Weeks go by and one can imagine how their time is spent each day.  In the past few weeks, the psyc.1000 classes have been learning about time management and goal setting. Studying those factors has developed a better understanding of the concepts and how they go hand in hand.  By combining these two important factors in everyday people’s lives we analyzed two weeks of our own daily life. In the first week recorded time spent twenty four hours and day.  In the second week we recorded twenty four hours as well as inserted a time goal we wanted to achieve. By analyzing our weeks we determined if our time was productive or needed help with prioritizing. Our days consisted of wasteful or productive time usage.  By observing and developing strategies one I as a person was able to determine problem areas and correct them in the consecutive weeks.

            Spending time in the first week varied, from the usual eating, sleeping, studying to overly using the computer talking with friends and surfing the internet.  There were several areas where time could be considered wasted through ones eyes.  There was an excessive amount of time spent on the computer.  Often I would be in my dorm room and think there was nothing to accomplish so I would get online and talk to my friends.  During several days out of the week sleep was taken advantage of.  Sleep occurred when it was unnecessary.  During the day, I would find myself get into my bed and take long naps that last over an hour.  This hour could have been used studying or completing homework.  On a positive note there was several hours taken out of the week to work at my job.  Working part-time allows me to establish work skills and also spending money, which is definitely not considered time wasting.  Based on the first week it was very disappointing to see how I spent my time as well as how I wasted my time on less important things such as the internet and television.  I had trouble prioritizing my needs and what I needed to complete. I put leisure time first and then put my studying time second.  Seeing what I recorded in the first week and observing the total time spent on various things made me think second on how I thought I was doing alright with my time management skills.

            Setting a goal for the following week was definitely simple to see by the hours I wasted spent on the internet.  I determined a goal based on the amount of time I spent using my computer.  The goal that I set in for myself in the second week would be cutting the hours spent on the internet in half.  By cutting my time on the internet in half would allow me to have an additional fifteen hours of extra time.  In setting this goal it directly adhered to the SMARTEST system learned previously in class. With this I follow the acronym SMARTEST, beginning with Short/Long term goal.   I am setting a short term goal that immediately begins in the second week of observation and hopefully achieved by the end of that week. The goal set is measurable, which is the second letter in the acronym SMARTEST, because it is specific, instead of saying,  ” I am not going to spend a lot of time on the internet.”  I am going to spend only fifteen hours on the internet at the most and use the additional fifteen hours left over dedicated to studying and doing homework.  By creating achievement strategies, the third letter in the acronym, creates my behavior towards my goal and is worthless without it. By creating a way to reach my goals involved using a tactic will help me achieve my desired goal.  By cutting my time spent on the internet is a realistic goal, the fourth letter in the acronym, and is definitely attainable.  Setting a realistic goal is much more straightforward than setting an unrealistic goal such as never getting online again.  It is challenging because the computer is on the desk and its right there next to my notes and textbooks that are needed to study.  Even though cutting my time spent on the computer seems attainable there are obstacles to overcome.  I imagine getting thrown off track and giving into getting online, but once I do it I will realize it and know that this is an obstacle I was going to face.  By writing this goal down where I am able to see it everday helps remind me of how I need to spend my time. When I see the note I leave for myself it sets in with me again and reminds me constantly of what I should be doing, such as studying or doing homework.  I knowwith this goal I am able to inform my family, especially my mom, because she knows how I spend my time.  With her guidance and support she will be able to listen to me and remind me constantly of what  I need to be doing as well as helping me solve some obstacles I face.  This goal is set immediately  beginiging in the second week.  If my goal is successful I will try to reinforce it into the following weeks and pertain to it.  By using the SMARTEST system it will hep keep my goals attainable and also be successful.

            There were several obstacles encountered during my second week of observation.  The obstacles mostly involved catching me getting online, doing non-related school work and talking to friends online.  It was very difficult once catching myself online to actually get off of my computer because I would tell myself, “okay only a few more minutes I have to talk to this person.”  Coincidently, during the middle of the week my computer got a virus which enabled me to get online or even use the computer at all.  It was frustrating to begin with but I realized it was for the best.  For the rest of the week I significantly cut down my use of time on the computer.  In the end I was successful because I was not tempted to get online on my computer in my dorm room.  If I wanted to talk online to my friends or surf the internet I would have to walk to one of the nearby computer labs, which would be out of the way and much more time consuming than actually getting online in my dorm room computer. 

            Observing the two weeks help me analyze how most of my time is spent.   In the second week I was able to be focus on the goal I set for myself and was able to achieve it.  Since I was unable to get online it directed my attention to more important things such as studying for tests and doing endless design and drawing projects.  Being successful in my goal also displayed in the grades received in that second week.  My quiz grades were much better as well as my attitude towards studying.  Reaching my intended goal made me feel more responsible and allowed me to see what my priorities are and what shall be completed first and foremeost and then allowed the time for things not priority. 

            By creating strategies and goals one can divide time into priorties and not feel as if they are wasting time.  There are often times students do not realize how much time has been taken for certain activites and how much time has not bee taken for things such as studying and homework.  There are often times people do not observe their time until it is too latesuch as when the semester winds down and final exams begin or when a  big project is due and there is not enough time to do complete it.