules.  Write down starting times for all classes, shifts, meetings, etc.  Put all assignments/readings due that day in the “notes” section.

Step 3)  Now factor in travel time and/or preparation time for each event, and write that down. 

 

Step 4)  If you’re a student, block off time to study or do homework (make sure you reference what you’re working on in the notes section in order to keep yourself on track for larger assignments or exams)

Step 5)  Think about any chores or errands that need to be done for the next day, and assign times to do them (don’t forget to factor in travel time).  As an ADHDer, you’re notorious for underestimating the time it takes to do things, so give yourself room for error

Step 6)  Write down times you need to get up and go to sleep, factor time to shower & dress, time to eat, time to prep for bed, and schedule in 30-60 minutes to relax (very important for ADHDers)

Step 7)  Repeat this process for the rest of the week (don’t go farther than that for the nitty-gritty details), and schedule 30 minutes at the end of the week to work on next week’s calendar.  You may need to sit down with your planner every night and do the next day’s schedule rather than a week at a time depending on the nature of your schedule and your personal needs.

Step 8)  Take your paper clip and clip an index card or small piece of paper to today’s page.  This marks your page and it gives you a place to scribble notes, shopping lists, ideas that pop in your head

Now comes the hard part:  sticking to it.  As Col Brown said, “Managing your time is like doing pushups.  It’s hard at first, but it gets easier the more you do it”.  Carry your planner EVERYWHERE.  Consider it an appendage that cannot be separated from your body.  Take it to class, take it to work, take it to meetings, take it to church.  Do not say “I’ll remember to write this down later”.  You won’t.  Procrastination is a huge obstacle for us.  Don’t get to your 5:00 “Clean the bathroom” slot and say “oh, I’ll do it later”.  That is the beginning of the end.  Suck it up and clean the bathroom!  As you go along, you’ll find that you’ll remember more, you’ll feel like procrastinating less often (your body will get used to the routine), and you feel less stressed out and hurried.  

Of course, you’ll have to move things around (that’s why you write in pencil), meetings will run long, you’ll have to work unscheduled overtime, etc.  But that’s why you have your day broken down the way you do.  You know exactly where your “float” time is, and you’ll be able to slide things to the left or right without completely mucking up your day (and your sanity).  

You need to manage your time…don’t let your time manage you!