starting slow

The biggest issue for beginner schedulers, at least it seems to me, is committment.  They start a day planner, but forget to write in it.  They try to utilize a calendar, but never refer to it.  They sketch a schedule, but end up procrastinating.  They want to get organized, but they have trouble sticking with it.

The most sure-fire way for college students trying to better manage their time to stay on schedule is to start slow and start easy.  Don’t rush into it.  Don’t try to do too much at once.  Don’t jump into the ocean of scheduling before you test the temperature with your toes.  Mastering the easy stuff will make transitioning into the more technical seamless.  It will also assure that you stick with scheduling.

So where do you start?  As I posted last week, lists are a great springboard.  Lists help you get all of your ideas down, they help you remember everything, they help you get organized.  But lists can’t do it all.  They are not a map of your week.  They won’t set you up to get everything done on time.  They are not the best way to stay on schedule, but they are the best place to start.

So, master the list.  Practice making them, practice referring to them, practice making them more and more focused.  From here, you can turn your lists into schedules.  Sit down with a piece of paper and your empty day planner:

1. Write a list of all the things you need to get done in the week.  This should come naturally, once you get the hang of list-making. 
2. Include due dates and use them to prioritize your to-do list items.
3. Next to each list item put an estimation of how long you think the task will take.  This can be the toughest part of scheduling, so think about it.  Overestimate.  And, don’t get discouraged if it takes some practice to get it right. 
4. Now, look over at your day planner.  Fill in you recurring tasks, like when you have class or when you work.  Block these times off.
5. From here, add the tasks from your to do list into the free spaces in your day planner.  Use a pencil.  Move them around.  Think of it as a puzzle, and try to fit things together in the best way.
6. Look over your schedule to see if any individual day looks too busy.  If any day is too packed, try to re-distribute to even things out.

Using a day planner can be tough when you first start out.  Keep in mind that it can be an awesome and helpful tool, especially when things get busier.  Start with lists and start small.  Then – during a not so busy time like the summer – practice making schedules.  This will ensure that as things get busier you will have the skills to handle all the craziness that accompanies a tight schedule.  Stick with it!  Click here and here for your two minutes of procrastination.

lists of lists of things to do

It is May 8th, and that means I am twenty-five days away from taking my first ever trip outside of the Unites States.  I will spend 3 months living in to Sri Lanka this summer where I will intern with Emerge Lanka Foundation, an organization that supports Sri Lankan girls who have been abused.  Being the super-Type-A-borderline-obsessive-compulsive planner that I am, I have made list upon list upon list of the things I have to do in preparation for my trip.  At this point, I’ve got a list of lists of things to do before I leave.

In February when I started to seriously plan for my trip I made a list of things to do, then separated it by month.  These monthly lists have grown as the trip has gotten closer, and as you can imagine the one for May is quite a doosey.  Even if they can seem never-ending and unnecessarily extensive these lists have kept me on track, prevented procrastination, and set me up for an amazingly well-planned departure.

Okay, at this point I will just come out and say it:  I love lists.  I really love lists.  I love lists so much I make lists of lists.  It’s absurd and neurotic, I know.  But the way I see it, lists are the most fundamental form of scheduling.  You have a bunch of things you have to do but you’re afraid you’ll forget one, so you write them all down.  Then as you complete tasks, you check them off.  Just throw a calendar into the mix, and you’ve got a schedule.  Seriously, this isn’t rocket science; it’s more important than that stuff.  Lists are the building blocks of organization, and without organization we wouldn’t even have rocket science.  I’m just saying.

Since I started writing this blog, I’ve had a lot of friends ask me how to get organized.  Sometimes I have replied, “Buy a day planner.”  Other times I’ve said, “Start plotting on a calendar.”  I think a few times I’ve even suggested, “Use post-its.”  I take all of those things back – well, kind of anyway.  The best advice I have for anyone who is just starting to deal with time-management issues is to make lists.  Make shopping lists, make lists of movies you want to see, make Christmas lists, make to-do lists.  Because once you master the list, using a day planner or a calendar will come easier.

