This summer I balanced a full-time internship, taking a class, and throwing two wedding showers and being a MOH in my friend’s wedding. I would say that I’m a pretty organized person, and I’m going to use this blog post to talk about a few techniques that I use to stay on top of things.
Planner: Although I think any planner will do, I use Notion to keep track of my daily activities and what I have coming up. I previously blocked my time out, however, for my personal calendar I have since switched to using a daily to-do list. I start my day by setting my intentions: What 3 big things do I need to get done today, and what 3 things would be nice to get done today? Then I try to do as much as I can.
Time Boxing: While working, I utilized timeboxing to ensure that I had at least a few hours a day of interrupted time to do work. For me, the best way to do this was to block off blocks of time on my calendar, so if people were scheduling meetings with me they weren’t spread throughout the day. Context switching can be very expensive and losing your train of thought can cost hours a day or productivity.
Time Boxing (Part 2): Sometimes I would get stuck on a task, and it would drive me up the wall for hours. I found the most effective way (if I was feeling hard-headed) was to timebox the amount of time I was willing to keep trying to get my way to work. If I reached the end of my timebox, I either had to: try an alternative way or ask for help. Starting out with a maximum amount of time to spend on something ensures you don’t get stuck in a black hole of doom.
