Tag Archives: balance

Checking Emails: A Fun Pastime, or a Pesky Chore?

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Sending emails is one of those things that you either love or hate. I happen to love checking my email, and I find it really satisfying to see zero new messages.

My mom is the same way; she’s very prompt and timely with her email responses. However, I have many friends and family members who shall remain unnamed, who let their emails pile up for months and months, and never end up getting to them. They have the dreaded “two thousand six hundred and forty two” number in their inbox, and a stream of spam mail that never seems to end. This. Is. My. Worst. Nightmare.

I absolutely hate letting emails sit in my inbox, unattended to. In fact, I actually obsessively check my emails, multiple times a day. If I had to guess how many times I do so, I would guess roughly around 10-15 times a day. Admittedly, this is a bit excessive.

I think my love reading and responding to emails stems from the fact that I love checking off list items. It makes me feel less anxious when I can see that I completed a task. Marking an email as “read” seems like I am completing something. I also think that checking emails serves as a form of procrastination for me, because often when I don’t want to start studying for a stats quiz (which is the case as I type this) or when I don’t want to finish a final paper (also the case right now) I check emails because somehow it still feels productive. Not allowing emails to pile up also makes me feel more in control of work and school, because it means that I am taking on tasks as they come rather than letting them get out of hand.

The good news for me, is that most jobs require one to check emails somewhat regularly. However, I do think my hatred of “unread messages” could also indicate some of my school and workplace flaws: I sometimes prioritize small, concrete, logistical tasks in place of more important long-term tasks. In addition, I also think I need to learn how to leave things unread, both literally and figuratively. In other words I need to be able to sit with the anxiety that comes with being a little less rigid in some areas of my life.

Another piece of good news is that even though many jobs require sending many emails a day, not all do, and if you’re someone who hates the thought of even having to press the “send” button more than once a day, than perhaps you can find a job that is light on email-sending. Or in the case of someone like me, you could try to find a job that is mostly comprised of sending emails, but that contains zero spreadsheets or calculations, which are words that send my mood plummeting.

As with anything in life, it is good to set manageable goals. Right now, one of my goals is to check my email less—perhaps 5 times a day instead of 15. For many people, checking emails is an evil necessity, but I hope to convince others that it is actually a very wonderful source of procrastination. 

Time Management and Your Internship Search

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I thought that I would just write about something I’m struggling with this week: time management. As a person, I tend to be very busy and to like being very busy. I balance five classes, a manager position at Phonathon, writing for two publications, a couple clubs, a personal life, and of course my internship search. This week is particularly brutal because I have essays due in every class—so it’s crunch time. But whether it’s crunch time for you too or if you’re looking ahead towards midterms, I hope these seven tips on planning your internship search into a busy schedule help.

DON'T BE THIS PANDA

DON’T BE THIS PANDA!

  1. Meet with CP&R. If you’re feeling swamped, stop by CP&R for drop-in hours or make a meeting for a time that works best for you. CP&R can help you figure out where to start when you feel overwhelmed.
  2. Don’t panic! List! Write out all the things you need to do and get organized right away. That way it’s all right in front of you and you can tackle whatever needs to be done.
  3. Set goals for yourself. Fitting in the internship search seems really daunting, but if you set small goals for yourself, it can be much more manageable. I’m setting the goal of applying to one position or emailing one alumna per day for myself.
  4. Keep a list of deadlines. Know when your deadlines are and stay on top of them! That way you’ll know that the application for that awesome tech startup internship is due on the same day as your midterm and can plan for that
  5. Designate a weekly time to your internship search. Blocking off a couple hours every week just to work on internships is a good way to keep you constantly working on it and a good way to prevent you from making your internship search a form of procrastination. We are all busy and don’t need any more procrastination techniques!
  6. Work with friends. I find working on applications next to friends really helpful. It keeps me focused and we can help each other with cover letters and phrasings. Friends can also be a good resource for cool opportunities if you’re pursuing the same fields.
  7. Cross it off. Can you tell that I love lists? I really do and one reason I like making to do lists is that I get to cross things off and that helps me feel accomplished. It’s important to feel like you’re making progress in your internship search, so cross things off when you finished them!

College alone can be daunting. We’re all doing a lot and I’m well aware that I’m nowhere near the busiest person at Scripps. It’s still really important to explore your options and pursue an internship. Hopefully these tips will make time management easier for you in your own search. Good luck!

Bring It On!

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Life can be messy. Especially during midterms and the stress of college life. Fortunately, I am able to call myself a very organized and productive person, so my mess didn’t amount to too much. While I came into college very well prepared, there are still a few tricks that I’ve learned from my first year here so far.

First, I always make sure to get things done pretty quickly after they’re assigned. If I am assigned a paper on Monday that is due on Friday, I will start working on it that day. While I won’t necessarily sit down and write it all at once, it is easier to space it out and get it done. I also then don’t have to stress about it on the day that it is due.

Also, I’ve gotten very good at scheduling out my time. I give myself an hour to do something and tell myself to finish it within that period, and I usually will. You have to set aside all distractions and use time to focus yourself. That way you won’t have any wasted time!

