ESSAY SUBMISSION
Drew Austin - Time Clock Go Essay
Efficient time management as a small paint and powerwash business owner and full time Purdue Student is the difference between collapse and triumph. Prior to doing research into Time Clock Go and other resources, I was painfully unaware of how atrocious my time allocation was for school and specifically, my employees. This lack of organization has led to one too many situations where I would miss an assignment for school or arrive late to the job site where my paint team for my business has been waiting for me. To put it bluntly, I was not only wasting my own time and efficiency, I was harming my team's overall efficiency and time. An analysis and self reflection of my own time management skills along with research into several different authoritative resources revealed that I can improve my efficiency and productivity by establishing a routine, avoiding multitasking, and effectively taking time off from work.
Due to the fact that I’m a Purdue Student, I knew that my university had convenient resources for helping busy college students. It took one conversation with my advisor to direct me to two helpful websites for developing a strategy to improve my time tracking and efficiency. Mastering Time Management for College Students, a website provided by Purdue Global, helped me discover that establishing a routine was crucial for my strategy to yield the results I desired. This information is congruent to a blog post written by Kevin on Time Clock Go preaching scheduling and routine. In the blog it lists several advantages to scheduling, one of which being enhancing efficiency.. In other words, my research asserts that setting up a routine and schedule that effectively allocates time for school and my small paint and powerwash business will improve productivity and efficiency. Finalizing a routine is the first major component to my overall strategy to improve my time management skills.
Along with Purdue and Time Clock Go’s resources, my advisor pointed me towards a website that personally helped her with time management. This particular resource drew attention to the problems with multitasking. Northeastern University wrote an article at the beginning of the pandemic, “7 Time Management Tips for Online Students” to assist students in time management as they navigate online school. My research into this website led me to do some self-reflection on my own habits with time management. I quickly recognized my bad habit of trying to do too many things at once. I thought about the times where I got distracted from school because a painter needed help, leading to a missed assignment. These childish mistakes were made partially due to my confidence to multitask. The author, Kelsey Miller, dives deep into the explanation of why our brains simply aren’t wired to handle many tasks at one time. She states that the research conducted by the university suggests tackling one task at a time for maximum efficiency. Because of this research, following my routine one task at a time is the next major aspect of my strategy for better time tracking skills.
The next important step to becoming better with time management is taking breaks at the right times. Although this seems like a simple task, research by Purdue indicates that for some people it can be extremely difficult. According to the Purdue article for mastering time management referenced earlier, not taking enough time off is typically stress induced and only makes the problem worse. Physical and mental health issues can arise due to a lack of break time. I personally relate to this on a considerable level due to the amount of hours school and my small business require of me. The article preaches daily breaks for meditating or self-reflection. I have infused those ideas into my daily routine as well as my painters work routines to improve efficiency from both my team and myself.
In conclusion, this opportunity has opened a new path for myself and my small business. An analysis and multiple sessions of self reflection of my own time management skills along with research into several different authoritative resources truly showed that I can improve my efficiency and productivity by establishing a routine, avoiding multitasking, and effectively taking time off from work. It is my desire to continue to grow my own character as well as my business’s culture in a direction down excellent time management practices.