How to Conquer Your To-Do List
It’s true what they say, the habits you create in college stick with you into adulthood. When I first heard this from a mentor my sophomore year, I had a hard time believing it until I graduated from Virginia Tech in May. I’ve always been a “wake up early and get sh*t done” kind of person. Part of this stems from being a morning person, but another portion of this mentality is from the habits I established early on in my life. I work best in the morning when things are quiet and there are limited distractions. This time for me is restorative and when I am my most creative. Maybe if you’re a night owl you feel the same, just in the PM versus the AM!
Just as a caveat before we launch into this post, I definitely do not have all the answers and there are so many times where I feel like my schedule in unmanageable. It’s all about knowing yourself, your limits and when it’s time to rest. Regardless of what society wants us to believe, burnout is not sexy! Sleep and restoration are necessary in order to live sustainably. Another thing I wanted to mention is that COVID-19 and staying at home has given me so much additional time to get things done. If I didn’t work from home, I would have to commute an hour into D.C. each way. Those two hours is now re-allocated to getting other items done on my to-do list.
My Daily Schedule
I’m one of those people who needs to stay busy 24/7. I get bored super easily and always saw myself with multiple jobs and side hustles. Although I wear different hats and tackle different projects every week, I also always get 8 hours of sleep a night and never allow myself to miss a meal. Just think of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: your physiological needs (sleep & food) have to be met before you’re able to perform at your highest potential.
Before we hop into my daily routine, I wanted to note that each week varies drastically depending on whether the blog, L.U.V. or the podcast is top priority. The Innovator Podcast airs once a week, so for season 1, I recorded once a week with a guest and then edited the episode over the weekend. For season 2, I am recording all of the episodes over the month of January to go live starting the first week of February. This schedule allows for me to record, edit and schedule all of the episodes in advance, so I only have to worry about marketing and promotion once the episode goes live. Planning ahead is a game changer for me and my mental wellness!
My Weekday Schedule
Every week day, I wake up anywhere from 6-6:45am. I’m a morning person so my body naturally wakes me. I very rarely sleep in past 7:15am, unless, of course, I stayed up late watching the Virginia Tech Hokies beat Villanova in basketball the night before. (IYKYK!)
6-6:45am | Wake Up & COFFEE
My alarm is always set for 7:15am just in case, but I don’t think I’ve ever needed it.
7am | Morning Deliverables
drink coffee, eat breakfast, answer DMs and answer emails
7:45am | Morning Routine
shower, get dressed, skin care routine, blow dry hair
8:15am | Log-on to Work
I rarely have meetings scheduled before 9am, but I like to get myself together before the day “officially” starts.
8:30-5:00pm | Full-Time Job
I take 15-minute breaks at 10am, 12pm, 2pm to check emails, answer Slack messages, etc.
5:15pm | Dinner & Quality Time
On the nights Matthew makes dinner, I crank out smaller items on my to-do list during this time.
6:00pm | Deliverables
scheduling LTKit posts, engaging on social media, L.U.V. deliverables
8:00pm | Quality Times
Matt and I always watch Netflix or read together every night.
9:00pm | SLEEP!
Sleep for me is a non-negotiable. I need it or else I am the worst!
Once A Week
Wednesday
7:00-9:00pm | L.U.V. Accelerator Workshops
Monday or Tuesday
6:00-6:45pm | Podcast Recording
When I was filming season 1 of the podcast, 6-6:45 was reserved once a week for episode recording.
To-Do Lists
Create a weekly and daily to-do lists tiered in terms of importance or chronologically. For me, it works best to create them chronologically.
I have been making weekly and daily to-do lists since my first semester of college. I sometimes feel that my brain gets so jumbled with deliverables that I get stressed thinking I’m going to forget something. By sitting down and outlining my tasks for the week, there is a greater likelihood that I’ll get everything done on time, and there is nothing I’ll forget. I quite honestly make lists for everything, since it just works for my brain to see everything organized instead of jumbled in my head.