The Final Countdown

Have no fear fellow stressed out students, the end is near.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Between final projects, final presentations, and final exams you don’t know where to begin to tackle your workload. 

If you are anything like me, you are sitting in classes thinking about your Thanksgiving dinner or doodling holiday graphics instead of taking notes.  A month may seem like a long time but the next four weeks are going to fly by so hold on and (try to) enjoy the ride.  Here are some tips to help you stay organized and focused: 

• Make a to-do list.  In fact, make multiple to-do lists; whatever works best for you.  You may not be an advocate of to-do lists but in times of multiple deadlines they are a great way to keep you on track.
• Invest in sticky notes and carry them with you at all times.  Sticky notes are useful when it comes to jotting down ideas or tasks that pop into your head throughout the day.  Then you can stick them on your wall, your agenda book, your laptop…the possibilities are endless.
• Start studying for exams early.  Finals week may seem far off but if you make your flash cards and outlines in your spare time now, you will have more time to study them later.
• Organize your time.  Instead of spending your Tuesdays watching Law and Order: SVU and sitting on the couch, do some school work.  Making a daily schedule that includes what and when you are getting something done may help to keep you focused.
• Breathe. Remember to allow yourself some down time to relax.  Run off your stress at the gym.  Cuddle up with a book that doesn’t involve theories and definitions.  Have a dance party with yourself.  And if all else fails, call mom.

“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another”- William James, American philosopher.

Stay positive, drink a lot of coffee, and sleep often.  You are almost one semester closer to the real world!  

What is your best strategy for keeping calm and collected at the end of the semester?

This guest blog post was written by Kaylie Corallo.

Utilizing Your Current Applications

Time management is the one skill that people of all ages continually grapple with. You would assume at a certain point, you will just have your life together. However, regardless of all of your efforts, some things still seem to slip through the cracks. 

On this blog, staff members have introduced us to new phone applications to help better organize our lives. However, it's surprising to me how many people do not utilize apps that are already on our phones. These apps that may fade into the background for some, are essential to me for getting every task done. 

Alarm clock: While most may simply use this app to wake up in the morning, it's also a great tool to remind you of tasks other then cutting your sleep short. The alarm clock is perfect for reoccurring events. It's also helpful for time management and can help you ensure that you aren't pulling an all-nighter for only one assignment but rather utilizing that time to get multiple assignments checked off your to-do list.

Calendar: Personally, I'm not sure where I would be without this application. Similar to the alarm clock, it serves as a reminder but provides much more detail. I primarily use this for professional tasks. If I promise to follow up with someone, I immediately set a calendar reminder for that date with details on the person I'm working with and our previous conversation. That way, I won't be flustered when the time comes to send a follow up email.

Notes: This is one of the most self-explanatory, and yet least-used, applications. It's perfect if you're caught without a pen and paper and need to jot down something important. What's more, you can sync notes with your email account. Should you accidentally delete a  note, it will still be stored under a folder in your email. It's extremely convenient and you didn't have to waste precious storage space downloading another app to your phone.  

If all of these applications are common ground for you and you use them already, that's great! However, some people are searching for the perfect app to keep them organized when what they're looking for may already be on their home screen.  

The Unspoken Rules to Surviving the Semester

My brother started his freshman year of college this August. Being his older sister, I have always felt the need to look out and protect my brother. I do not want him to feel completely overwhelmed with work in a new place with total strangers. I thought about what I wished somebody had told me before starting freshmen year. I realized I wish someone had told me how to plan and manage my work. After some thinking, I came up with three tips I wish I had figured out before starting my freshman year.

1.   Look Ahead: Prior planning is key to minimizing stress. Each week, figure out what you have going on. Go through your syllabus and record in a planner readings or assignments due that week. Indicate due dates in red. List your weekly meetings in the calendar and daily agenda sections of the planner. After that, determine what times you can complete work. Have an hour to kill in between class and PRSSA? Plan to bring your laptop to campus and get homework done. Being aware of your upcoming schedule will prevent surprises and missed deadlines.

