The Importance of Time Management

A reflection on how I manage my time as a PR student, and the importance of time management when working in the PR industry

I graduated from university believing in the importance of developing time management skills, and while I felt that upon completing my undergrad degree I had done just that, the PR program at Mohawk has already taken my appreciation for the skill to a new level. I also feel that, after only two and a half months in, my ability to manage and organize my time has already improved beyond what it was. 

I realized early in the program that I required a different method for organizing my assignments. In university, my classes tended to be set up with fewer assignments (for example, a couple papers or assignments, a midterm and an exam). It was easy for me to write these assignments into my calendar on my laptop and check in once or twice a week. However, in this program I realized very quickly the value in using an agenda and writing things down, something I haven’t done since high school. At the beginning of the school year I spent a couple hours putting a semester's worth of assignments into my planner and it has been an absolutely ESSENTIAL tool and one that I reference multiple times a day, most days. By writing out my due dates by day and by week, it helps to ensure that I don’t forget a due date or even an assignment, and it helps me to prioritize. 

The organized chaos that is my planner 

For me, managing my time has also been about understanding my own work habits. For example, living in Mississauga means that sometimes I’m dealing with a rough commute. Usually, I arrive home tired and hungry and eager to watch some TV or go for a walk. Knowing this, it is my goal to utilize my weekends to accomplish as much as I can, knowing that I am much more productive during the day then I am in the evening after a day of class. I also know that if I leave something until the last minute, I won’t be able to put forward my best work. Therefore, my goal is always to at least start an assignment during the weekend or a few days before it is due. I find that by starting or getting some of an assignment done in advance, I am able to finish it and look at it with fresh eyes closer to the due date.

It has also been made clear to us in our program the importance of being able to successfully manage time when working in the PR industry, not just in school. When visiting 3 Toronto PR agencies as part of our class field trip, the importance of managing time and creating critical paths for yourself, either weekly or daily, is very important when juggling multiple clients and tasks. Multiple PR representatives across the 3 agencies mentioned how one of the first things they do upon arriving at work in the morning is creating their to-do list, plan for the day, or critical path for the week.

In our Organizational Application class, we have gained experience developing, adjusting and utilizing critical paths as part of our fundraising campaign assignment. Developing a critical path ended up being an essential part of the planning process as it allowed us to look at what we wanted our final deliverable to look like, and brainstorm what tasks and deliverables had to be completed in order to reach this final goal. Even though we ended up adding and changing tasks throughout the process, our critical path continues to provide us with necessary guidance. In addition to the critical path, what has worked for my group has been meeting at the beginning of each week leading up to the fundraiser to create a critical path for the upcoming week in order to prioritize what needs to be done.

As the semester continues I hope to continue to develop my time management skills and try new methods for organizing my time.