I’m also kind of laughing at the irony of it. The idea that the law is seen as balance and order, meanwhile most of us are treading water on the good days, and on the bad ones, we’re searching for a life raft. The idea of trying to keep everything together is slightly terrifying, and I just want to know what everyone’s strategy is to keep everything running (somewhat) smoothly.
I know a lot of people will say that “organization is key!” However, I am not the most organized person, in any meaning of the word. I’m lucky I can partially see my desk right now. However, I still do manage to meet most of my deadlines and get things done when they are supposed to be. The real key, I think, is knowing how you work.
For example, I work fairly well with lists. If I don’t write down what I have to do, and by when, I 100% will forget it. How I write it down doesn’t matter, it can be a typed list in Google Tasks, it could be on a scrap of paper, a whiteboard, or anything. I just need to be able to see what I need to do. Now, sometimes I run into the problem of “I’ll remember to write that down later, it’ll be fine.” Do not listen to that voice by the way, that is the little devil on your shoulder, write the thing down.
How does everyone manage their tasks here? I’m always looking for something new to try to manage my responsibilities, maybe it’ll stick!
I know a lot of people will say that “organization is key!” However, I am not the most organized person, in any meaning of the word. I’m lucky I can partially see my desk right now. However, I still do manage to meet most of my deadlines and get things done when they are supposed to be. The real key, I think, is knowing how you work.
For example, I work fairly well with lists. If I don’t write down what I have to do, and by when, I 100% will forget it. How I write it down doesn’t matter, it can be a typed list in Google Tasks, it could be on a scrap of paper, a whiteboard, or anything. I just need to be able to see what I need to do. Now, sometimes I run into the problem of “I’ll remember to write that down later, it’ll be fine.” Do not listen to that voice by the way, that is the little devil on your shoulder, write the thing down.
How does everyone manage their tasks here? I’m always looking for something new to try to manage my responsibilities, maybe it’ll stick!
Hi Katie,
ReplyDeleteI'm the same way as in I'm not super organized but am always able to get things done when they need to be done. I never can seem to stick with using a planner, so something that works for me is having using the sticky note feature on my laptop and having it on my desktop so that I can always see it when I open my computer. I list out all my assignments/deadlines for the next week or so and then each night, I write down my ideal list of everything I can get done on the next day or at least partially work on.
Katie,
ReplyDeleteI had a partner in the firm I worked for this summer say that the practice of law is learning how to put out different fires as they come up. With that said, I do not have any formal systems for staying organized but I have learned to prioritize my time to certain projects. If something is really important, then I will put it on my calendar just so that I don't forget about it. Other than that, I usually keep a mental note of deadlines and think about how best to allocate my time to meet those deadlines. I like to have a flexible schedule in case something comes up or I want to go do something.
Hello Katie,
ReplyDeleteI am the same way. I love lists and also have to fight against the temptation of thinking that I'll just remember everything. I totally agree that it's all about knowing how you operate rather than some arbitrary standard of "being organized."