Hey there! My name is Aastha, and I’m in my final year of college. I know, I’m almost there! At the moment, I’m working two jobs, actively involved in five different clubs (one of which I lead), and managing coursework for four classes. Seems like a lot, huh? Yeah, it’s insane but exciting! I could call myself a workaholic, but I’d rather work than sit idle, and this always puts me in a spot where I’m loaded with a ton of work. If that’s you too, then hopefully this helps. Even if you are looking for some tips, you’re in the right place.
Identifying and focusing on what’s important
One of the biggest things you can do, especially if you are a student, is to filter out the tasks that you do in your life. Identify all the current tasks you have and pursue only the ones that matter and bring you closer to your ultimate goal. For example, let’s say you want to be a designer, but your current job is completely unrelated. In that case, consider shifting your focus and seeking opportunities that allow you to practice and develop design skills. These experiences will not only help you grow but also contribute to your portfolio. With that, don’t wait for opportunities, just make them. Seek support locally or from your family, and make it happen. Many people don’t realize how much they need a change until they take action and see the results.
Next step would be to distinguish between what’s important and what’s urgent. As mentioned in the book Stop Overthinking: 23 Techniques to Relieve Stress, Stop Negative Spirals, Declutter Your Mind, and Focus on the Present by Nick Trenton, urgent tasks are those that require immediate attention and penalizes you if it’s incomplete, whereas important are the ones that bring you closer to your goals. When you have a big list of to-do tasks, this method will help you sort out your options and manage them better.Â
Tools to cut loose
Google CalendarÂ
I have all my meetings, class schedules, project meet-ups, and activities organized in one place. At one point, I even started sending my friends dinner invites just to ensure I was meeting them while keeping up with regular meals. I’ve also color-coded tasks based on specific topics, making them easy to reference at a glance. All of this makes it very easy to schedule new tasks while managing the current ones.Â
Reminders App on iOS
This part might seem tedious and time consuming, but once you have it all arranged, it works like a wonder! On the ‘Reminders’ app, I would make multiple lists under “My Lists” with all different classes, clubs, and activities I had. Think of these as different buckets to sort your workloads. Inside those, I would then add the specific tasks with respective due dates. This setup allowed me to see everything due today under the “Today” section and view all tasks collectively under “All.” Sometimes I want to check tasks of a particular class, I would have that available to me by following this method. At the beginning of the semester, I would go through my syllabus and add all of tasks or assignments, including new tasks as they came along.Â
P.S. The Notion app worked for me, but feel free to experiment with different tools such as the tasks section in Google Calendars.
Other way of making to-do lists
Personally, there’s something incredibly satisfying about physically checking off tasks on paper! Whether you prefer to organize your tasks daily/weekly or if you might not have information much ahead of time, this method could be for you.Â
Start by jotting everything down in one place, just adding due dates in a bracket beside them if there’s one. Then, take another fresh sheet and arrange them all with the due dates. To go one step ahead, you can highlight and spot your urgent, important, and easy tasks and organize it that way. I tend to randomly remember my tasks throughout the whole day. I either note it down on paper or send a quick text to myself. Later, whenever I get time, I organize and add it to my main list. You can make a routine of organizing your tasks every morning or night, or every Sunday if you are doing it weekly.Â
Techniques
Pomodoro Technique
You can experiment and alter the time division the way you want it to work. The usual way is 25/5 minutes, but I’ve noticed that 25/10 minutes work for me better. However, be mindful of altering it- it’s going to hurt you, not anyone else.Â
Say No to Procrastination
The book Art of Laziness by Library Mindset definitely helped me define some techniques that were simple and effective. It’s such an easy book to read and follow through- I highly recommend it!
Five Second Rule to Take Action
If you’re struggling to take action, try counting to five, and before you reach the end, get up and start. It’s either five seconds or later, and that later turns out to be never.
Well, that’s a lot. All of these took time and practice and have developed over the years. Do it with purpose and define it with passion. So, what are you waiting for? Count ’till five, and get going!
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