The alarm goes off at 7 a.m., maybe earlier, depending on the day. You immediately check your e-mails and any other messages that may have come in overnight. You double-check Blackboard to see if any updates on your two classes today have come through, and upon seeing that your professors have not canceled class, you throw your books and laptop into your satchel, say goodbye to your wife and child, and head on to campus.
Between classes, you have a meeting with a professor, a meeting with fellow students that you will be presiding over, and you also have that research paper that you need to do. It is late in the afternoon before you can leave campus, and you must head to work for a little while before finally making it back home. You eat with your family and get ready for bed, ready to do it all again tomorrow.
For college students, one of the hardest tasks to face is the issue of time management. Many students take four or five classes, work a job or two, and balance other activities in between. If not properly organized, this can cause stress, anxiety, and a sensation of being burnt-out.
But for Nick Davis, juggling family, volunteering, school, work, and many other activities is a daily ritual.
Davis is a senior political science major with a pre-law emphasis. He currently serves at Texas Wesleyan as the founding chair of the Young Conservatives of Texas, the President of Mortar Board, a Hatton W. Sumners Scholar, and a Texas Civic Ambassador. Davis has also served on the SGA as the Freshman Representative during his first year of college and has participated in the Pre-Professional Program (3PR) as well.
“I’ll be the person to tell you that when I first got to college, I was like a fish out of water,” Davis said. “My first semester here – it’s kind of an overwhelming thing because you’ve got two or three classes per day, some people have more, some people have less, and it’s kind of like, ‘how do you manage having study time and time for organization commitments and stuff like that?’”
Davis came to Wesleyan as a traditional student, but he had enough credits from high school to be able to qualify as a sophomore. He said that his time management skills have taken some time and commitment to be as organized and efficient as they are.
“I initially started using Google Calendar pretty religiously,” Davis said. “I block my days out, and pretty much if you look at my Google Calendar, you would get a pretty good idea of my entire life because everything’s on there. Some people don’t have to be super structured, but I’m really structured. I block family time, study time, and lunch just so I have a general idea of how my day goes.
“And then I use a paper planner, but it’s not really a planner, I just jot ideas and to-do stuff down,” Davis continued. “It’s really important to me because stuff comes up two or three times a day and I’ve got to remember it or else I’m gonna forget. Then I use Todoist on my phone. Todoist is a quick to-do app and it syncs with my Google Calendar, so I always have it. I always have a lot going on at any given time, and I try to make my head be in the right spot.”
Associate Professor of Political Science Dr. Michelle Payne met Davis his first semester at Wesleyan. She wrote in an email that from their first time meeting, she knew that Davis would be a great student.
“I met Nick in Fall 2017,” Payne wrote, “I thought he was a remarkable young man, with direction and laser focus- he wanted to go to law school, and I thought he would do well in the profession- but what I found out as time passed, and he started taking my courses, was that he is one of those unique individuals who can do anything well- and he pushes himself to do just that.”
Payne went on to say that she sees a bright future ahead for Davis and that he is already paving that path as an undergrad.
“I have had Nick in all three 3PR level classes, and a few more,” Payne wrote. “I am certain he would claim Public Policy as one of his favorite classes- he was always prepared- even if I randomly called on him. His paper was so good I asked if it could be forwarded to our lawmakers in Austin.”
Davis said that his favorite class thus far is, in fact, Public Policy. Whenever he graduates, he desires to get a Master’s in Public Policy at UT or A&M, then work in public education policy, possibly as a teacher.
Matthew Breedlove is in the Young Conservative of Texas organization with Davis. In an email, Breedlove wrote that Davis is an excellent partner for group projects, as his communication and organizational skills keep work simple and effective. Breedlove also wrote that he has learned a lot about time management from Davis.
“My favorite memory with Nick was when we were in International relations together,” Breedlove wrote. “We had this simulation where we were in control of a country and there were other groups in control of other countries. After class, we would get together and discuss our plan to take over the other countries. We would rent a room upstairs in the library and write out a whole detailed plan every week. It was really great.”
In his limited free time, Davis likes to read and to spend time with his one-year-old daughter. He said that he feels being a student in engrained in him now, and because of that, he is always eager to learn new things.
As for his advice for fellow students? “Just start,” Davis said of time management. “Google Calendar is super easy to use, but find something that works for you. I can talk about my system all day, but it may not work for everybody else. Find something that works for you and stick with it. Don’t get overwhelmed, and don’t get stressed out about stuff. Time manage to keep your sanity.”
Amanda Roach 