These days, I have a lot to do. Readings to finish, essays to write, emails to send, practices to run, groceries to buy and cook, you name it. I sometimes forget how over-scheduled I really am until I try to make an appointment with a professor, only to realize that I have mandatory commitments during all her office hours. No worries though, she stayed late to accommodate me. On Monday when I was getting dinner at Dewick, a freshman friend asked me “How do you balance your work?” I gave him a little advice that I feel might be useful here. In no particular order, Julia’s five quick tips on getting it done.
First, take breaks. I like to take 5 minutes every 25 to just do whatever. Whether that’s watch a dumb youtube video, chat with my housemates, or go play a quick round of Bananagrams, taking a few moments helps break things up and makes working for long periods of time tolerable. And I’m becoming beast at Bananagrams.
Second, know when to disconnect. If you like your Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, Twitter, or whatever else the new thing is so much that you’re checking every few minutes, turn it off while you work. Just try it. It’s not too bad. You can manually disconnect from the internet, you can use a program like SelfControl, which turns things off for you, or you can do my favorite hack and use clear tape to tape your laptop closed. It won’t leave a mark, but you’ll feel bad while you’re picking it off.
Third, if you’re writing a paper, recognize your first draft is not your final one. Whether it’s your college essay or just another short response paper, the first words you churn out won’t (and shouldn’t) be the ones that get turned into the teacher. Ideally, I try to have the entire paper done 24 hours before it’s actually due, just to reflect before it goes in. Of course, things happen and it doesn’t always work out that way, but when you’re writing, don’t be afraid to delete things you wrote before if they’re just not making sense.
Fourth, do things in the order that makes sense, not the order you want to do. I know that Art History theory homework is no fun because it’s dense, but if it’s due tomorrow and the reading for my seminar on Hayao Miyazaki (yep, it’s real.) is due next week, I really should be reading Kant first. It’s annoying, but it helps me get everything done on time.
Finally, learn how YOU work. Seriously. For years, I thought I worked better with music. Actually, I just liked listening to music. Now, I don’t listen and work unless I’m doing something relaxing, like writing this post. Otherwise, I plug in a pair of heavy duty headphones and use an online white noise generator like this one to keep me focused. Take this time to learn how you best work—it will serve you well. If you need to sit in a darkened room that smells like mint to do your work effectively, just do it.
I haven’t really thought about how I get everything done. I just do it. I don’t mind being busy and I feel weird if I have a lot of downtime. Learning how to balance my work was something I learned in high school, but I found it comes in handy in college even more. Is there anything that you do that helps you do all your work and still have time for you? Leave a comment and I’ll give it a whirl!