It is also important to prioritize what you are going to spend time on. While there may have been a few Core readings that didn’t happen (oops…), it’s because my writing paper was due the next day and was much more important to finish. And that’s ok! As long as you make an effort to learn what you missed, and catch up on the information later, it’s best to get done what you need to.

Surprisingly, I have not yet been overly distracted by Netflix. Though it’s hard to refrain from watching the millions of hours of TV and movies, use it sparingly to provide yourself with a well-earned break. And definitely make sure that you take breaks and give yourself some time to breathe.

I have also found my little corner in the butt of Clark that keeps me focused on my work and where I won’t be distracted. It’s good to have a place that signifies work and motivates you!

As with college, all of these skills are applicable to many other aspects of life. Overall, I try to accept life with open arms instead of running after it trying to catch up. While each person has their own ideas that work for them, it’s definitely better to be on top than to suffer from being run over by life.

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Fullbridge Day 4: Consider the “Typical” 8-Hour Work Day

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To my readers, I would like to ask: How many of you are currently considering a career in business? And what do you imagine a “typical,” eight-hour work day to look like?

As I sit in front of the computer typing this up, I find myself surprised at the sparse amount of information I recorded just four days into the program. The fact is, working                      a so-called “typical” work day often lends itself to boredom, as I learned during my time with the Fullbridge Program.

Continuing with the theme of finance, day four focused on the income statement and the balance sheet. While I enjoy economics and business, I found some of the material to be a bit dry. Another day in front of the computers didn’t raise much excitement among us. On a random tangent, I will admit I was pleasantly surprised to notice many students (including myself) jotting down notes by hand. In the day of rapid technological advancement, I worry sometimes that everything’s gone digital all at once.

Much to everyone’s relief, today was also our first (and only) “casual day.” I actually shocked myself by showing up in sweatpants and a top, sneakers, and a beanie. For those who know me, this is not my usual attire. Appreciating “the little things in life” indeed.

On this day, I also found myself amazed by how quickly a one-hour lunch break comes and goes. Lunch seemed like a great relief the first few days; but by day four, the break became just another part of the usual routine.

Sitting in front of a computer eight hours a day, with a one-hour lunch break in-between, for the fourth day in a row, gave me perspective on what it would be like to have a desk job. If such were the case, I would invest in a comfortable chair. This is not a joke. Health and wellness must be taken into consideration, especially when one maintains a sedentary work life such as this. It is important to consider the cost/benefit of a particular career path, particularly since many require you to work upwards from a low-level desk job.

And aside from work, you may find it worthwhile to continue a hobby or sport of your liking– if only to maintain your sanity. But with one’s busy schedule, who has the time? Even as college students, we constantly struggle to balance a life of social interactions, academics, health, and sleep, to name a few. The particulars vary with each individual, but the idea holds true for most.

I strongly encourage you to figure out what a balanced lifestyle means to you, so as to be better prepared for the “real world” out there. The motley of clubs and activities we juggle in undergrad may be more than we can handle later on in life. Choosing to prioritize marriage, family members, and/or a time-heavy career will only add to this equation.

My purpose in sharing these thoughts is not to discourage you. Rather, I am trying to provide honest and realistic insight into the probability that you will one day work a job at which repetition may very well be the norm. You may wake up around the same time every day, receive a one-hour lunch break, go to the gym, take care of the kids, so on and so forth. Before you know it, a routine will start to develop– probably for the sake of efficiency and productivity. 

So while we’re still in college, I hope we can pause and take a moment to appreciate the freedom and spontaneity with which we can approach life.

 

A Brief Look Into My Work Schedule

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I haven’t really settled on one field of work that I want to pursue, so I have been basically been snapping up any job I can since arriving at Scripps to gain experience. Making money along the way helps too!

I now work four part-time jobs. Pretty crazy, I know.

Out of the four, three are on-campus jobs as a: design editor for the Scripps Voice, Phonathon caller for the Scripps Fund, and usher for the Scripps Performing Arts Center. My fourth job is with a company based in Gardena called Trinity International Industries. During the summer, I work at their home office. At school, I work remotely on my computer doing data entry.

Landing jobs are not easy. I probably sent dozens of applications in the course of my on-campus job search and I was very lucky some level of networking, since Trinityii hired me with little/no experience. Trinityii’s CEO hired me solely on word-of-mouth from her family friends… I was very lucky indeed.

Balancing the workload and responsibilities of four jobs can be really difficult and time consuming, especially since I consider myself a full-time student. I am very fortunate that my bosses are very considerate of my vigorous academic schedule, so my time is flexible. However, despite the flexibility, I still often find myself sleeping later and later, so I can finish all of the work I have to do.

I do not recommend others to follow in my footsteps, unless they have ridiculous organizational skills or if the work is absolutely necessary. I love having money at my disposal, but I love challenging myself to see what I am capable of. So far, my social and academic life has not dramatically changed with my increased level of work. I hope that remains as I continue to push through the rest of the semester!

Have any questions? Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn! I won’t bite! It would be a good start building your network. You never know when you might need a hand!

Live long and prosper!