What Persona 5 Taught Me About Managing My Time

When Persona 5 came out in 2016, I was in the middle of a massive depressive episode where I had difficulty juggling university, a relationship, friends, and work. This isn't even to mention trying to find time for hobbies and family obligations.

Enter a game I had been looking forward to ever since that first teaser image with the chair and the shackle dropped.

I started playing it and quickly became enthralled with the story, characters, and setting. But there was another thing that entranced me and captivated my obsessive mind: the time management skills of the main character, Ren.

It's no secret to anyone who knows me that my time management is abysmal (I describe it as "the time management of a half-melted potato"). It turns out it was ADHD that I'm now receiving treatment for, but in 2016, I did not know this. So I looked for direction in Persona 5 and Ren. I tried to model my life after his.

I got up and went to class and did my best. I looked at the rest of my weekdays as two separate time blocks. I had an "after school" and an "evening". I tried to plan my social interactions, to-do lists, and work shifts like I would in the game.

In my mind, if Ren could hold down a job like saving the metaverse, get good grades, create and maintain meaningful bonds, and play video games, I could do it too. So I did(minus risking my life).

As you can imagine, this did not work.

Oh, it worked briefly. Then it fell apart with an unmotivated whimper as I became even more stressed and anxious about trying to keep on a tight schedule. Ren doesn't get pulled to random events or have random assignments taking me way too long due every two days. Persona 5's game world is a neatly organized, standardized, and ultimately unrealistic life—even with the world-saving mission. The reality of my existence, in comparison, is messy, busy, and fluid. It was a failed experiment.

However, it wasn't all bad. I created a system to ensure I was spending enough time with various people. I wanted to keep up with everyone, so I tried my best to make time for each person in my life as often as possible without neglecting someone or something else (it helps that I have a small family and small friend group). It only partially worked, but my interpersonal relationships did improve.

Now that I'm older and still playing Persona 5, I have a new takeaway from the game. Words to live by as I juggle a full-time job, a husband, friends, family, and hobbies:

Take Your Time.