So this week think about organizing yourself for the end of the semester.  Think about all the stuff you have to do before the end of the month and write it down.  Take that list and break it down into what you need to finish this week.  Then break that list down to what you need to finish tomorrow.  And tomorrow, break that list down into what you need to do in the morning, afternoon, night.  That’s a schedule, brought to you through a list.  And that’s why lists are better than sliced bread.

So for all of you non-list makers out there living chaotic lives, this post is for you.  Want to get organized?  Start listing.  It will change your life.  Click here for your two minutes of procrastination.

 

good busy

While going to school over the next four weeks I have to write three papers (the shortest of which is ten pages and the longest of which is nearly forty), take two finals, plan three events at work, mentor seventy students through the close of the semester, present my undergraduate thesis one more time, attend five graduation/award ceremonies, and plan my summer trip to Sri Lanka.  My schedule for the next month is jam-packed to say the least.

That opening paragraph might sound like a complaint, but I assure you it’s not.  To be honest, I don’t think I have ever been so happy to be busy.  While having too much on my to-do list can stress me out, this “To-do before I leave for Sri Lanka list” is an entirely different animal.  The longer it gets, the wider I smile.

I have found over the past four years of college that having too much to do can make me anxious, but so can anticipation.  Sometimes wanting to get through the week because of fun weekend plans can stress me out more than an enormous amount of work.  My trip to Sri Lanka, for which I am more excited than I have been for anything since I was eight and believed in Santa Claus, is like those fun weekend plan times one thousand.  I just can’t wait to get on the plane and head out of the country.  The anticipation is killing me.

Being busy keeps my mind off of the trip.  It keeps my mind off of packing lists, travel details, and trip anxiety.  It allows me to work through my last four weeks here with less stress than I might have had if I had more time to think about all the awesome adventures I will have this summer.

This post tonight isn’t about my trip to Sri Lanka (those are to come!), but about the utility of being busy somethings.  Sure, you shouldn’t pile stuff on to your to-do list to shut out everything, but sometimes using school work or real work to keep your mind off of things that might otherwise stress you out can be a good thing.  My rule of thumb for these kinds of things is if you throw yourself into work but give yourself an end date at which time you will think about whatever it is you are avoiding temporarily, it’s okay to put whatever it is you are avoiding on the back-burner.  As long as you realize this technique is not a permanent fix, it’s okay to use it.  So to avoid the anxiety of planning my trip, I have planned to work on other things for the next three weeks.  I’ll worry about all those travel logistics later.

So next time you find yourself stressing out about something in your life – maybe about where your future is headed or why that cute guy you went out with hasn’t called you back – try throwing yourself into your work for a little bit.  It’s a productive temporary fix that can sometimes work wonders.  If it does nothing else, it will take your mind off of things.

Click here for your two minutes of procrastination animation.

tuesday – april 10th @ 10PM – SLEEP

When talking to a co-worker, professor, or friend about upcoming tasks or events I often find myself saying, “Hold on.  Let me write that down.”  It’s a common rule among good schedulers to take note – literally – of these sorts of things.  When you have a lot on your plate it’s easy to forget about upcoming projects and deadlines.

But, how much is too much?  When do these notes become excessive?  Well to be honest, I’m reaching that point.  Yesterday as I glanced at my day planner I thought to myself, “I should try to get some sleep tomorrow night.”  I followed that thought with, “Hold on.  Let me write that down.”  Now my day planner reads, “Tuesday – April 10th: 10 PM – SLEEP!”

Surely this little note to myself was unnecessary.  I am tired enough tonight (and I knew yesterday that I would be) that I will not forget my intention to go to bed early.  Why do it then, you ask?  Boundaries.

Being busy means never having enough time to do everything on my list.  Trying to fit things in whenever and wherever I can is just part of my daily routine.  So it is entirely conceivable that I would look at my day planner today, see a bit of an opening tonight, and shove in a little task.  Later on as the tiredness set in I would think about going to bed early but convince myself to finish the scheduled task, because if I can’t cross everything off my list for the day I feel very unproductive.

“Tuesday – April 10th: 10 PM – SLEEP!”  It seems crazy, but putting in these kinds of placeholders works for me.  Sometimes I write in things like, “8 AM – relax,” or “3 PM – go on Facebook.”  Sure it’s bordering on scheduler insanity, but if I don’t write in these little tasks I’ll end up scheduling over them.  I’ll neglect my need for fun stuff (and sleep!), which could only make me even crazier.

