A Habit I Would Like to Change: Insufficient Time Management

Things I would like to change about myself (essay)

Changing a behavior is even more daunting because many of the habits are learned from an early age. A habit I would like to change, discussed in this essay, is what I refer to as instances of insufficient time management, which result in stress, psychological reactions and a variety of emotions. Several environmental factors affect how I manage my time with respect to appointments, school, family and friends’ activities. I have identified specific settings that lead me to inadequately manage my time. The first I have is my ability to be distracted while using my cellphone. It is very easy for me to lose track of time while on the cellphone because there is a high number of stimuli to distract me. In the morning, I habitually check my emails, text messages, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etcetera, and before I know it, the fifty minutes I thought I had has dwindled down to fifteen minutes to get ready to go. The second environment that corrupts my time management is my inclination to take a long time to primp before I leave. By this, I mean that I take a lot of time trying to figure out what to wear. Even though, I know that it will take me awhile to get ready to leave somewhere I do not give myself enough time and I always end up stressing out.

I do not like to be rushed. When I look down at my watch and realize that class is starting in forty minutes, and I am still at home deciding what to wear, I slowly begin to panic. I struggle to perform optimally while under pressure and have a hard time making thoughtful decisions when I feel rushed. Physiologically, I experience bursts of stress when I think I may be late, and the feelings of stress are exponentially increased if I know for sure that I will be. I do not want to be perceived by others as disrespectful for wasting time running late, especially in my academic and social life.

I would like to move forward to change these behaviors and reduce the feelings of stress that result from them. To move from contemplation in to preparation, I have selected self-re-evaluation, environment evaluation, and stimulus control as my processes of change. Firstly, self-re-evaluation will involve cognitive focus as I consider the pros and cons of changing myself and adjust my self-concept with and without these stressful behaviors. I will actively rationalize that I prefer to be punctual and stress-free for the social and health benefits. Secondly, environment evaluation will come in to play after self-evaluation. I again will cognitively rationalize my surroundings to recognize what leads to feelings of being rushed, and what is the way to manipulate that. This leads to my last process of change, stimulus control. Actively avoiding the phenomena of losing track of time, setting up different alarms throughout the day and keeping a steady eye on the clock, as well as planning in advance what I will wear that day are all ways to control stimuli. Better yet, I can get ready before I start checking my cellphone and do it while I am on the SkyTrain.

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