Research Strategy Paper

There are many challenges that people face on a day-to-day basis. These challenges may differ depending on one’s lifestyle, responsibilities, and personal goals. For a student pursuing a higher education, and the subsequent degree, these obstacles may seem to begin to multiply as one attempts to juggle the many aspects of his or her life. This constant shuffling of responsibilities and deadlines can be extremely tiring, stressful, and ultimately unproductive. It may often seem as if there is far too much to accomplish in the small amount of time each day holds. Many people have been told by another, throughout the span of their lives, that once lost, time can never be regained and this is true. It is rare for such an event as “free time” to occur in which an individual has nothing pressing to attend to. As such, time management becomes an incredibly important tool for one to master. It can be difficult to develop these skills alone though, so it is important for one to understand what time management is, where to gather information on the subject, and how to evaluate and implement the information found.

Defining Time Management

Time management is the effective and proper distribution of time which allows one to maximize his or her productivity and efficiency. It is a set of skills that helps one to prioritize responsibilities and tasks by order of importance, and then manage one’s schedule accordingly. “Successful time management starts with identifying your time-related needs and preferences” (Carter, Bishop, & Kravits, 2007, p. 2). From there it becomes far easier to develop and maintain a schedule which will help one to fight off the temptation to procrastinate. Developing a predetermined schedule also makes it easier for one to make sudden changes when necessary and move tasks and responsibilities around without too much