This week think about the things in your life that you often neglect.  Consider using place holders in your day planner so that you won’t prioritize other tasks too often.  Who knows – you might just find this insane scheduling technique useful.

Click here for your two minutes of procrastination.

 

an inspired space

In a recent team meeting at Echoing Green, a non-profit that promotes social entrepreneurship, my boss asked my colleagues and me to think about a social ill that we would like to see remedied, solved, or overcome.  He told us to envision a world without this problem, to describe what that world might look like, and to share this with the team.  I spoke about mass incarceration.  One of my colleagues spoke about inequality in education, another about the oppression of women.  After we had shared what the world might look like without these problems, my boss explained that seeing these ideal worlds brought about is what inspires us to work with Echoing Green.

The purpose of this exercise was simple and profound.  It is so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day of a job (or a life, I would argue) and to forget what it is we are striving for.  At Echoing Green the everyday tasks my team and I do can overshadow and draw our minds away from our passion and why it is we were drawn to the organization in the first place.  Thinking about what drives us and about what we are working towards can bring us back to that emboldened and committed state-of-mind.  It can keep us inspired, and it is that inspiration that keeps us productive.

Sure, it’s hard to stay in this state of inspiration, passion, empowerment.  Day-to-day minutia has a way of weighing on it, but there are always ways to keep yourself engaged and thoughtful.  One such way I have found helpful is defining an inspired workspace.  When you’re surrounded by things that inspire you, your workspace becomes a safe place for open-mindedness and free-thinking.  It is then that the monotony of everyday tasks can be overcome.

My desk at Echoing Green.

At my desk at Echoing Green I am surrounded by my favorite books (like Prudence Carter’s Keein’ It Real), pictures of my favorite places (like the South Bronx), and notes/quotations from people I admire.  When my mind wanders for a minute as I read emails or when I need a quick two-minute break from staring at an excel spreadsheet, my eyes focus in on these things.  I am brought back to a state of awareness, awareness of what I am working for and towards.  So after our team exercise I added a new knickknack to my desk – a small poster about incarceration in the United States given to me by a close friend.  Now when I need to refocus and get inspired, I just look up and read, “Incarceration Nation.”

This week think about your workspace, whether it is a workspace in an office or just your desk at home.  How can you make this space yours?  How can you make it a space that screams inspiration, that gives off passion, that empowers you and keeps you focused?  This kind of project is not only one that will make you more productive, but it is a lot of fun, too.

Click here for your two minutes of procrastination.

strategic planning

Most of us have goals.  We have an idea of what we would like our futures to look like.  It’s human nature, at least I believe it is, to visualize where it is we hope to end up.  What is not so innate, however, is our ability to get to those destinations.  Sometimes the paths to our goals are clear.  Most of the time, however, there is nothing obvious about the process.  And if you’re like me, hoping to achieve things few others have attempted, the path can be even harder to envision.

I’ve posted here before a few times about backwards scheduling – the process of setting a deadline and planning how to finish a project by working backwards from it.  This is the technique that has worked best for me when it comes to class papers and projects at work.  It’s also a great technique for planning how to go about attacking a goal.  Start with the end and work backwards.

I was recently able to take part in a strategic planning brainstorm session at the non-profit where I work part-time, Echoing Green.  I presume this kind of session is common to anyone running a non-profit, or for-profit for that matter.  It goes like this:  First, define the vision – the future one would like to see.  Then, define the mission – what one does in general terms that brings about this future.  From here get more specific by explaining a theory of change.  This is basically a more specific version of one’s mission and how this mission brings him or her to the vision.  There can be several more specific iterations of the theory of change.  The idea is to move from a grand idea to progressively smaller and more narrow actions until you defines the things you do on a day-to-day basis that bring about the vision.

Sure, this sort of strategic planning is designed for businesses, but why limit it to such?  Why not use this very effective method to get to achieve the vision you have of your own future.  Where do you see yourself in five years?  How do you plan on getting there?  What will you do to facilitate this?  Now, keep going.  Keep asking yourself more specific questions until you can answer: what do you do today to start this process?

