Managing time is vital, speaker says

By Stevi Smith/reporter

The only thing holding people back from completing their goals is themselves, a NE history instructor said last week.

Andrew Hollinger presented a seminar April 23 providing time management strategies to assist students in prioritizing their goals and lead them toward a more successful life.

“It doesn’t matter what you think,” he said. ”It’s what you do.”

Hollinger described his achievements, including time as an Army officer and a health industry management consultant as well as his present life as a college instructor.

“The less time you think about fantasy, the more time you have to think about reality,” he said.

Students need to realize they live in the real world, where everything isn’t always going to go according to plan, Hollinger said. But setting reasonable and optimistic goals is the first step toward living successfully.

“You should not only use the resources that you have available. You should exploit them,” he said.

To get around obstacles that hold them back, students need to grab hold of the time they have, Hollinger said.

Students should write down a plan for their day and schedule everything they need to get accomplished, Hollinger said.

Students also should balance their time between work, school, family and exercise while also scheduling time for sleep and relaxation, he said.

Hollinger suggested putting the focus on what is important in life and eliminating or reducing distractions.

Television, social networks and text messaging are common areas in which people waste precious time, Hollinger said.

“If you are not going to be accountable to yourself, don’t even bother starting,” he said.

Multi-tasking reduces effectiveness, so Hollinger said it is better to focus on one goal at a time instead of doing everything all at once.

“Experiment with what works for you because your schedule changes from day to day,” he said.

Students should promote what works and change what doesn’t, Hollinger said. Time is more valuable than money because people can always get more money, but they can never get more time.

“Never begin the day until it is finished on paper,” he said.

Students Jo Bryan and Andrew Fornea identified with what Hollinger talked about.

Bryan said she has always believed that turning off distractions such as background music and television has helped her children focus more on homework.

Fornea agreed with the idea of focusing on reality instead of fantasy.

Each student received a TCC planner to implement the strategies they learned.