Time management tips for college students tackling multiple social media assignments simultaneously
Let me share some time management tips that I hope help you tackling your social media course work in college. But before, let me share some context.
I often find myself overwhelmed with things to do and keep up with my social media workload. It’s been that way in every newsroom I’ve worked at. It didn’t matter if I was a reporter churning daily stories, or an editor coaching reporters and their reporting, or a producer stacking a live newscast while writing it, assigning stories to multiple reporters, listening to the police and fire department scanners to stay alert of breaking news — all at the same time.
Regardless of my newsroom role, I had to rely heavily on social media to read news, see what’s trending (what people were talking about) and — sometimes — procrastinate reading useless content that kept me from being more efficient.
Managing several projects simultaneously was more evident when I worked as an online producer, where I was responsible for keeping two TV news sites fresh with content and news, attending 2–3 meetings a day, while managing all Facebook and Twitter accounts to drive traffic back to our sites, which ultimately was how the TV network I worked for measure my performance (Instagram wasn’t a big deal then, yet).
The tremendous amount of content production that social media requires forced me to come up with a workflow that I had to honor every single day in order to keep up (and keep my job). At first, it seems overwhelming. But once you take control of your workflow, it becomes natural and even gratifying when you begin seeing results.
Now that I am teaching social media to college students, I understand the overwhelming feeling of having to tackle many assignments simultaneously. But believe me, it’s not that bad. It’s actually pretty easy once you put in perspective what the expectations are and how to manage your time.
Tackle small things first
When you are managing multiple assignments simultaneously, it is important to stay on deadline. Look at the assignments that will take you the least time to complete and get them done. These smaller, low-stake assignments can take anywhere from 15 minutes to one hour to complete. Hold on watching Netflix or playing video games for a few minutes, and you’d be surprised how efficient you become by wrapping up a short assignment and not having to WORRY ABOUT IT AGAIN. Now you can get back to your favorite TV show or video game or work on your longer projects or meet friends.
Establish a routine (and stick to it)
Set a time for two or three days of the week for your social media class. Say, for example, every Wednesday night from 6 to 7 p.m. you will just focus on your social media coursework. In that hour, you can read assigned chapters of your books, work on your on-going projects. If you have to post news about social media once a week on your Facebook group, mark your calendar for this task and stick to it — waiting until the last minute will only make it more difficult, especially if you have other assignments piling up. If you have to post an Instagram Story four times during the semester, it means that you have about 2–3 weeks to get it done. You don’t have to wait until then if you can get it done now and not having to worry about it again. This approach will open up time to manage your time working on your higher-stake project like a Personal Branding Project that is worth a quarter of your final grade.
Set goals before waking up
Write up long- and short-term tasks and set your schedule around them. As you establish routines, these start becoming second nature. I often find myself razor-blade efficient when I start the day looking at the bigger picture of things I need to get done that day, both personal and for work (or school in your case). It helps me to ensure I don’t miss an important deadline or meeting. It also helps me to prioritize my day, tasks and it helps me choose when I am going to tackle the small things to open up time to start and finish bigger projects on time.
Read (and understand) your assignment
And read it again. It helps you understand it and hit the ground running and wrap it up efficiently. You’ll know exactly how much time you have to get it done. You’ll know what the expectations are. And most importantly, you’ll know what questions to ask your professor when there is something you don’t understand, that doesn’t make sense or that needs clarification. Communicate with your professor anything you think might or will affect your performance to complete your assignment. Unless he or she is a complete jerk, they’d be happy to help. It’s their job to facilitate your learning, not complicating it. But you’ve got to do your part: read, reread and understand your assignment.
Keep your sense of humor
One of my former professor used to tell us that stubbed toes and frustrations are part of journalism (I’m a journalist). I add that we also tend to overthink everything, especially when we are working under stress. Lighten up. Share your disappointments and sympathize with those that share them with you. You can choose to be grumpy, gloomy and not get anything done or turn in sloppy work. Or you can look at the brighter side of every situation and not only get things done but also have fun while doing it — and doing it well.
Perfection is the enemy of progress
Most, if not all big ideas don’t materialize when they are perfect. They shape on the go. Overthinking (yes, once again and it’s not by coincidence) your ideas, projects and goals give time for others to catch up and get ahead. I know you are in college and all you are looking for is a grade to pass the course. But you are also learning to become a citizen of this world, responsible for whatever it is you set yourself to do with your life. It never hurts to establish a discipline and routines and a mind set that will push you forward, not hold you back. Remember, you still have to meet deadlines. Sometimes, your professors overlook perfection and focus on whether you are following, understanding and implementing a process (wink, wink)
Ultimately, managing your time is a key component for building a solid or sloppy brand. Take control of it, or somebody (or something) else will.