This week take some time out of your busy schedule to really think about how you are moving toward your goals.  Think about the steps it will take to get there.  Think about the roadblocks in the way and how to overcome them.  And think about the things you do day-to-day and how they factor into the bigger picture.  Be strategic now, and you will get to where you want to go later.

Click here for your – okay it’s about 5 – minutes of procrastination.

transparency

Busy people only get busier.  I’m sure there is some rule of physics for this – something about inertia or acceleration, perhaps.  When you’re organized and on top of your stuff, people just assume you can handle more.  Bosses pile on the projects, professors pile on the assignments, friends pile on the favors.  They think an organized and hardworking individual can handle it all, and if you’re like me you find this incredibly flattering.  It can also be pretty frustrating – not because it means more work, but because it means having to make more time for that work.

When I started writing this blog, I wanted people to think of me as a great scheduler – an organization guru even.  I tried to put on this persona – someone who could take on anything and everything and all at the same time.  I wanted to come across at cool, collected, and in control.  I wanted to be a scheduling super woman.  All this, of course, led only to more busyness – something about which I am not and will not complain.  It’s just that all that busyness also led to a whole lot of stress.  That I will complain about – endlessly, in fact.

I managed these expectations for two years, and now I’m trying something new – transparency.  Having everyone believe I’m a master scheduler who can always make time for everything is just too hard act to keep up.  I’m finding it much easier to be honest, to tell others I’m feeling overwhelmed, to set more reasonable expectations.  Anyone who knows me knows my go to response these days is, “I’m working three jobs, taking four classes, writing a thesis, and planning a summer trip abroad.  I’m a little stressed out at the moment.”  And yeah, telling people the truth means they won’t see me as an organization guru.  It also means getting a lot more understanding, tons of help, and a little bit of slack.  To me that makes the tradeoff one that is worthwhile.

Click here for four (that’s right two times the usual amount) minutes of procrastiantion.

setting boundaries

A busy schedule makes one prone to a lot of things – stress, sleep deprivation, a suffering social life.  A busy schedule can also lead to what I call overflow, when one project takes up too much time and cascades into the time allotted for another project.  The worst thing about overflow is that it often leads only to more overflow, sometimes rendering entire days of packed schedules unproductive.

I like to think that I know myself well enough to be able to predict which projects will take me longer than usual.  Most of the time I can tell in advance when I will have to work late, when a paper will need extra care, or when I’ll get hung up chatting with friends.  But, no one can be entirely omniscient about these kinds of things.  Occasionally (and hopefully infrequently), overflow happens, and when it happens to me, I erupt like a stress-filled volcano.

When I started to monitor and combat my stress levels as part of my New Years Resolution for 2012, overflow had basically taken over my life.  I was working late at all three of my jobs every week, cutting back on sleep, and experiencing anxiousness like never before.  While I still deal with overflow (like tonight in fact), I have been practicing a great little technique that has greatly diminished the impact it has on my day-to-day schedule – boundary setting.

Boundary setting is exactly what it sounds like; you draw lines and stick by them even when you might feel obliged to do otherwise.  For instance, though I feel like I should work late most nights (because I typically have a ton of work to do), I have set a boundary for myself.  I recognize that for my own personal well-being I need to get to bed at a reasonable hour, and so I have resolved myself to leave work on time.  The whole concept is a lot like the saying, “Leave work at work,” except for me it is just, “Leave work.” 

While there are times when overflow is necessary (like when deadlines must be met), a lot of the time it is avoidable.  Just be conscious, be forward thinking, draw lines for your schedule.  Just changing the way you think about overflow can help you begin to combat it.  Saying to yourself, “Tonight I am going to work on this paper for two hours, so I will end this texting conversation with my friend for now,” can really keep you and your schedule on track.

This week try to think of a boundary as little space in your schedule you have carved out for something specific, and don’t let anything interfere with that task.  Remember, being able to stick to your schedule can do away with tons of excess stress.  Click here for your two minutes of procrastination.

the stress-free diet

If there is one thing I learned from doing yoga, it is that everything in the body is connected.  You can do a side-body stretch and find yourself able to breathe deeper.  You can do a power lunge to strengthen your legs and core, and end up loosening up your shoulders.  You can work out your body and end up with a clearer mind. 

