Staying on Top of “It”
If you follow me on instagram, you know how vocal I am about my procrastination. And although I complete some of my best work under pressure, it’s never ideal for me to be doing ish at the last minute. Being a full-time wife, mama, PhD candidate, assistant principal and friend, I try to give all those roles 100% of me.
Here are some things that help me stay organized, on top of my game and *somewhat* ahead of scheduled tasks.
Power Hours. A friend of mine introduced me to this and whew, it’s been a game changer. She goes into detail on her instagram page about how these set scheduled times allow for some of her most productive times. Don’t get caught up on the name, your “hour” can be 20 or 30 mins at a time! It allows me to grind for an “hour” straight and I can commit to smaller increments of work time. An idea can be to grab a friend and commit to a “Power Hour” together.
Write it down. The planner I use helps me outline almost every detail of my life. From goals, to finances, to daily and monthly checklists. I am able to see tasks and deadlines at a glance, which allows me to backwards plan (plan according to the end in mind). I am really unsure how I would function if I wasn’t able to use this tool.
Frequent breaks. I tell myself, if I’m not at 100% nothing I devote energy to will receive my best. So I make time for myself, often. Whether that is taking a nap, getting my hair or nails done, going out with friends, whatever. I make sure that I do something that I want to do for fun.
Environment. At the beginning of the pandemic, I stayed in my office most of the day and I had to make my office conducive to other parts of my life. My kids had a play area there and I had a tv. As a mama, I can’t shut out my kids, so I merge my worlds together so that it works for me. My tv helps my office feel less “work-y” so I can still have the white-noise I need in the background. Towards the middle of the school year, Simea decided to start pulling up on things, so I had to change locations. I set up a writers table in the corner of their playroom. This allowed for them to remain preoccupied while I got work done.
Village. My husband, my mama, my little cousin (she moved with us from Portland before Mea was born) and some of my friends all have taken turns with my kids for me. It’s important when you’re in pursuit of academic goals, climbing the ladder in your career, whatever, that you have people that support you and want you to be successful.
Bonus. If you are in a doctoral program, this has been the best advice I’ve ever received. My mentors told me to make sure when I wrote, that all my papers were related to my topic. Everything I write about has to do with Black women in Ed Leadership or feelings of impostorism. So, every time I write, I pull information, sources and research from papers I’ve previously written. Let’s pray this makes dissertation writing a breeze 🥲
How do you stay on top of all the things you have to do?! Drop some gems below!
