YouAlberta
How do you have time for everything? I am often asked this when sharing my plans for the week with a busy study and campus involvement schedule. Since my first semester in university, I've been part of various campus organizations and student clubs, in diverse elected student governance positions and in different volunteer roles. Many of these extracurricular activities demand big-time commitments, and it can become challenging to manage volunteer responsibilities while prioritizing academics.
With midterms ongoing and finals season approaching, it seems that there’s not enough time to dedicate to studying while also meeting extracurricular deadlines. But with some of the organization strategies below, it’s possible to make it all work!
Schedule everything
A good strategy to avoid missing important meetings or assignment deadlines is to schedule everything — even those events and tasks that you think you won't forget. During busy times, it’s easy to forget even important and recurrent commitments, so it’s better to schedule all events just in case.
I prefer to organize everything electronically. I use Google Calendar to schedule my class times, meetings and shifts, book off study time and schedule assignment deadlines. I like to use Google Calendar because it sends you a notification before the event. When I forget about a meeting, the ten-minute notification saves the day! I’m able to select a different colour for each activity, which gives me an image of what I need to do during the day and week and how often each task repeats.
Prioritize
Even when you’ve mastered the art of organization, there are times when you’re not going to be able to complete everything – at least not immediately. When this happens, it’s important to set your priorities. Identify what’s most essential and urgent, and get working on this task even if that means you won't be able to complete the other tasks on time.
Assigning priorities depends on your responsibilities and goals, and the potential impact of completing each task. A general rule of thumb when I'm unsure how to arrange my activities is to always prioritize academics. In my responsibilities as a student, my coursework becomes the most important and urgent on my list.
Communicate promptly
When the less important and non-urgent tasks are delayed, it’s important to communicate promptly and professionally with those impacted. For example, if you agreed with your student group to have a poster design completed by Monday but will only be able to finish it by Friday, it’s best to let them know so your groups can plan accordingly and make the necessary arrangements.
Communication also includes reaching out for support sooner rather than later. There are times when we need some help facing challenges. Communicating about these time constraints with a friend or peer from the campus organization you volunteer in could be a good starting point.
Take care of yourself
With a busy schedule, everything seems chaotic, and it feels like we’re always in a rush. In this fast-paced context of multiple responsibilities and never-ending deadlines, it’s good to slow down and take a deep breath from time to time. Not everything needs to be completed immediately, and definitely not at the expense of your well-being.
When the to-do list is too long, it seems easy to cut down on sleep time to advance with the remaining tasks. But this is not always beneficial. I’ve noticed that when I'm sleep-deprived, I’m less productive and efficient in my daily tasks. Get your complete sleep time as much as possible.
If necessary, set a reminder in your calendar to take five minutes throughout the day to relax. Taking care of yourself is important because you’ll be able to complete all of your tasks better and faster!