Finding the time

We just don't seem to have enough hours in the day to do everything that we want. Many of us have goals we want to accomplish and finding the time to pursue a degree and further our education can be the greatest obstacle. Embarking on a program entails several steps and once you've outlined your path, success awaits you!

Time management is critical when considering starting a program. At the University of Phoenix, our students become time-management experts because of the careful balance they achieve with work, family, life and school. You can increase your personal effectiveness by building a strong foundation of behaviors that help you organize yourself, develop skill sets and keep yourself on the track to success.

Setting priorities will help with establishing what you want to accomplish. What are your priorities in life? Family, work, personal growth? By the simple action of writing things down, you are more inclined to make them happen. Taking the first step of putting pen to paper and articulating what your priorities are sets a solid list of deliverables you wish to incorporate into your daily routines. Writing your goals down helps you put a plan into motion without even realizing it and is the critical first step toward accomplishing them.

Your daily routine needs organization! Organizing your daily routine helps you adopt both efficient and effective uses of your time. Part of this routine is setting aside time for yourself each day. By establishing time for yourself, you are taking care of a very basic need as an individual. You should consider this time sacred and use it for the priorities you have established. If continuing your education is a priority, this designated time should be set aside daily and be respected and treasured. This time is sacred and if you've made the decision to start an educational program, protect this time and make the most of it. By establishing this as a priority, you can make better, faster and smarter decisions when something comes along that could potentially take you off course.

Stephen R. Covey talks about the Third Habit of Success, Put First Things First, which speaks directly to spending time with what fits your personal mission. He further discusses attaining some balance with the many priorities you hold and identifying key roles you take on, while making time for each of them. You need to be a model of time management to pursue your goal of higher education while finding the way that you can best organize yourself and your time. This process will further assist you in this goal of completing your degree. How do you determine what is the "need" or the "nice" to do? When you have multiple priorities, including a commitment towards embarking upon a degree, it is imperative that you discern which key elements of your day need to happen.

Managing interruptions is also a critical piece of finding the time to go back to school. Everyday interruptions can be a barrier to effective time management and ultimately the success of completing a program. Think about your past week and the interruptions that you've experienced ... phone calls, emails, that visitor that pops into your office to talk about the game or that last-minute project that is dropped in your lap. With so few hours in the day, the ones that you have should be cherished, as the smallest interruption can change the entire day and the outcome. By knowing that these interruptions exist, we can better prevent and work around those potential things that can jeopardize your success.

Finally, you can make the time for continuing your education with the proper motivation, which takes us back to your priorities. If you have set the priority of completing your educational goals, whatever they may be, you are motivated to ensure that you are organized and will manage your time effectively to make it happen. British actor Peter Davies said, "Motivation is like food for the brain. You cannot get enough in one sitting. It needs continual and regular top ups."

Education is food for the heart and mind so if you wish to pursue that degree, go back for seconds.

Kathy Gamboa, is regional vice president of the University of Phoenix and director of its northern Nevada Campus.