I’m sitting on the Green Line train right now riding from Tufts University into Boston and I had a sudden inspiration to write for my first blog here. The ride reminded me of the first time I was in Boston in 2019 when I was studying at Harvard Summer School. I had applied for a position at a company to work as an outreach person who would stand in the sweltering sun handing out pamphlets to inspire action for community activism in Massachusetts. It was my first time riding the public transportation here in Boston, and I just got so lost.
It’s comical how lost I got.
I got off first at the wrong station because I couldn’t hear the conductor’s voice over the screeching rails. I didn’t know there were signs up at each stop and sometimes couldn’t see them because I was to much in a hurry to put on my contacts in the morning. It took me a while to figure out how to walk from Downtown Crossing to the office building I needed to be at. And even when I got there, I had trouble finding the actual office.
When I finally arrived for my interview, I tried to compose myself and slow my breathing from literally running up and down 2 streets to find the right building (I couldn’t tell if it was on the north or south side of the street???) I was greeted by someone and sat down to fill out an intake paper for my availability. At the time, I was only taking one class a day for four days. Because of this, I really only had time before and after those classes, and then also Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
This was one of my first interviews for a job. Everything seemed to have been going well until my interviewer looked at my availability and told me something that I still have trouble with today.
“It looks like you have pretty tight availability.”
Oh boy. No matter how hard (and gently) I tried to justify it, it just wouldn't work out. And that is just the simple truth sometimes. I would’ve gotten the position if my time slots were aligned just right. But they didn’t, and I tried to figure out something else to do with my free time.
The truth is, I still have this issue of “availability” today. Despite honing my time management skills, I still find myself slipping sometimes. I have many passions and I try to keep them all incorporated in my life. Whether it be scientific research or art-making, I never want to forget where my roots are. In this vein, I have a practice of overloading my schedule with things that take up more than 15 hours of my day. My priorities are out of whack.
Mastering your priorities is one of the best things you can do for yourself.
I’ve learned that one of the most important things to prioritize your goals. Remember that silly acronym SMART that we used to write about in middle school? I remember thinking, gee I’m already great with time management, why do I need to organize my goals like this? One word.
Efficiency.
They were not wrong when they told you time is money. When you identify and prioritize goals in the SMART way: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely, you can get a lot more done in a shorter amount of time.
Your goals as your priorities means your life is your priority. Your goals are part of your life and who you are. They make up your self-esteem, and how you see yourself in society. When your goals are met, you reach the next step of your life. Every goal will be met with another task.
There are always more things to do. It’s easy to get overwhelmed. The key is to continue practicing time management and integrate it with your life. Prioritize yourself. If you had a best friend, what advice would you give them if they were in your situation?
Over the next few weeks, I'll be talking your ear off about what I've learned from juggling so many things in my life, how I've practiced giving myself grace, and all while still spending time with loved ones and having fun.
When I was about to give up looking for that office building, someone saw me distraught turning in circles trying to get to the right place. They were able to guide me to where I needed to be, and told me this: "Don't sweat it."
It was something I heard in passing but now has become part of my everyday verbiage. Because here's the truth: once you integrate time management and priorities into your life, there really is nothing left to sweat. Problems will take care of themselves as you practice time management and priorities.
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