Horrible Time Management Skills, Level 9999999

Okay, so I admit, I have really bad time management skills. Last minute work has never worked out for me and it continues to be my greatest weakness, I’ll admit. While people around me are busy working on things which are due next week, I would still be stuck at procrastinating tomorrow’s task. At this point, my priorities are scattered around various parts of my brain and nothing seems to align accordingly.

Hi, guys! I’m Sarah, and I am guilty of procrastination, watching too many series, being epically lazy and having too much sleep. Nice to meet you *Insert guilty smile*.

Nevertheless, having efficient time management skills is one essential trait any PR student or practitioner should possess. I constantly tell myself that I need to start getting organized, begin to fill up those empty spaces in my planner-diary-thingy and be responsible enough to tell myself, “Hey, look! There is an assignment due in two weeks’ time! Let’s get started!” But nope, that only lasted for a month during my internship placement and then the precarious habits started to unfold. There I was, thinking that a planner would assist my needs but boy, I was wrong at so many different levels and I almost got myself into trouble for nearly missing a couple of important dates. The thing is, people, a planner is a non-living object and it is your task to jot down what you need to do on it so you could remind yourself about what needs to be done in a timely manner. Please take note that this advice was purely meant for myself, and to the readers who share similar flaws, you are silently agreeing as you find yourself nodding very slowly to these facts, absorbing each and every word because you know it’s very true (LOL).

Here are some tips I’d like to share with you, which worked pretty well with me so far when it comes to improving my time management skills:

1. Focus on your priorities. Yes, and I mean get-off that lazy train and physically note down the things you need to do in a planner. As mentioned previously, the planner won’t do it for you so you need to get on that horse and do it yourself!
2. Never worry too much about how much work you have. Instead, look at your tasks one by one, because if you look at it as a whole, you will want to bury yourself in a dark hole and you won’t ever want to come out to actually solve the problem.
3. Think about what you can accomplish and what awaits you after you complete each task. You’re one step closer to triumph and your life is slowly becoming clear to you – you’re not totally useless after all!
4.  Look forward to throw a party for yourself (or with your friends if you’re not forever alone) and motivate yourself with positive outcomes! Trust me; it gets easier once you get started!

I hope this helps, good luck with whatever you’re doing!

Anyways, rants about my shortcomings must come to an end. I think we could all learn a thing or two from this case so that we could work on improving our time management skills (unless you happen to be super organized and do not share the same struggle, then hats-off to you!). So, I shall start off with the basics of introducing myself. For my placement, I decided to intern at the Interhill Group, which is a rather huge company based in Miri, Sarawak. I’m pretty sure you’ve already been acquainted with my fellow colleagues/interns – Sterwina and Angelyna. Hi, guys!

To date, I am still undergoing my internship here, and my contract will cease in July. There are so many things I would love to share with you guys, but for now, I think it is sufficient to post my first lesson and for you to get to know me a little. I read through your posts and found many interesting advice I could take away after this. Thank you for those who have made it so insightful and kudos to have found great placements to all of you!

Before I end this post, here is a picture of my boss, Agnes (middle), my colleague (and partner in crime), Angelyna and myself (on the right). Sterwina was not in the picture because this was randomly taken while she was away attending to some chores. Sorry, babe! Come back and we can take as many pictures together as you want!

Til then,

Sarah Sabri, Curtin Sarawak.