There are a ton of articles and journals on the internet about how multi-tasking is a myth, or how it should really be called “A,” “B,” or “C.” No matter what you call it or how you approach it, there are numerous situations in everyday life that require you to do multiple things at once. If you’re on the quest to live the multi-hyphenate life like I am, then those numerous situations can seem to multiply exponentially in what seems like seconds!  BUT. Do not fear! I am here to share with you how I manage the millions (only slightly exaggerating) of things I have to get done on a day-to-day basis. There honestly aren’t that many steps (I’m sharing two!) but implementing the process takes some time and practice.

1. Actively maintain a calendar/planner

I am freaking obsessed with planners man. I love those things. I attribute this passion for planners to the good ‘ol GCISD school district that required us to keep planners from kindergarten through high school. Many of my friends/peers fell off the planner wagon when we no longer had to have our parents sign them, or whatever, but keeping a planner is an invaluable life skill! Especially when you’re trying to be a master task-juggler! It is way too easy to get caught up and confused about dates and tasks when it’s all just swimming in your head! Give that information a place to live! I maintain a couple of different calendars/planners (this may or may not work for you, stick with one if that’s how your mind works): one master calendar and then my content calendar. My content calendar is this beautiful, fun, giant, bound planner that has a lot of room for scribbling notes and ideas. I love physically writing things down when it comes to any and all things creative because it acts as a first step in my creation process. I use iCal to maintain my master calendar because it makes it easy to quickly check dates and things on my phone and have them sync through all my other devices. I keep everything here from work to personal to side hustle events. I check this calendar multiple times throughout the day but especially at the beginning of each day and night so I can mentally prepare for what I have ahead and know what’s going on.

2. Make lists

Plural lists! The notes section in my iPhone is my best friend and I am constantly packing it full with different kinds of lists. When you feel yourself starting to drown in the pile of things you need to get done, it’s so easy to feel overwhelmed and not know where to begin. First off, take a breath girl!! It’s so important to take a step back and put things in perspective. When I start to feel myself spinning off into a panic attack, I take some time to write out exactly what it is that needs to get done in a step by step list. I keep a general life list that has things like, “buy Pontes litter” or “do your laundry,” and then separate lists for more specific pursuits. For example, for blogging I might have a list like “draft blog post. complete e-course on branding. finish content calendar for august.” To me, there is nothing more satisfying than writing out a large to-do list and being able to check off items! Something I’ve started doing recently after my OkReal circle (shout out to you guys! Love you!) is taking a look at all of my lists and picking 3 action steps for each day. These action steps are the three things that I make it my business to complete that day.  When you’re juggling a ton of things at once, learning how to prioritize is absolutely key. I’ve been keeping my action steps in one note together and dating them so I can see what I have been accomplishing and the trajectory of my productivity in current pursuits. So for example, my action steps would look something like this:

7/17/17

1. Find out about how much vacation time you have at work.

2. Ask Admissions about applying to the Teacher’s College Neuroscience Masters program

3. Complete first section of Impression Table for Lab

I like the idea of picking 3 action steps because it can be far less intimidating than staring down your entire list at once, thus making it easier to just go for it and start tackling your tasks! It’s just 3 things right? It also helps to focus you which I think is really important when feeling overwhelmed with things to get done.

And that’s it! Let me know if you found this helpful in the comments below and share some of the ways you stay organized and juggling.