The most important thing to keep in mind when planning a work and study schedule is to never lose sight of the fact that not a single person is just one thing in life. This means that no one is just a student, a future graduate or a PhD researcher. People are also friends to their friends, sons and daughters to their parents, brothers and sisters to their siblings. In their free time, they can also be chess players, cinema-goers, or museum-aficionados; even runners, gym-members, or hikers. Of course, people usually have other roles too, like employees of a company, members of a research group, or associates of all sorts of societies or associations – and the responsibilities and obligations of such roles usually tend to suppress the time we allocate to moments of leisure in our routine. So the secret to a great work and study schedule is the balance between all the different things that people can possibly be.
Everyone has a different optimal balance point – and for me, organising a productive and effective study and work routine started with finding mine. This means that the minute I realised I was being my most productive self when I started enjoying a good night of sleep, a few minutes outside everyday, and regular physical activities, the rest of my daily responsibilities just fell into place. A good tip is to assign moments of your day to when you can actually fully commit to a walk around the block, or a nice run in the park – especially when it’s sunny outside! People might be tempted to think they don’t have time to do everything they’re supposed to if they take a few moments to themselves, but the truth is that no one can give their best if they’re not being their best. In my case, being my best started with allowing myself a moment to unwind even before my master’s assignments became too much to handle.
Finding the right balance starts with establishing priorities. Make sure to know what’s important today, next month, and in one year’s time. Naturally, this will inevitably lead to conceding or sacrificing things that might also be important. But it’s necessary to acknowledge our personal limitations and our own human fallibility. This gives us more time to focus on the things we can accomplish, and that we can accomplish well. I discovered that what works for me is to focus on one thing at a time. For example, if I’m in the process of writing an essay for a course, I try to finish that project before starting a new course assignment. Also, I do the most important tasks at the time of the day when I know I’ll be the most productive. That means that I do most of my hard, mental work, in the mornings. For the night owls out there, the opposite might work best.
Another thing that really helps me is writing down my daily and weekly assignments. Using a whiteboard, for instance, is a nice way of committing to the tasks I give myself. It’s easy to lose track of all the things I need to get done during the day if I I’m not reminded of what those things are. So whenever I finish one task, I tick that item off the list and start the next one. With time, one grows to appreciate the feeling of accomplishment that comes from attending to all the little tasks in their daily and weekly schedules. However, it’t important not to think of tasks as only things related to work or study. Make sure to write down in your schedules a daily entry for a moment when you get to take a break. Be that a quick run to the bakery around the corner for a snack, or a few minutes to catch up with a friend over messaging. You don’t have to know what it will be beforehand, though. Feel free to improvise. But if it’s not written down, it won’t become something you need to do!
Finally, it’s okay to not get everything on your lists and schedules done on time. Whenever that’s the case, recalculate the route and keep striding forward. The important thing is to never lose sight of your goals while keeping the right balance between all of your possible different selves.
