Come the month of June, students will again be pitted on the
rigorous calendar of the new school year, and if they are not very careful,
they could become victims of idleness or overwork and compromises. Too much and
too less is not a good thing after all. One needs balance, and a balanced life
is a remarkable attribute of a good professional. Students can be like
professionals, and I call them professional students.
Yes.
A professional student takes his tasks seriously, always aspiring for
excellence in all aspect of his life, always maintaining balance in his
studies, family, prayer life, and other social obligations. And one
distinguishing trait of a professional student is his plan of life. His plan of
life is represented by a schedule that he follows.
Order
in one’s life is important. It facilitates priorities and it saves time,
energy, and resources. That is why having a schedule to follow shows that a student
is taking his life seriously. Though it may seem that he is following a
routine, the idea is to be consistent in everything that he does. It develops
discipline, strengthens temperance, and avoids laziness. A schedule should help
the him achieve his goal by sticking to his game plan. If it is time to study, he has to study. If
it is time to play basketball, he has to play basketball. If it is time to pray
the rosary, he has to do it because it is his duty. Because the activities
included in his schedule are necessary in order for him to lead a productive
life.
A
daily or a weekly schedule would suffice for a student, or for any individual
who aspires for order in his life. One has to list down his routines, assign a
specific time when to do it, and as much as possible fill his waking day with
tasks and enough time for rests and leisure. One needs not to be very rigid
with his schedule. He has to plan a schedule that is doable to make sure that
it will not exhaust him.
When
making a schedule, put first the most important things on the list and arrange them
in a manner that it will be comfortable following them. Then start to study and
live the schedule, make necessary changes and corrections until such time that it
becomes a habit. As professional students, there must be ample study time on the
chart. As much as possible, only include the important ones, avoid the trivial
things. In that way, there will be focus and fewer distractions from doing what
ought to be done.
The
catch is schedules sometimes are not 100% guarantee that all tasks will be done
on time. The person has to be also flexible so he will not get discouraged if
there is a task that is left undone. Saint Escriva said, “Discouragement is an enemy of your perseverance. If you don’t fight
against discouragement you will become pessimistic first, and lukewarm
afterwards. Be an optimist.” We
don’t want to become lukewarm! The key to sticking with the plan of life is to
persevere and to continually ask help from our Guardian Angel that we become
consistent and faithful with our schedule.
Having
a schedule is a sign of professionalism. We will rarely find a successful
businessman without a planner or a president without a personal secretary.
These aid them to accomplish tremendous amount of work with, if not, very
minimal compromises. This should hold true to everyone else, especially to
students who are immersed with both curricular and extra-curricular activities.
Having a schedule to follow is already acquiring one of the life skills that
will enable them to survive the draining demands of their professional lives
later on.
All of us need to persevere!
