Day 280: Quit Talking & Begin Doing

College is interesting. Now, I mean that in the best possible way. I love college, but I miss High School too. I guess the biggest adjustment you have to make when coming to college OTHER than the fact that oh yeah, you now live at your school, is time management.

Now, here at SNC we have this program called First Year Experience, which I talked a little bit about like a month and a half ago when I first got here. We talk a lot about stuff like time management, we really do, but as much as one talks about it, I find that everyone just has their own way of doing it, and you can only figure it out for yourself. Still, it's always a great idea to be open to new ideas and opinions on how you could manage your time but you get the idea.

Personally I make it a habit to use lots and lots and lots of post-it notes. In fact, right now they're covering my desk (ok, the wall next to my desk, bits of the shelf on my desk, my printer and the fridge and microwave next to my desk). I have five colors and I use them all to make little to-do lists. That way I can figure out exactly what it is that I need to be doing and when it all needs to be done. If I finish the to-do list then I move onto the next one and so on and so forth until everything gets done. Generally that doesn't happen though, but I just get done as much as possible.

But that's not all I do. When I'm actually working I spend like 45 minutes to an hour working and then take a break. When I'm really busy, like I am right now, I use that break to do something that's still productive but less stressful than working on homework. I bet you can guess what it is that I'm doing in my breaks (hint hint, you're reading it). It works pretty well because that way when I'm not getting work done I'm still getting work done. If that makes any sense.

Above all else though there is a quote that continues to keep me going when I really need to focus. I can sit and write to-do lists all day, and I can talk on my blog or my journal forever about all the work I have to do, but Walt Disney once said "The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing," and he couldn't be more right. I keep that written on a post-it note on my desk too, so every time I read my to-do list I remember to just stop thinking and talking about it and just get around to actually doing the work.

Turns out, that does make things a lot easier. I guess the lesson here has two parts. First, just quit your talking and start working. You'll accomplish things a lot faster if you put them into action instead of just talking about them. And second, always listen to Walt Disney.

Here's today's Disney History: 1998: Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, housed in the space formerly occupied by Take Flight, opens at Walt Disney World. Presented by Mattel, the first interactive dark ride at the Magic Kingdom will have an official opening November 3.

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog entry was written on October 10 because I was sick).