Academics, student club, part-time jobs, job hunting, hobbies, leisure, social media—
A student's days are filled with things they want to do and things they need to do.
"I never have enough time, and yet I wasted so much time on short videos."
"I have so many things I want to do, I don't know how to prioritize them."
Many people probably have similar worries about how to use their time, don't they?
So this time, we'll be featuring a freelance announcer, the CEO of a mega-venture company, and a student entrepreneur.
Three alumni and current students appear, each approaching the concept of "time" from different perspectives.
While listening to three different time management techniques, I thought about things that are especially important for students to consider right now.
We'll explore some tips on how to better manage your time.
Noriko Baba
(Noriko Baba)
Freelance announcer. Graduated from Waseda University, School of Commerce in 1997. Joined Nippon Television as an announcer and worked in a variety of genres, including news and sports programs. Left the company in 2014 to become a freelancer. Active in a wide range of fields, including television and internet programs, writing, event hosting, narration, and Professor at Osaka University of Arts, Faculty of Arts.
Tomohide Iwatsuki
(Tomohide Iwatsuki)
レバレジーズ株式会社代表取締役。2005年早稲田大学社会科学部卒業。大学在学中からIT企業でエンジニアとして経験を積み、卒業と同時にレバレジーズ株式会社を設立。現在はIT・医療・ヘルスケア・M&A・SaaSなどの領域で60以上の事業を展開し、グループ会社の取締役も兼務している。
Aoi Kobayashi
(Aoi Kobayashi)
A fourth-year student in the School School of Political Science and Economics at Waseda University. He is one of the founding members of the Waseda University AI Research Group and established Trickle Co., Ltd., an AI-related business, in his third year. He balances his studies with business management. He also shares the latest AI trends with over 20,000 followers on ✕ (formerly Twitter).
The seniors
What kind of student life did you have?
Did you send it?
Now, consciously thinking about "time"
Are they there?
Generation Z
Time management is
AI as a partner
Clearly define your goal
"To do or not to do"
decide
Even the time spent hesitating,
The amount of time spent moving,
It's all mine
It will become an asset
What kind of student life did successful seniors have? What are they conscious of regarding "time" now?
First of all, how did you two spend your time during your student days?
Iwatsuki
I started learning programming on my own while I was in university. I didn't do anything special to make time for it, but I was always conscious of how I wanted to spend my time. When I was a university student, I gave up on having fun and dedicated most of my waking hours to studying. There was a time when I did odd jobs to earn money for tuition and living expenses, but I would hide photocopied study materials in my sleeve and look at them whenever I had a chance (laughs).
Back then, my life consisted of either work or studying, so I think it became a habit to study whenever I had even a little free time.
--Iwatsuki, as the representative of a mega-venture company that manages over 60 businesses, I imagine you're even busier than you were as a student. How do you manage to find time these days?
Iwatsuki
When I want some time to myself, I "block" it out beforehand. Daily input is essential for coming up with business ideas. So, I schedule every morning from 9:30 to 11:00 as a time dedicated to input, and I make sure that there are no meetings or calls during that time.
So, the basis of my time management is blocking, that is, how to secure "blocks of time." In addition, I limit the time employees can freely schedule their own activities from Monday to Thursday. This way, they have a block of time on Friday, which makes it easier to concentrate on thinking or working on projects.
Iwatsuki, who leads over 60 businesses, receives a large volume of messages every day from employees saying things like, "Please check this," or "Please make a decision." Iwatsuki collects all of these messages in the "Later" function of Slack (a business chat tool) and processes them all at once during a block of time. Instead of responding to messages as they arrive, he stores them in one place and then processes them all at once. The concept of "blocking" seems to be applicable to handling these kinds of small tasks as well.
Column 1
Tasks should be in one place.
Collect them,
Prepare them all at once
--Baba, you currently work as a freelancer, which must present different challenges in time management compared to being a company employee.
Baba
As a freelancer, there are no fixed working hours or location. My schedule changes almost daily. The challenge lies in deciding when and where to do the work that can be done anytime, anywhere. In my case, this includes checking documents and writing manuscripts.
I know intellectually that it's best to start early since I can do it anytime, anywhere, but...it's just not that easy. Especially since I'm the type of person who doesn't get motivated unless I'm under pressure, and I'm at my best right before the deadline (laughs).
