How to keep up to date during a month of public holidays
I think we can all agree that April was a very short and rushed month. With all of the public holidays that turned out to be long weekends, I felt that as my workload piled up, the days became shorter. Not only did I have numerous work tasks to complete, but I also had two projects due as well as a test for university. Isn’t it ironic that during the month with the least working days, I had so many different tasks due?
Although the month was pressured, I felt that because I’d organised my schedule in advance, I was able to complete my deadlines in time. I ensured that towards the end of March, I drew up a list of what needed to be completed in order of importance, and I then made sure that each day I was able to cross tasks off of my list. It’s all good and well to compile a list and execute the tasks on it in time, but it’s important to remember to plan sufficient time for feedback and editing for certain tasks. For example, I had a blog draft due for publishing on the 28th of April when I was scheduled to be out of office. So, I decided to create the draft the week in advance so that it would give my colleagues enough time to edit and provide me with feedback before scheduling. This method worked well and I was able to schedule my blog for publishing 2 days before it was due.
With regards to university, I was able to put in study leave for the day before my test which helped me significantly. After my test, I had two projects due two weeks later. I found this to be challenging as my time was very limited. What I’ve learned from this experience is that planning and starting projects in advance will only be to your benefit. Projects require a lot of time, effort and attention to detail, so I now know to start these tasks months in advance to ensure that I’m not stressed when the deadline arises.
These past few months have shown me that studying whilst working is not an easy task. It requires a lot of motivation and planning which I know are areas that I can work on. Motivating yourself is an important skill not only for those who are studying whilst working but also for the PR industry as a whole. Planning and scheduling in the PR industry are imperative as we have such busy days filled with a variety of tasks and it’s so easy to become lazy and unmotivated. The most important piece of advice I can give is that you should always follow through with your schedules – even when you don’t feel like working. It’s pointless creating a schedule for yourself and not sticking to it as that’s when you start to fall behind. From experience, I can say that this brings about unnecessary stress and pressure.
Planning is an essential component of mastering both your studies and work simultaneously. It’s also an important skill for a PR practitioner, so my internship is definitely preparing me for my future career! If you have any tips or advice on time management whilst studying and working or time management in general, feel free to leave those in the comments section below.