It’s midterms time in Tennessee! This is always a stressful time for all students, and I am no exception. As a master’s student who is taking a full load of classes (15 hours!), working part-time, and hoping to have a social life, it can feel like I am being pulled in 20 directions at once, and everything is important.
One of my main solutions is to block out my time by focus area and eliminate distractions that are not related to the focus area. Personally, I find that the morning is when I am most productive, so I build my routine to allow for independent, disciplined work time in the early part of the day, and meetings or social, engaged work time in the afternoon.
This general structure allows me to prioritize tasks based on where I am in my day and what needs to be done. In the morning, I intentionally engage with my work and begin by disabling all notifications from my emails and Teams messages with an automatic response telling people I will get back to them in a timely manner. I also put my phone on Do Not Disturb and place it on its charger away from where I am working. In the morning, where I do more independent work, I have found this to be very helpful for staying on task.
By blocking out my time, I am able to be present and engaged with my team, work, and community as I go through my day.
