How to Get Things Done in College: Define Your Roles

The interesting thing about time management is that in some areas of our lives we may be doing too much, while in other areas we may be doing too little. For example, you might feel that you are working so much that your studies are suffering. Or, you may be working a lot and excelling in your studies, but your social life is fairly weak. Is there a way to make thoughtful adjustments and be firing on all cylinders?

The Issue of Balance
This goes to the issue of balance. Balance does not mean devoting equal time and energy to every area, which makes no sense. Rather, balance means that you are doing what needs to be done in each area of life, while excelling in the one or two areas that are the highest priority at the time.

Some might say this is better called something like “doing what you are supposed to be doing,” since “balance” can be an ambiguous term that people define in all sorts of ways (some of them unhelpful). That would be fine. The term used is not important.

What is important is that we make the trade-offs between various areas of our life on purpose, rather than by accident. We don’t want to be overlooking crucial things we need to be doing, and we want to know how to cut back on the demands that are coming at us when we feel overloaded.

To do this, we need to have sense of the big picture. This comes from knowing our roles.

What are Roles?
All the tasks and projects you have on your plate are coming from somewhere. They don’t just pop into existence whole cloth. Where are they coming from? From your roles–that is, from the areas of responsibility you have taken on and been given in your life.

One of the biggest steps you can take in improving your time management is to define your roles. This will help you see if there are things you need to take out of your life or add to your life. It will also help you navigate your to-do list and calendar better. For by knowing your roles, you can be strategic in deciding what to take on in your life rather than random and ad hoc, simply responding to whatever comes your way.

How to Define Your Roles
Fortunately, defining our roles is relatively simple. Everything that you are responsible to do falls into about six categories. These are:

School
Social
Church
Work
Family
Personal Development

To make this work, I recommend opening up a Google Doc or page in your journal, and creating a heading for each of these six areas. Then, underneath each area, list your major responsibilities. This provides you with a grid for seeing the big picture of your life and allocating your time.

In the “school” section, list your classes plus any student organizations you are a part of (or want to be a part of–in which case this serves as a reminder to join them).

In the “social” section, you have your House, roomates perhaps, friends, and any civic responsibilities (like voting, volunteering, or things like that).

The “church” category represents your church activities; under the “work” category list any jobs and internships you have; in the “family” category you might list that you are a son or daughter, brother or sister, and so forth.

Finally, “personal development” is the category for spiritual growth, rest, recreation (though that’s often done in sync with the social category), learning you do outside of your classes, and the responsibilities of managing your household stuff (keeping the apartment clean, laundry, grocery shopping) and financial matters (paying bills, insurance, etc.).
How to Use Your Roles to Manage Yourself Better
Once you create this document, you will have a basic snapshot of your responsibilities in life. This is incredibly powerful. To make the most of this tool in order to bring greater focus, effectiveness, and peace of mind to your life, review it at the beginning of each week and ask yourself three questions:

What do I need to do in each of these areas this week?
What do I want to do in each of these areas this week?
Does the amount of time I am giving to each of these areas reflect the actual priority that I want that area to have in my life? If not, what adjustments can I make?

We will look more at how this snapshot of your roles and responsibilities can help with managing your calendar and to-do lists in upcoming posts. But simply creating this list and reviewing it each week to ask these three questions will put you miles ahead.