On the other hand, starting early allows you to resolve questions beforehand, have time to exchange ideas with stakeholders, and definitely improves accuracy. Finding the right balance between these two is the theme of my time management.
"I don't think there's such thing as a wasted experience," says baba. She suggests that even the time spent watching short videos and using social media can be seen as "input time if you change your perspective." For those who tend to regret spending hours on social media, she recommends places like movie theaters and art museums. Spending time using your five senses in places where you can force yourself to digitally detox leads to a more fulfilling off-time.
Column 2
Forced Digital
Detox,
Off-time
Increased sense of fulfillment
Gemini、ChatGPT Z世代のタイムマネジメントはAIが相棒
Gemini、ChatGPT Z世代のタイムマネジメントは AIが相棒
--Kobayashi, you're currently a student, and you're juggling academics and running a company. Many students have lots of things they want to do, but tend to just laze around on their phones when they have free time. How do you manage your time?
Kobayashi
I completely understand how you feel, as I sometimes lose track of time watching short videos. To prevent this, I always make it a point to write down everything I want to do and everything I need to do at the beginning of the month, regardless of whether it's work or leisure time. This includes even small tasks like "I want to look at clothes on online shops."
Once you've written everything down, the next step is to add how much time each task will take to complete and by when you want to finish it. Finally, you take a picture of the paper with your smartphone and feed it into Google's generative AI, Gemini. This automatically updates your schedule in Google Calendar, allowing you to block out time in advance.
Baba
When I was a student, personal computers were just starting to become widespread. Few of my classmates had cell phones, so we relied on paper for everything. I'm envious of today's students who have so many tools that allow them to change how they use their time depending on how they use them (laughs). By the way, do you use AI in your private life?
Kobayashi
Yes. For example, planning a trip with friends takes quite a bit of time, doesn't it? You all get together, do research, and decide on the plan.
So recently, I've been using ChatGPT, a chat app that lets you share chats with friends, to create a travel-specific chat group. We each ask questions like, "How do I get to this place?" or "What are some recommended sightseeing spots?" whenever we have free time. The AI then gathers and organizes the information, so we don't have to coordinate everyone's schedules to discuss it. Before we know it, we have the foundation of our plan. Preparing for our trip by accumulating these small pockets of free time saves a lot of time.
Baba
Wow, that's a really modern travel plan!
"I have a really cool leather notebook," Ms. Kobayashi said, showing it to us as she took it out of her bag. She said this notebook is her companion for her monthly routine. She likes to check off tasks as she completes them and then see that everything is checked off at the end of the month.
"It's so cool, I can't help but want to open it in front of people (laughs). That's why I naturally end up seeing my tasks more often."
Utilizing both digital and analog methods, and starting with the basics rather than overthinking it, might be the secret to successful time management.
Column 3
Kobayashi style
"Start with the form."
Time management techniques
What do you want to become? Clearly define your goal and decide whether to "do it or not."
What do you want to become? Clearly define your goal and decide whether to "do it or not."
--We'd like you all to answer some questions and concerns students have about time management. First, Kobayashi has something she'd like to ask you both.
Kobayashi
There are so many things I want to learn, but it's difficult to prioritize within the limited time I have... I'd like to hear how you two manage it.
Iwatsuki
It depends on the person, but if it were me, I'd want to learn as much as I can, so I'd cut out time that doesn't align with my goals. As a student, you have plenty of time, so it's best to try anything that seems relevant to your goals and that interests you. Even if it's from completely different genres, mixing different kinds of knowledge can lead to ideas you've never had before. Once you become a working adult, the priority naturally shifts to "studying what's necessary for the job in front of you," so you can start being selective then.
Baba
I agree with Iwatsuki. When you try your hand at many different things, at first it might feel like everything is half-finished and a complete mess. But if you've chosen something because you think it looks interesting, I want you to try it all, even if it's all disjointed.
When I first became an announcer, I was juggling cooking shows, news programs, and sports segments—programs of all different genres—and there was a time when I worried that my knowledge and experience were all mediocre. But after doing it for a while, at some point all those disparate points came together, and I was able to improve my skills as an announcer to the next level. Especially while you're a student, I think it's okay not to expect immediate results from what you've learned.
Kobayashi
Rather than overthinking priorities, the best thing to do is just try it!
