While most undergrads struggle to juggle school and play, Lee Xin Hong, 23, finds time to give investment talks at Raffles Institution and Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) four times a week. Last month, this multi-tasking youth was invited by Uni-Y, a student group affiliated to the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), to share time management insights with his university peers.
A top student at Singapore Management University’s (SMU) School of Accountancy — he has made the Dean’s list three years in a row — Xin Hong was asked to lecture on this pivotal topic because of the successes he has attained through the strategic management and execution of priorities in his life.
At the seminar, this high-achieving youth leader emphasized the need to plan ahead and stay focused while preparing to “fight the next war”. He also shared about being disciplined in making and fulfilling a “things-to-do” list. Essentially, it involves being decisive and doing the most pressing thing first, even though the human mind often struggles to accept this.
Many students were visibly impressed by his talk. Some later approached him for tips on revision strategies while others requested for one-on-one help in honing their time management skills.
Here is Xin Hong’s secret to acing those papers while juggling a dozen other balls: leading a balanced lifestyle and “creating space” for oneself to recharge mentally, physically and emotionally is the key that has enabled him to be effective in his extra-curriculum work, ministry, and academics.
