Staying up to speed
You know how you feel when you’re trying to get through a book and you just can’t seem to find the time? You’ve got a lot of stuff going on, right? You’re running around, working on projects, and writing yet another blog post. You’re also trying to be a good friend, family member, neighbour — you name it. But no matter what you do, there’s just not enough time in the day!
I think we all have different goals, but there are a few things that seem to be universal: time management and organization. Although I almost mastered the way I keep my content organized, from time to time (or maybe daily 😅) I find myself struggling with time management.
Having tasks coming in continuously and quickly both from work and from university courses, I often end up feeling overwhelmed and procrastinating. And that usually means staying up late to finish everything. I tried a lot of different tools and techniques to get on top of the situation but haven’t found the solution that really works for me yet.
Being organized and staying on top of your work can make a huge difference in how much you get done, and how much stress you feel while doing it. But what if you don’t know where to start? I have been reading a lot of articles online and discussing with my peers about this, and here are some takeaways.
1) Be realistic about what you can realistically accomplish in any given day/week/month. Don’t set yourself up for failure by trying to be super human and do more than your body and mind are capable of at once!
2) Create systems that allow you to do things quickly and efficiently — whether it’s using an app or writing out lists or whatever works best for you personally!
3) Make sure everything has its place so that when you go looking for something later on down the road (like a file), it’ll be easy to find without having to waste time searching through piles of papers or emails.
We need to make sure we’re being efficient with our time, so we can make the most of it. We need to also establish routines and systems for ourselves so that we don’t get overwhelmed by all the things on our plates. It’s important not to lose sight of your priorities though — because if you do, you won’t be able to stay on track with what matters most.
One of my problems is creating a system that works for you, and not that makes you work for it. As a freelancer, I could set up a Trello to keep my own tasks and priorities always ready for me, but I’m pretty sure that I would end up spending more time working on keeping Trello up to date rather than sticking to sticky notes and just doing the work.
How do you manage to stay on top of your task list and manage your time? Let me know with a comment!
This post is a follow-up from my previous post, “Time management is overrated. Better learn how to organize your own content.”, and a general reflection after my first year of studying at the MA in Content Strategy at FH Joanneum.