--Next, we'd like you to answer three questions submitted by readers of Waseda Weekly.
When you don't feel motivated
Please tell me how to make it work!
Iwatsuki
Genetics research has shown that 57% of motivation is determined by genetics.
However, 43% of this is due to non-shared environments rather than the home. The more motivated people you are surrounded by, the more susceptible you are to their influence. In other words, if you want to be motivated, you should make friends who are full of motivation.
Baba
The important thing is to just take that first step. To give an example using cleaning your room, it's hard to start cleaning everything at once, but you can probably manage to clean "just this drawer" or "just for 5 minutes," right? And strangely enough, once you start moving, your motivation switch flips on and before you know it, the whole room is clean.
"Studying, part-time jobs, hobbies, dating, etc."
I have so many things I want to do!
But if you try to do everything, you'll end up neglecting sleep and meals.
It's easy to neglect it.
Doing what you want to do while maintaining your health
How can I make it happen?
Kobayashi
When I have a lot of things I want to do at the same time, I might push myself a little too hard... But I think that's something I can only do now because I'm a university student.
Baba
If you're not healthy, you lose motivation. As a result, you'll have to give up on some of the things you want to do, so being healthy is a very important prerequisite.
When I was younger, I used to pack my schedule so tightly that I'd get a high fever at least once a year (laughs). But I think that experience helped me to recognize the limits of my own physical and mental capabilities. If you know your limits, you'll know when you need to rest.
Iwatsuki
The important thing is to clearly define what your priorities are. Doing so will make it easier to decide not only what you should focus on, but also what you should *not* do.
"I want to have a student life without any regrets."
You should take the time to do it while you're a university student.
Please tell me what you think."
Baba
I worked part-time jobs, played tennis, and went to drinking parties. Looking back now, I think my university days were busy but fun every day, but I also feel that all of those things could have been done anytime. I hope that students will challenge themselves to do things that require a significant block of time, like taking a long trip.
Iwatsuki
It's true that it becomes difficult to take extended time off for things like long trips or studying abroad once you become a working adult. In that sense, I would recommend studying abroad to learn a language. In business, the market size and evaluation are completely different between English-speaking and Japanese-speaking countries.
By mastering English, you can transcend the limited market of Japan and challenge markets all over the world. According to one theory, if you spend about 8,000 hours studying English after graduating from university, you can reach a business level. Having that much time is a privilege of being a student.
The time spent hesitating and the time spent taking action will all become your own personal assets.
--Kobayashi, what were your impressions after listening to the stories of your two seniors?
Kobayashi
Even though you both have completely different positions, you both had one thing in common: "just take action." I realized that by taking action first, you can see what kind of time management suits you best. That's why I want to take more action myself.
Today's discussion has inspired me to research how to start a business overseas and even visit some places in person. Talking to people like this gives me new perspectives, which in turn lead to my next actions. Realizing this firsthand was the biggest takeaway for me.
--Could you two seniors please give a message to students who are struggling with time management?
Iwatsuki
Working adults have to learn new things while still managing their existing duties, but students have the advantage of being able to jump in with almost all of their time, starting from a blank slate. For example, if I were a student now, I might have started a business using AI. Compared to the past, it's an era where you can try various things with little capital, so I hope students will make full use of that agility.
Baba
We now live in an age where AI can compile beautiful words and images for us. Anyone can now utter plausible-sounding words.
However, I do sometimes interview candidates for news anchor positions, and what makes me think, "I want to work with this person," isn't their eloquence, but rather the persuasive power that comes from their own experiences. That's why, if you're wondering what to do with limited time, I'd like you to use it for experiences that stir your emotions through all five senses.
取材・文
仲 奈々（2010年教育学部卒業）
デザイン・コーディング
株式会社ジェイツ・コンプレックス
撮影
益子 政二
Baba
I got into university through a designated school recommendation program. I took my classes seriously because I didn't want to cause trouble for my juniors at my alma mater if I failed any courses. I also joined a tennis student club and worked part-time at a cafe and as a tutor. It was a more relaxed time back then.
I'm the type of person who's greedy and wants to do a little bit of everything, and I don't want to give up on any of it (laughs). Back then, there weren't any digital tools like there are now, so whenever I found a gap in my paper notebook, I'd fill it up completely, like a puzzle, by incorporating something or other.