Priorities, Priorities, Priorities

At this point we should all have an agenda, a designated workbag/schoolbag and our closet organization should be underway. So, now it’s time to talk about priorities. Priority management is a useful tool to use when separating the personal and the professional life.

There are a few tips to priority management that just about anyone can master. Try incorporating a few into your everyday activities to see what works best for you. With a few small accommodations into your busy lives a little priority management will surely come in handy. 

First, use your agenda to manage your time. If you set aside one hour a week to “clean you room” than spend one full hour each week cleaning your room. If you are finished in 45 minutes then so be it, you’re finished. But, don’t take advantage of the extra 15 minutes. If you continually find yourself with 15 minutes to spare than recognize that you are rushing and there is likely room for improvement.






Balance. It is important to understand the concept of balance. One must be able to balance their personal world and their professional world without too much overlap. Your professional world will benefit from your attention. 


The same thing goes for your personal world. Friends and family will appreciate your engagement at social gatherings. But don't go out with friends and spend the entire night on your phone dealing with work (unless of course there's an emergency) and don't spend your workday catching up with friends (texting, Facebook, Twitter etc.). Each world will benefit from your commitment and dedication. 




Handle interruptions appropriately. If your work and professional world tend to overlap than you must be able to handle interruptions appropriately and efficiently. Though there is a time and place for overlap between the worlds, there is no time during work hours. It's simply unprofessional. 

Agenda: An Absolute Must-Have

If you don't already have an agenda or a day planner of some sort than you need to finish reading this post and go get one immediately. I mean it. It will do you a world of good and they're affordable. No need to protest. 

I am an English major, so when opportunity strikes to grab a pen and some paper and handwrite myself reminders, I’m all over it. This doesn’t always work. Some people prefer to electronically catalogue due dates and reminders. But I prefer handwriting things in my agenda. But one of the best parts of starting a new school year is picking out an agenda that you think will work best for you. This year, I bought two agendas. I started with a smaller sized agenda that I thought would be suitable for school but after about a week I realized a regular sized agenda would better suit my needs.

   

I like to write everything down - sometimes in more detail than necessary 

One of the best ways to use your agenda to its full advantage is to write due dates and reminders down as soon as you come across them. This is also fitting if you use an iPad or your cellphone in place of an agenda. Writing things down immediately allows you to keep your schedule organized and helps prevent you from forgetting anything. Which ultimately means that sometimes, your agenda will look intimidating. But at least you've got it all written down. 

In terms of using separate dayplanners for work and school I would highly recommend NOT doing this. It’s easier to maintain and more accessible to use a single agenda. This means that you’ve got to take your agenda with you whenever you go to school, work, volunteering or any of your extra-curricular commitments. But it'll be worth. It an easy and worthwhile habit to practice and maintain.