Time management difficult, but doable

When you're a student, time management is always an issue, but a student journalist feels this crunch even more. Newspaper deadlines, homework, work, commuting to and from campus, your social life and sleep are all swirling around each other in a ridiculous frenzy of radioactive waste, so without properly balancing your schedule you can get exhausted, burnt out, sick, or - even worse - miss out on the college experience.



Here are some tips to being able to keep all these competing entities in check, without overdosing on caffeine.

1. Keep an organized day planner.
In today's modern society, many people have their daily calendars set in smart phones, tablets and email features, but it is easy to forget about deadlines when you're relying on the device to alert you. By keeping a physical planner - and checking it regularly - it will help you to fully grasp what it is that you have to prepare for in a given week.

2. Pester your writers to stay on task.
Nobody wants to be the "bad guy" as an editor, but sometimes is takes multiple requests for articles, photos or captions to actually get what you need on time. If you send out reminders about deadlines then it will help to improve the rate at which you receive content. Check out my next blog post for more details on how to motivate your staff to meet deadlines.

3. Make time for yourself.
When you're a staff member on a college newspaper it is far to easy to make your entire life revolve around writing, editing and photography. While a strong work ethic is great, it will burn you out quickly if you don't have a hobby outside of the newsroom.

My resolution to combat burn out was to take swing dancing classes once a week, but even if you don't make it out of your house, at least reserve some time alone. Put your phone, laptop, and tablet away and spend time reading or take a long bath.

4. Bring a coffeemaker to the newsroom.
Coffee is not a replacement for a good night's sleep, but it sure does do wonders for productivity. While a caffeine overdose is something that I am trying to prevent through this post, journalists are one of the highest consumers of coffee, so to say that one should quit drinking coffee is would be terribly sadistic.

In order to crack down on the amount of time that one would normally be wasting traveling to and from a cafe to get your caffeine fix, the simple answer is to bring your coffeemaker to the newsroom. Not only will you save time, but you'll also save money - and what college student doesn't like to do that?

A latte at Confiteria & Panderia San Cayetano in Navarro, Argentina. Photo by Lauren J. Mapp

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