Today, I am yet again happy to present the second part of the latest LaTeX Noob guest post:
Last time, I told you about four important steps to organizing your life. They were:
- Know your priorities.
- Learn to say “no”.
- Leave your comfort zone.
- Never back down.
If you want to re-read the last post, you can find it here!
So, time management.
You will need a calendar, let’s start with that. Take your phone, open your Google calendar. Start. It is actually that easy. You have to know the most important basics. When do I work, what are my main working hours? Do I like a silent or slightly more lively environment for my work? Am I a morning person or a night owl? When will I need a break, when do I want to go to sleep?
When am I meeting my friends, when do I spend time with my partner or my family? What do I do for relaxing? How often? Exercise? Any activities? When and where?
What is there to do on household chores (you know, cooking, cleaning, gardening etc.) and when are they due?
Just write those things down. Think about it. It is creepy at first sight, I know, but hey…
Labyrinth-Girl
I am a morning person, I like to start early with my work.
I love good instrumental or orchestral music during work. I like other people around me while I work, because of the swift “office-noise”.
For relaxing, I like reading, listening to music, going climbing, watching TV, taking long walks, photography, writing, people-stuff (friends and family).
Basic week:
- 4 work days, Monday to Thursday = 30 hours of work
- 1 “thesis day” (also called somehow home-office)
- 1 university course to teach and prepare
- 4 university courses to attend and prepare
- one evening to go climbing
- (at least) one evening to have dinner with my partner
An example week
I will give you my five days of my working week in my calendar now, just as an example and to show you how I work on my organization and how I try to plan my days. You may have got it until now – it is all about your own rhythm: find it, then stick to it.
Monday
7:00 start work
15:00 short coffee break with friends
17:00 back home, dinner
18:15 climbing (1.5 to 2 h)
-
hair day, bathroom cleaning
-
prepare courses
22:00 bedtime
Tuesday
7:00 start work
10:00 Coffee break with colleagues
18:00 back home, dinner
-
washing clothes
-
prepare courses
-
TV/Dinnertime with my partner
22:00 bedtime
Wednesday
7:00 start work
10:00 teach my university class
12:00 lunch with friends
15:15 university course 1
18:45 university course 2
20:30 dinner with colleagues
22:00 back home
23:00 bedtime
Thursday
7:00 start work
13:00 end work
13:30 university course 3
15:00 prepare next course (learning a new language for work)
17:00 university course 4
19:00 back home
22:00 bedtime
Friday
7:00 morning routine
-
Thesis Day
-
kitchen cleaning
-
washing clothes
-
shopping supplies
14:00 lunch with my partner
15:00 beginning of my pre-weekend
Weekend
Normally spend with family and/or friends and /or partner – and sometimes spent with reading texts or papers connected to my research field
Conclusion
So I actually do have some kind of private life, but I have to organize it in a very strict way and I have to be very strict with myself sometimes. I am a morning person and I am in the possession of a “daylight alarm clock” – you know, it starts with deep red light approximately one hour before your actual alarm time and continues getting brighter like the sun rising, so your body can wake up before you actively open your eyes and wake up in your head. It works! At least, for me.
I need my bedtime set earlier now, so around 10 pm I am really grateful for a warm and cozy bed and sleep. I enjoy resting in my bed on the weekend, this is a fact, but it is like a reward I promise to myself.
I am still meeting my friends and I have still a lot of other things to do in my life, things which I enjoy and which are keeping me relaxed and sane.
It’s worth the hard work. You just have to start.
LaTeX Ninja'ing and the Digital Humanities 