Jenny is a NINJA CPA blogger.

We have all asked ourselves at some point “Where did this week go?” I have found myself asking this question a lot lately, sometimes even daily.

Time management is not only difficult but also frustrating. I start my day out with good intentions to get items done but at the end of the day my task list is either looks the same or more items have been added.

This topic has been on my mind a lot lately. Mainly because my time management needs to be revamped. This busy season has been crazy already and balancing work, kids and studying has not been handled well.

Instead of dealing with the problem I have been ignoring it and wasting time playing games and going out.

So what is the cause? A lot of it has been the work schedule and balancing this crazy season with studying.

So what is the answer? Find a better way to manage my time.

Sounds simple enough. But how do I do that?

First, I need to plan out my week. I have blocked out times throughout my day where I am to sit and study. I even made sure to block out times to have some fun.

Second, I need to follow the plan. What's the point of making a plan if you don't follow it?

Third, I need to review the plan. This needs to be a retrospective over that plan, and needs to be done daily, and possibly weekly. Did I follow my plan today? What distracted me from that plan? How did my week go?

Lastly, I need to modify my plan. After reviewing my plan for the day or the week, where do I need to make adjustments? What distractions do I need to remove?

Life happens and as a result, the plan I make needs to have some flexibility to accommodate life events. I just need to keep pressing forward and make sure studying is the priority. It's impossible to pass an exam if you have not prepared for it.

Spousal Insight

Time management can be the difference between passing an exam, and not passing an exam. As my wife indicates above, “it’s impossible to pass an exam if you have not prepared for it.” And, I will agree with that for 99.99% of the people studying for any exam.

For the .01% of people that have the ability to study for a short period of time, just to go in and pass an exam, my hat goes off to them.

However, for the rest of us, studying is work. This is plain and simple. If you are not working to study, you are working to fail. Just like a sports team practices before games, and between games, a student should be doing the same.

Studying before, and in between. I think the points she bring up can be used for anyone and time management: Plan, Follow, Review, Revise.