Deadlines.

Before the wonderful world of Public Relations, and Journalism classes at all
for that matter I never carried a planner, made to-do lists or put updates in my phone. In every class that I have taken, and every networking experience one thing that has been drilled into my head is don't miss your deadlines. Not only do public relations professionals have to worry about their own deadlines, but deadlines of the press and their clients.

I now carry a planner in my purse, constantly make to-do lists and update my
phone on a regular basis. I thought that it was just me; maybe I'm just a
college kid who needs the constant reminders of when assignments are due.
I Googled, yes Googled "public relations time management" and thousands of
articles came up. One blog caught my attention; Personal PR by Tiffany
Monhollon stresses the importance of using technology to help you, not distract you. When I thought about this a little more I realized that between Facebook, Twitter, STubleUpon.com etc, I get distracted more often than using the tools to help me.

As I get farther and father in school and in my career I realize that
multitasking is something you have to be good at. Being given several projects at once, all with different deadlines is considered normal and not being able to juggle is unacceptable. Prioritizing what is most important, what will take the longest to do and what is due first are all keys that help me stay on track and organized.

Asking for help is something I have had to learn to do. Saying "I don't know" in the PR world is not frowned upon. I think any reporter, boss or coworker would rather you ask questions than do something wrong or give out the wrong
information.

Keeping up with a planner and daily to-do lists may seem a little time consuming in itself, but I get a slight joy out of being able to cross things off my list. My blue sticky notes get lots of use in my purse, and being able to throw one away with everything crossed off is an amazing feeling.

I have grown to love those blue sticky-notes. Maybe one day, (someday soon?) My to-do list will be empty. I think that if I ever do get everything crossed off I would have to find something else to write down. An empty to-do list, even if it is just a bucket list, seems quite depressing.