Learn With UP CoS: Plan Ahead with Time Management

Last November 27, 2021, the UP Corps of Sponsors Diliman launched the third installment of Learn With UP CoS titled “Plan Ahead with Time Management.” Similar to the first and second installments, the recent webinar also provided information about how the audience can cope during this pandemic. The webinar especially focused on the importance of having balance and managing our time, which many of us can have difficulty dealing with because of the circumstances that we are currently in.

The webinar was spearheaded by the Corps Personnel Sponsor Rixie Anne E. Larga, the Corps Logistics Sponsor Soji N. Gragasin, and the Field Artillery Unit Sponsor Kayce Racelle G. Tampinco. They were joined by two guest speakers.

The first guest speaker, Assist. Prof. John Robert C. Rilveria graduated Cum Laude in BA Behavioral Sciences at the University of the Philippines Manila, earned his Master of Psychology Clinical Area at the University of the Philippines Diliman, and is pursuing his Doctorate Degree in Clinical Psychology with a Minor in Personality Psychology at the same university. He is also a licensed Psychologist with training and expertise in Applied Behavior Analysis, Cognitive Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy and is currently an Assistant Professor under the Department of Psychology in UP Diliman. He is also part of the clinical research team of the UPD Psychosocial services (UPD PsychServ).

In his presentation titled “Getting Your Life Back in Balance,” Assist. Prof. Rilveria discussed the real meaning of having a balanced life, how our lives were affected by the pandemic, and what we can do to get back on track. Assist. Prof. Riviera said that real-life balance is actually about having harmony in the different areas of our lives. Moreover, he emphasized that having a life balance is not about allocating an equal amount of time to the many areas of our lives, it is about maintaining functionality in these varying areas.
Discussing how COVID-19 affected our lives, Assist. Prof. Rilveria mentioned two critical factors: Disrupted Boundaries and Exacerbated Pre-Existing Conditions. According to Assist. Prof. Rilveria, with disrupted boundaries, the pandemic pushed us to undergo adjustments, and it also made our roles from the different areas of our lives unclear, blurry, or even overlapping. When it comes to exacerbated pre-existing conditions, Assist. Prof. Rilveria said that based on literature, even before COVID-19, we already have problems that we carry, and when the pandemic happened, these issues, which can be physical or psychological, worsened.

Assist. Prof. Rilveria also provided ways on how we can manage our life balance which include validating difficulties, clarifying priorities, setting boundaries, maintaining connections, identifying and attending to one’s health, redefining mental health, establishing identity, and accessing sources of support.

With his presentation, Assist. Prof. Rilveria hoped that the audience would acquire insights, be able to reflect on their own experiences and the ways we try to manage the situation we are in, and be able to bring balance into our lives. He ended his presentation by sharing quotes from Jana Kingsford about how “Balance is not something you find, it’s something you create” and another quote from Hillary Clinton saying, “Don’t confuse having a career with having a life.”

The second guest speaker during the webinar was Ms. Caren Claire L. Avenido, a University Scholar and graduating student from National College of PPublic Administration and Governance (NCPAG) at the University of the Philippines Diliman. Ms. Avenido is currently the national president of the Junior Philippine Society for Public Administration, the president and co-founder of UP BUGLAS, an external officer in the Practice of Administrative Leadership and Service, the former executive secretary of the UP Samahan Tungo sa Progresibong Administrasyon, and the former Deputy Corps Sponsor of the UP Corps of Sponsors Diliman.

During her presentation titled “Time After Time: How to Deal With Time As a Student With Many Hats,” Ms. Avenido mentioned that she has many hats as a member of multiple organizations, being an advocate, a volunteer, and with her different roles in her personal life. Ms. Avenido shared how it was not easy for her, and how it took her a long time to adjust when the pandemic happened.

From her learnings and experiences, and using her acronym PA BB GIRL!, which means Plan and Anticipate, Bounce Back, and Get It Rolling, Love!, Ms. Avenido shared tips on how we can manage our time. She discussed how we live in a “VUCA” world meaning a world of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, and how we can turn this into another version of “VUCA” meaning vision, understanding, clarity, and adaptability. In order to plan and anticipate, Ms. Avenido discussed how we can manage our time by being intentional and knowing what you want, using a calendar, prioritizing, knowing your rhythm, breaking down tasks, having multiple plans, colocating, knowing your limits, delegating, and communicating effectively.

She also added that Parkinson’s Law exists, which is about how “The amount of work expands to fill the time available for its completion.” To further help the audience with time management, Ms. Avenido also shared different time management systems such as getting things done, the kanban system, autofocusing, the iceberg method, the 4D technique, time tracking, the 2-minute rule, the Pomodoro technique, agile results, and the Eisenhower matrix.

According to Ms. Avenido, things do not always go according to how we planned them, and when this happens, we need to bounce back (BB), which is the second part of her acronym. In this part, she shared tips such as going back to one’s purpose and doing something that our future self will thank us for.

Towards the end of her presentation, Ms. Avenido discussed the final part of the acronym which means Get It Rolling, Love (GIRL) by talking about Sisyphus and how we are not like him; that we can be successful in doing things, and how we should do what we love and love what we do. She also added how it is significant that we should have time in our day off-screen as this is good for our mind and body. Ms. Avenido ended her presentation with the following quotes, “Time flies, but you’re the pilot,” and “Make time and own your time.”

The webinar had a total of 105 participants. The attendees who filled out evaluation forms were able to acquire certificates of participation.

It has been almost two years since the COVID-19 pandemic halted and changed our lives from our plans, routines, and possibly who we are as people. But even after this long time, many of us are still struggling to get back on our feet and to continue in this new normal. Through this webinar, we hope that we can be kinder to ourselves, continue to strive for the better, and become stronger in all ways that we need.

In case you missed it, catch up on the webinar by watching the recording at the UP ROTC Youtube channel here: tinyurl.com/upcos-lwu3