Time Management: How to be a Little More Like Monica Geller

Let’s talk about time management… My head has definitely been spinning lately. I have work projects that need to get done, some personal errands that I have been procrastinating with and I want them all accomplished before I start nursing school. I think we all have had those times where we attempt to be organized and write things down on our agendas, but somehow that agenda turns into a time capsule of unaccomplished tasks. We find ourselves moving the same tasks from week to week without ever being able to cross them off. Eventually you start to wonder if they came printed with the agenda! I am absolutely guilty of this. I have those items on my to do list that may or may not be exactly time sensitive or have deadlines, so I just move them to the next week...multiple times.

Now that I am starting my nursing program in two weeks, I need to start getting organized. As stressful as nursing school is, my fellow nursing students can sympathize, I am taking an accelerated version that will have me graduating in 3 semesters instead of 5! So, long story short, my funeral is on May 7th if anyone is interested in attending.

Okay so on a serious note something needs to be done so that I can get: good grades, have a social life, sleep and be able to work. Everyone, including my boss, has told me that I am crazy to work during nursing school (let alone two jobs)!

I am taking Pathology and Pharmacology this summer. I still want to be able to have some-what of a life, be able to exercise or work on challenges, have some “me-time”, time for my blog, and actually sleep all the while working full time and taking what is supposedly two of the hardest classes in nursing school. Phew! That was a mouthful! Just reading that sentence was exhausting! Am I right? So I decided to do something I never did before: read ahead of time! I know what your thinking; your too much of a procrastinator for this. Trust me, you are preaching to the choir. I always say I am going to study a little each day and then I end up teaching myself the entire semester of Chemistry the night before the final. I got an "A" but that's beside the point, I really can't afford to mess around this time. I not only have to pass but this information needs to be retained in my head longer than five minutes after the final. I mean do you want a nurse that says: "but I got an A on my final!" as she does everything EXCEPT make you better? NO! So, I decided to ask a friend who already took one of the classes, to send me the power points. I made a plan so that by the time I start school, I will have read all of the material for Patho and the first two weeks for Pharm. This should alleviate some of the shock of seeing the material for the first time during the semester. I have tried doing this in the past and always said, "oh I will read double tomorrow" or try and recalculate the amount I have to read based on how many days I have left. I feel like we are all guilty of this one. The key to staying on task is finding what motivates you in general and applying it to everything you do. I recently spoke about how challenges get things done for me and they probably will for you too if you like competing with yourself. I'm sorry, I am starting to sound a bit like Monica from Friends.

So I created a schedule on an excel sheet, a little extra? Maybe. Worth it? Yes!

So I scheduled time to:

• Sleep 7 hours

• Be at work and school

• Study what I learned in class for 2 hours a day

• Read the material ahead of time for the next class

• Work out or work on challenges

• Go out at least once a week

• Have a day off!

Obviously, this will be tailored from time to time with tests or unexpected events. The important thing is that I will have read the material 1-2 times before starting school, then I will be reading/reviewing on Saturdays, go to class on Monday, then study and absorb it during the week. By the time I study for a test I will have seen the material 4-5 times already!

Here are some tips below to create a similar schedule for you:

• Schedule one day for just you! This means no errands, unless its absolutely necessary and on rare occasions! For the most part, let this be your Netflix-binging, book-reading, spa-relaxing day.

• For the other 6 days, Start with what time you have to wake up to get ready, account for traveling, and block off that time

• Now block off time to sleep counting backwards from when you have to be up. Don’t let the magic "8 hours" of sleep fool you! Everyone is different and your sleep cycle can range from 7-9 hours! Try testing your body for a few days then switch it up randomly. Do this until you’ve tried 7, 8 and 9 hours of sleep. Note down how you feel and you can look back and see the days you feel the best. (I will soon be writing a blog about sleep cycles and an amazing app that changed my life)

• Next block off time for work or school or any other scheduled responsibilities

• Make a list of activities that precede or follow those scheduled activities such as homework or other preparations and plan for them throughout your week

• Now make a list of leisure activities or hobbies and schedule time for that

• Now the remaining time left over can be extra me time or time to do laundry and other errands

• If you have an specific errands, try and actually schedule them for a day instead of leaving them on a general to do list

Welp that's it! Until next time!

Yours Truly,

Camila