Sometimes when we approach a problem we do so with blinders.  We can focus so much on what we think the causes of that problem are that we pass off (sometimes unconsciously) possible solutions.  We forget that many things are interconnected.  We put ourselves in a box unable to think outside of it.

Most people regard stress as a state of mind.  I’m inclined to agree with this to some degree.  There are aspects of stress, however, that are concretely physical.  Take, for instance, the way your heart races when you are anxious or nervous.  This is a very physical response to stress.  Attempting to change your state-of-mind when you are stressed is productive, but why not also try to counteract the physical symptoms of what you are feeling. 

Research has shown that one of the best ways to attack these physical symptoms is by changing your diet.  Certain foods, like simple carbs (sugary snacks and drinks) can give bursts of energy followed by crashes, a combination that can exacerbate stress symptoms like high blood pressure.  Conversely, other foods can help you combat stress, like complex carbs such as whole wheats and nuts.  These carbs increase your brain’s serotonin production, which quells anxiety and evens mood.  Researchers have also found that oranges (which have lots of vitamin C for a healthy immune system), spinach (which contains magnesium that can help stave off fatigue), and black tea (which has low levels of caffeine that reduce cortisol production without the crash brought about by coffee or sodas) are good anti-stress foods.  Doctors also suggest an overall healthy diet is a pro-active way to fight stress symptoms.

I’m not a believer in diets.  I think the only way to be healthier (and lose weight, if that’s what you are going for) is to make a lifestyle change.  This week think about living a less stressful life by making changes to your daily routine.  Do some breathing exercises, go for a run (physical activity has also been shown to be a good outlet for stress), and eat healthier.  You’ll feel better, I promise.

 Click here for a two minutes of Valentine’s Day procratination.

stress management technique #4: let it go

Let me first say that as a general rule, I don’t believe in letting anything go.  When I say this, I am not just speaking about tasks on your to-do list.  I mean everything.  The people who know me best will tell you I let nothing go.  I am a ruthless grudge holder; my mind is like a steel trap of records of all those things most people let go, but I won’t. 

I thought about writing “can’t” there instead of “won’t,” and perhaps the MaryBeth from 2011 might have.  The new stress-less MaryBeth from 2012 knows better.  “The only things that are impossible are those we believe to be, so never deem something as such,” my fifth grade teacher always used to say.  That is the approach I resolved myself to take, when it was suggested to me that I try this new stress management technique.  Just let it go.  It sounds simple, but for me it’s been incredibly difficult.

It becomes apparent some days that I am simply not going to be able to stay on schedule.  Things run late, they take longer than expected, and time flies.  Tasks that should have been completed end up rolling over to the next day.  No matter how hard or fast I work, I just can’t get everything done.  It happens, and I hate it when it does.  This kind of day stays with me for the whole week afterward.  I remain silently frustrated, wishing I could have been more productive, believing if I’d worked a little faster I could have gotten everything done.

Just let it go.  It sounds simple.  It’s immensely hard.  We spend so much time reflecting on the past, frustrated or angered by what has happened, that we are unable to live in the present.  We devote so much energy and time to harping on past events, energy that could be channeled more productively to the work we are doing here and now.  I’ll say it again – I’m a grudge-holder, but 2012 MaryBeth is beginning to learn the value of just letting things go.

All this being said, I am not one to forgive and forget so to speak.  With every thing deserving of being let go there is a lesson to be learned.  Did I fail to do everything on my to-do list today, because I spent too much time on a single project?  Or, was it because I was unfocused and unorganized?  How can I prepare better for the next busy day?  Asking these questions is important to improving as scheduler.  It is instrumental in optimizing your productiveness.  Asking too many of these questions, however, borders on obsessiveness.  Finding the balance, as always, is the key.

This technique is still new to me, as most of the techniques I post about here are.  I’m still working on constructively criticizing myself, while learning not to harp on these sorts of things.  I personally feel it is one of the best stress management techniques I have tried, and I hope that this week you will try it, as well.

Click here for your two minutes of procrastination.