Have you ever felt that there were not enough hours in a day? Has it seemed that no matter what you do or despite how you manage your time, you do not have enough time to accomplish everything that you have to do? I am one of the many college students on campus that is seemingly overwhelmed with the many activities they have to do. Please do not get me wrong. It is good to be involved and stay active, but why do some of us have the tendency to take on more than we can handle? Some students try to stay active as much as possible, but as classes march close to the end of the semester, many of the student’s choices are starting to come back to haunt them. I think a primary reason for this is the fact that some people have a hard time saying “no” to somebody. If students have a hard time letting people down, it can result in a “snowball” effect and things can build up rather quickly. This, in turn, can result in stress, which we know could manifest itself in a thousand ways we do not like. This would leave people arguing that stress could be unavoidable if we managed our time well, but who seriously does that 100 percent of the time? I know you have been in a situation where your friends stop by or you really want to go see this new movie that just came out, but you have to study for a monster test the next day. If we made the correct choice we would have said no, but in reality, you did go see the new movie with your friends while you were thinking to yourself, “I will just do that when I get home.” It is this decision that feels like a double-edged sword because you went and had a good time, but you did not get enough study time that you needed for the test you had to take the next day. Everyone knows the outcome of this situation when you wake up the next day a few minutes early, stressing out, thinking you can make up for the few hours you missed last night by cramming fifteen minutes before the test. I know I am not alone when situations like this decide to test my decision-making abilities. I hear students all the time walk into class on exam day and surprisingly ask, “We have a test today?” This is a position that no one likes to be in, but it happens to students all the time. If you were to discuss this problem with any professor or professional, they would obviously tell you that you need better time-management skills, but couldn’t we just learn to say “no” instead? The university does offer classes to help students learn to better manage their time, but if we had a problem, don’t you think we wouldn’t have the time to attend one of these classes? Exams are not the only inconvenience because it could easily be something that you enjoy, but just do not have enough time to be involved with that activity. These activities could be a new hobby or a relationship you want to start, but because of other arrangements, you do not have the time to devote to either one. Even though you enjoy your new experiences, it might not be helping your GPA because you do not have enough time invested into your classes. Everyone can come up with their own solution to the problem. After all, we are all different and all have diverse ways of accomplishing goals. Whatever you decide, please look at the opportunity costs of the alternatives foregone and choose the best situation that benefits you. Spend your time wisely Bearkats, and remember why you are going to college.
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