How to manage your time?

One of the questions most people ask me is “How do you manage your time? How do you do so many things and you are ahead in your degree? how do you have so much energy?” The answer to these questions is not easy and it is mostly because what I do to manage my time might not apply to everyone. Why does this happen? Everyone is different, so you should know yourself and identify what makes you improve your skills and do everything you want to!

So what helps me to be ahead with my degree, work in societies, go out regularly and work out?

The first thing I do to manage my time is a timetable! I have an agenda because I believe handwriting helps me to remind my upcoming activities. However, I know that nowadays there are many apps or online calendars that you can do to organise your time. You can always use your phone calendar and activate some remainders (for example 1 day before and 1 hour before the event).

Another app I believe is quite useful is Notion. I have been using it to organise my teamwork in the internship I am currently working in. Notion allows us to create a workspace where you can have a team calendar and a to-do list! This let us organise your tasks by assignee, priority or due dates. Also, as you are completing each task you can move it to one of the 3 columns: next up, in progress and complete!

Many friends use Notion to organise all their lives!

As I mentioned, I am quite a traditional girl. Therefore, I use agendas! The one I am using now was my mum’s present for my 19th birthday, December 2021. It was the perfect gift because it includes a weekly and monthly planner as well as some pages to add your new year resolutions, cities you want to visit, monthly goals and my favourite part, motivational quotes!

I try to add all events, tasks, assignments I have a week before; but for sure there are always unplanned events that come suddenly. That is why I take my agenda almost everywhere, so I can add, delete or schedule any new meeting with no clashes. I also add my meetings with friends as well as the nights I am going out or clubbing!

The second thing I do to have everything done on time is take advantage of the day as much as I can. what does this mean? I am a morning person as I always do workout or run very early! This helps me to gain energy and motivation to start working. I usually go to campus early, almost every day. Then I grab a coffee and start checking the tasks I need to do for the day. I basically do this because I do not work at night. If I do not go out, I sleep quite early; I am not the kind of person that would not sleep to study. I know many friends that work better at night but that is just not my case. So the biggest advice I can give you in this aspect is to recognize which type of person are you: Are you a morning person or a night one? Do you prefer sleeping until noon or not?

Most of my friends believe I am quite crazy because of this, as I am able to wake up early after going out until very late. However, do not forget you need to rest! sleeping well is very important and it helps you to start your day with all the energy needed to succeed in your daily activities.

The last thing I want to add is probably the main reason I succeed in managing my time: I just enjoy everything I do! from the degree, going out with friends, salsa classes, going to the Sunday Masses, societies… I believe if you are really passionate about something you will give your best and that is what I do every day!

Hope all of you find those things you love doing and give your best effort!