Note from the Editor: It’s a new semester, I’m juggling multiple major projects as usual, and as such I was asked to write a piece for the Bulletin on time management. I hope this is helpful!

I used to joke that I worked “9 to 5 and 5 to 9.” This was back in the Boston area, where I completed my first MA thesis in the evening while working a full-time job. After that was done, I wrote two novels, published them, did all my marketing, and more. Then I moved overseas and completed a second master’s degree while working multiple part-time jobs and volunteering for an NGO.

How? Time management and organizational skills helped a lot.

I wasn’t always very good at time management. To-do lists were overwhelming, and I tended to just chip away at anything I needed to work on, without a real strategy – I muddled through and turned things in on time in the end, though there were a lot of close calls. That was in college, however, when things were a bit easier. Grad school is another level, and so is the working world. I had to figure out how to juggle multiple major projects and critical tasks, produce good work, and also get enough rest (important!), see friends, etc.

Thankfully, by the time the MPP came around, I had already been doing this type of thing for over a decade. Here, then, are some of my thoughts on organization/time management, and what I specifically do to keep everything organized. 

As you can see, the main section is just schedule + time blocks. The time blocks are where I pull in projects to work on, and complete a series of tasks that I have already prioritized/built into my project planning (see below). In this way, the system serves up important tasks for me based on whatever I want/need to work on. It’s the same chipping-away strategy I used in college, just thought through a lot more deeply, and because I can see everything at once, I tend not to forget things.

How it works/how to use it

The projects (purple) sit at the top of my calendar. These show me what I’m currently working on, and what I have the option to work on during time blocks. Note: I do not write down every class etc. here. That’s too cluttered and can be overwhelming. I just write down major projects: outside courses, book editing, etc. You can do as you like, but I recommend only having 2-3 current projects here.

My regular schedule (blue) is what I work around. I fill this in and then don’t worry about it. New events get added here.

Time blocks (green, dotted line) are where I have free time. This is where I work on the things that need to get done for various projects/classes. I either pick from one of the projects at the top or one of the other things I know are ongoing.

Tasks (dark red) are based on projects. When I add start dates/deadlines/priorities to them, they get fed into my calendar. See below for how to do this.

In short, I think in terms of long-term (projects), day-to-day (schedule/time blocks), and a to-do list (tasks), all at once, and my app feeds the most important ones directly to me without me having to do extra thinking. As someone who does 5-6 major projects at any given time, this is huge.

Planning

First, basically everything is a project. A course with homework is a project. German study is a project. A thesis is a (really big) project. Even “general admin” is a project…because it can be turned into a to-do list with various important and less-important tasks that can be prioritized. If you’re starting with a huge to-do list and have no idea where to begin, organize it conceptually and think of those as your projects. Include a “general” category. Then use the principles below.

Each project is different. I look at what’s required and break it into its logical components and then think about how the tasks should work. 

For example, German study means ongoing progress across a number of areas, which I can track daily: vocabulary, grammar, speaking, listening, etc. I can use a set of repeating tasks and do as many as I can each day: read 10 pages, learn 20 words, listen to a podcast, etc. These are cumulative. They don’t depend on completing other steps to get done.

However, publishing novels means dealing with multiple tracks: editing, book cover design, marketing, etc., with a specific timeline for each. Sometimes these tracks are parallel; sometimes one depends on the other being completed first. I separate the tracks, write everything that needs to be done for each track (tasks/subtasks), sort those tasks into chronological order, add prioritization and deadlines if possible, and then build a rough timeline for each track: (1) estimating time for each task and (2) planning backward from deadlines to give myself enough time to accomplish everything. That gives me a workable start date and overall timeframe.

For example, a partial list of tasks for re-publishing a book as two books:

Quick guide:

1. Work out the project structure/list all tasks/organize them in chronological order.
2. Timeline: Give tasks/subtasks deadlines and priorities (high, medium, low). Calculate backward from the final deadline to get a reasonable start date for the project.
3. Enter tasks in your to-do app with all the above info (priority, deadline, start date if needed). This pushes them into your calendar as tangible to-dos. NOTE: No start date: appears in the to-do app but not as a specific event in your calendar. (I schedule about half my tasks and work on the others on an ongoing basis.)
4. In the calendar itself, add a project bar at the top that runs from the start date to the deadline. This gives you a “here’s what you are working on now” visual reminder.
5. You’re all set! To work on something, just pick a project, pick a time block, check the current tasks for that project, and go.

Congrats, that’s all. Your app + calendar combination should now run without any extra work or thinking about when you need to start what.