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What methods of organization have been successful for managing school, work and home obligations?

I have tried everything from lists to sticky notes to keep my life balanced and to remember all my assignments and due dates. I currently use a bullet journal and like what it offers, but I would still love to hear about methods that have allowed others to successfully meet all of life's obligations.

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Corinne’s Answer

If you haven't noticed, a common answer to your question is to keep to one calendar and to look at it often. Determine what you will prefer to use (digital or a physical calendar) and then have it with you at all times. I personally use two digital Google calendars (one for work and one for my personal life) due to the fact that my business laptop is restricted for company use only. If I could, I would combine them both.

If you choose to use the digital option, I wanted to mention that it helps to color-code the different events, alerts, activities, and meetings. It makes it easy to read. You can access the calendars via your cell phone (so you can be anywhere to access them). These calendars are very easy to modify, set as recurring events, and customize for alerts.

In my calendars, I also schedule time to perform tasks. This way, I see it on my calendar as a to-do which helps prevent procrastination (so I get much more accomplishments).

I hope this helped.
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Melanie’s Answer

To organize your obligations, I recommend checking out Steven Covey's Time Management Matrix. It's a 4 section grid that lets you lists your tasks but also categorize them as important/urgent, important/not urgent, not important/urgent, and not important/not urgent. You can organize and prioritize this way by completing tasks in one section at a time. I learned about this method in college and it became my way of making to do lists, combining school and every day life tasks. I used to draw it on paper until I downloaded an app with that design. I now use the same concept in an excel spreadsheet at work.


You can learn more here: http://www.planetofsuccess.com/blog/2015/stephen-coveys-time-management-matrix-explained/


Best of luck!

Melanie recommends the following next steps:

Set up a to do list based on Steven Covey's matrix.
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Taylor’s Answer

My #1 tip is to rely heavily on a calendar. I use ONE calendar for all obligations, because looking in multiple places (sticky notes, lists, etc.) can increase the chances of missing something! Another tip using the calendar is to TIME BLOCK. Look at your to-do list and block your calendar for how long it will take you to complete the task. Sometimes we think that we can complete 10 tasks in a day (related to work, home, etc.), but in reality when we time block it out, we realize we can realistically only finish 5 tasks. Doing this helps keep expectations in check so you feel accomplished at the end of the day. Hope this helps!
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Simeon’s Answer

It's a good idea to set aside specific blocks of time on your calendar that are the same every week that you can set aside for homework and studying. Don't let assignments get undone until the last minute. Try to find times that you can get extra homework time in. For instance, if you are in one of those fluff classes in college and they don't mind it, you can get homework done for serious classes during those courses. There are work-study jobs on campus that will often let you study on the job as long as no one is asking for assistance at the desk, such as working in the library or the front desk of the dorm. Find ways to give yourself back time during the week.
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Jennifer’s Answer

All of the provided answers are great. One thing I would also recommend is to use a tool or method for tracking that you already use and look at every day because hard to add a new habit/tool to your daily routine.

For example, I live and die in Outlook, especially e-mail. Knowing that I already leverage e-mail so heavily to manage my work, I keep a running To Do e-mail that I update and resend to myself at the end of each day. I'll check off what I got done, add new items, prioritize the most critical / time sensitive items at the top. This insures I see the list every single day.
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M’s Answer

Hi Lessa! This is a great question, and something I think many of us struggle with. I would highly recommend maybe using a digital app/calendar as well, even if it's just to set reminders. If you prefer using a physical calendar/agenda, that's amazing. But by automating reminders on your phone/laptop, etc. you should not need to worry about missing deadlines after you initally input all of your deadlines and set reminders. I use the reminders app on my phone and on my calendar for work/home related items. I think you should give it a go for yourself and see if it helps. You're doing great by writing in your bulletin journal as well! Keep it up and good luck!
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Elizabeth’s Answer

I'm a list maker and a scheduler. And that includes planning time for myself as well.

Work/study wise, I adhere to dedicated start and stop times. This allows me to stay focused on the task at hand.

Example: when I was studying for a big exam, I would dedicate Saturday's. I would set a start and stop time to be in the local library. On those days, I also made sure I had fun plans and something to look forward to after my 'study stop time'.

And be realistic with how much you're taking on. It's very easy to feel overwhelmed.

It's all about balance.

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Lisa’s Answer

Microfocus My advice is to have everything in one place. Get a calendar and mark all due dates and tasks, include prep time. Make sure you are looking at your calendar daily. Make to do list and mark each day with the tasks that need to be completed. Include your personal tasks as well so you have a complete picture of what you need to do for the day. This will help you stay organized.
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Karen A.’s Answer

In addition to keeping a physical day planner, I have found setting calendar reminders on my mobile phone to be quite helpful. When I have a particularly busy period coming up, I map out a calendar on a whiteboard in my study that lets me see my upcoming weeks and month at a glance. Finally, I have learned to prioritize, which means saying "no" to some things.
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Julie’s Answer

I see a lot of answers here about keeping a list. This is an integral part of understanding and coordinating your work. Use the important/urgent/not important/ not urgent square method and label abcd for each item on your list. Then write down no more than 5 things from your original list on a separate sheet or area. Don’t add anything to either list until those five things are complete. Once they are, do one thing from your not important and not urgent list (read for 15 min, newspaper catchup, walk) then write down the next 5 things.
This helps me avoid adding things to my list in order to procrastinate what I really don’t want to do but need to.
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Tara’s Answer

The best way to organize is finding what works best for you. Personally, my mind works well with Excel whereas a lot of my colleagues organize using One Note because it's more visually appealing to them. I like to organize different tasks as different tabs on excel, and I use calendars appointments for tasks that I need to get done by a certain time.
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