By Shelli Carter/reporter

Many people struggle every day with managing their time, a Trinity River Campus coordinator said last week.

Margarita Garza of TR’s academic success center led a discussion and workshop on time management Sept. 24 with a small group of students from the campus.

The Trinity River students came from different classes and majors but voiced difficulty with time management.

Divided into three groups, the students listed their own “time wasters.”

Many of the students said they struggled with similar distractions such as television, cell phones, computers, procrastination and partying.

Garza recommended they use a planner or calendar to organize their classes, personal time, study time or work. Even professionals find time management difficult, she said.

“When I think of times I have problems with time management, it’s when I am attempting to do too much in the time that I have,” she said.

She then asked the students to break down their weekly schedules from 5 a.m. to midnight Monday through Sunday.

The sheet was divided between school, work, family/friends and personal. Each one had its own subcategories.

Garza said the idea was to see how much time students are not using to their full potential.

Prioritizing the schedule — listing what is more important and putting it in order — will help with time management, she said. 

Garza suggested those who are struggling with time management for both school and work use a white board.

“I used to not be a believer in white boards, but now I am,” she said.

Every Friday at the end of the week, they should list everything they did not accomplish and set it to get done the next week. Garza said to cross off each thing as it gets done.

“Take it one step at a time,” she said.