While I was growing up, my mom always said to me, “the key to success is not the intellect but rather your time management and discipline.” Admittedly, I never really took that quote to heart, until my own list of responsibilities started to grow. Yet I avoided them by going on social media as an escape. Looking at it I slowly started to realize that I wasn’t the only one facing this very problem.
Jenny Avom, a student of Pakistan Embassy College Beijing (PEK) used to score straight A’s in all her subjects but she admits “I started getting distracted a lot and over time getting A’s became a chore. I had a problem devoting time to all my subjects, but eventually I started managing everything accordingly”.
Another student, Baris Celik, who attends Beijing No. 55 High School International Students Section says that “I have a schedule for my activities. For example, I study for 1 hour and then I look at my phone for 15 minutes”. Although we are tempted to stray of off the path, these students teach us that making a time table or keeping track with what we do is important. Hania Anasari, another student at PEK tells jingkids how she manages her time. “Due to the limited hours of work each day and the immense amount of work I sometimes have to get done, I have to learn to set time tables for my days ahead. While making these time tables I reflect on how much time I usually take to finish one task and ask myself if I can, by any chance, cut back on this time. Giving adequate time to each task and plenty of refreshing breaks in the middle certainly helps manage my time better.”
There’s no such thing as perfection. It’s only human nature to get distracted and wander off the path, but what matters is that we take action to do better and be better.
Focus applies to everything in our lives and it’s up to us how we manage it. The best way to get work done, even when you do not feel like focusing, is by just by starting. As strange as it sounds, just taking the first step and staying consistent will help you get you in the zone.
An interesting quote from my Economics teacher Syed Moazzam Ali says that “a fighter is someone who never loses focus and always tries to stay on track”. Simply changing your mindset can bring you one step closer to achieving your goals.
Images: Pexels
This article appeared in the jingkids 2022 Teen Takeover issue
