Students learn to manage time

By Chantal Vouziers
Valencia Voice

ORLANDO,Fla-- Dr. Larry Marks, a psychologist at the counseling center at the University of Central Florida, gave a time management work shop for students on Oct. 2.

Dr. Marks begins with a story about a young lumberjack, Marcus, who recently bought a new ax and was hired. Marcus starts out great, but as time goes on he is still working just as hard, but somehow managing to chop down fewer trees. The moral of the story, Dr. Marks tells the students, is "don't work harder, work sharper." And just how does someone work "sharper"? By managing your time.

There are 168 hours in a week, and being able to manage those hours will reduce stress and make someone more efficient. Dr. Marks tells the students that no matter how much they have on their plate, they have to make some difficult choices, choosing what to let go of and what to keep; this will help balance time. Dr. Marks then went on to say, "Balancing your activities as well as planning ahead, will make you more efficient."

Other ways of being efficient with your time, Dr. Marks told the students, would be getting ready for the day the night before, using waiting time or travel time, letting others know your availability, doing difficult or boring items first, and maybe even consolidating errands. Ledesha Maduro, 18 UCF student, said "Waking up at the same time everyday and doing things in between classes are definitely things that I can do to help manage my time."

Dr. Marks went on to tell the story about Charles Schwab. Schwab could never seem to get anything done so he asked his consultant what he should do and she told him to build a To-Do list with the six most important things he needs to do in ascending order. In order to gain the most benefits from this To-Do list, you must make sure to prioritize all the items, add items as you think of them, as well as cross them off as you do them.

"I have a lot on my plate and I try to stay organized. I really like the Top-6 idea. I think it will help me a lot," stated Brendan Sonnone, a 19 year old student at UCF.

Dr. Larry Marks can be reached at (407)823-2811 or may be e-mailed at lmarks@mail.ucf.edu.