Irecently purchased an Apple watch. I got tired of looking at my bare wrist when I wanted to check the time, which I still do, even though I have not worn a watch in years! It also seemed rude to be pulling out my phone in a meeting to see how much time I may have left to finish the business-at-hand.
The other reason I decided to get one is to have a fitness reminder close by: “It’s time to stand!” What I did not anticipate is the other little intrusions, buzzes on my wrist when a certain friend posts a message to LinkedIn or when one of my VIP contacts sends me an email. Of course, I can and will adjust these, but the buzzing was a constant reminder of how many distractions I have on a daily (hourly?) basis.
My job, like many these days, requires a substantial amount of multitasking. Efficiency experts recommend that we set aside a specific time to check our email, limit time on social media, and any number of other “tricks” to help, but I find that few of those work for me. Thus, the key is figuring out a way to be in the moment when I am doing any one thing, and try to limit distractions. The work is important, but deciding what needs my attention and what needs laser focus often presents a challenge.
When I was a faculty member, my research often fell prey to my teaching and service because the needs of a person sitting in front of me, particularly a student, always took the place of prominence in my mind. Going to the library or writing an essay just never seemed as urgent.
Now the challenge is far greater as almost everything I do entails a person (or several) who needs something, whether it is a signature, a letter of support, a decision, advice, etc. With age comes wisdom and discernment, however, and I now can more easily determine what can wait, what needs my attention in the moment and what can be delegated to someone else. The last of these is certainly a luxury of being the “boss,” but I also am keenly aware of the workload of those to whom I might delegate, so I sometimes decide to just do the task myself.
Time management is one of the most important skills that our students at UH Hilo need to develop if they do not already possess this talent. Going to college adds a lot of things to students’ daily agendas, and no one hovers over them reminding them of deadlines, appointments, and class schedules. Welcome to adulting! We recommend use of calendars and planners, but just like the Apple watch, the tool is only as helpful as the will to use it. Skill in time management will help students balance school, and life, and work.
Their classes not only add hours to the schedule, but also demand a higher degree of focus and attention. And distractions are everywhere. Nobel laureate and artificial intelligence grandfather Herbert Simon is credited with saying that “a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention,” and there is just so much information accessible to students today, worthwhile and not, that it can be exceedingly difficult to focus. So, with such a busy life, how can one possibly slow down, allowing opportunity to focus and concentrate on the challenging subjects that demand that focus?
One thing we can do is work with students to acquire at a faster pace the wisdom and discernment that usually comes with age. Being able to sift through information judiciously and prioritize one’s time allows one to free up time for concentration and focus. Information literacy is another worthwhile step in controlling the chaos. Being able to analyze items within the sea of information to determine which of these items are worth our attention is a learned skill. Finally and perhaps most importantly, learning to step away, take a breath, and regroup periodically helps us return to a task with focus. We may not be able to make the noise go away, but we can at least turn down the volume.
Bonnie D. Irwin is chancellor of the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Her column appears monthly in the Tribune-Herald.