 
2.     Develop an Action Plan for Papers- When assigned a paper, give yourself a cushion of time to complete it. Plan what to accomplish each day. For example, plan to create the thesis on Sunday; outline your paper on Monday; write the intro and first paragraph on Tuesday; write the second and third paragraphs on Wednesday and Thursday; write the conclusion Friday; and edit the paper on Saturday. Doing a little bit each day will create the sense that you are in control of the situation. Making gradual progress also leaves room in case an issue occurs.
 
3.     Stay On Top of Readings- Lets be honest, nobody likes to read textbooks. To keep the pain minimal, know when the readings are due. Need to read a thirty-page chapter in the next three days? Plan to read ten pages a day. Doing this will make it seem much more manageable than cramming. If you leave it all for one night, chances are you may not complete the reading at all.

Although I am sure my brother does not feel the need to listen to his older sister, I hope he finds these tips helpful as he navigates his way through his piles of work. What tips to you have to help manage your course work?

This guest blog post was written by PRowl Staff Member Lauren Bentley.

Keep Calm and Start the Year Right!

The start of the new school year is officially upon us. I know everyone is thinking the same thing, “Where did the summer go?!” Trust me, I feel your pain. However, let’s not let the end of summer deter us from a great school year! For us PR majors, it is important to make sure we take advantage of every opportunity the school year has to offer. Here are a few tips to ensure a great academic year without getting too overwhelmed:

        1.  Get Involved- Not only does joining a club look great on a resume, but meeting new people every year is such a rewarding experience. So, go out and find something that interests you. I promise it will be super beneficial in the long run.
2.     Stay Organized- Every PR person should have a planner. I would die without mine. Keep your schedule organized and neat so you never have an excuse for forgetting something.
3.     Eat and Sleep- I know it sounds cliché, but the busier you are the less important eat and sleep become. Make sure you are eating well balanced meals and maintaining an appropriate sleep schedule, you will be more productive.
4.     DON’T STRESS- A new school year can be a lot to handle for most people, but stay calm, relax, and don’t let yourself become stressed. If you follow the prior tips, you’ll have the best school year to date! 

This guest blog post was written by PRowl Staff Member Kelly Dougherty.

Keep Calm and Keep Your Cool

As my extremely busy week is coming to an end, I have had time to sit back and reflect on it. This time of the year is especially stressful because the mid-term mark is fast approaching and everyone is getting sick of going to class every day, or at least I am. Being a PR student, with an internship and a part time job on top of it all, can get very stressful. A day you thought you had planned out to the tee can turn out to be filled with obstacles that make you want to pull your hair out!

No matter what obstacles you may face throughout your day, it is vital to remain calm, cool and collected. This is especially true when you are in an office setting. It is extremely important to remain professional at all times. Stressing yourself out not only affects your performance, but other’s as well. I always look to this quote when I am having a bad day, “Nothing helps a bad mood like spreading it around.” So when you’re stressed out, consider the following tips from an article posted on NYC PR Girls:

§  Rearrange your to-do list – figure out what the priorities are. If you have an urgent task you need to get done, move it to the top of your list but don’t forget about the other things you need to do! Get back on track as quickly as possible so all of your assignments are completed.

§  Walk away from your desk for 5 minutes – grab another coffee, a snack, anything to calm your mind. Sometimes you need to take your eyes off the computer screen for a few minutes. This way, you can jump back into the work with a clear head.

§  Make sure you NEVER give attitude – this is a huge no-no. No one wants to work with or approach someone that may snap at them.

§  Ask for help – although this seem like a daunting task it is very useful. As strong, independent PR kids we sometimes view asking for help as a weakness but when it starts affecting your work, you need to suck it up and ask for help.

§  Breathe – sometimes something so simple is easily forgotten!

How do you keep your cool? Let us know!

How To Multitask Successfully

Any PR pro will tell you that knowing how to multitask is a must. When clients are calling, pitches have to be sent out, and a staff needs to be managed, it's important that you know how to stay on top of everything without losing any attention to detail. It seems overwhelming, but the best of the best do it everyday. Here are 4 quick tips to help you multitask effectively:

1. Eliminate unnecessary tasks: When working on multiple tasks at one time, it's important that you stick to what has to be done. Taking the time out to browse through Facebook or Twitter could take away time that you need to complete pressing tasks. Remove the fluff from you schedule and stick to what is necessary.

2. Work on one thing at a time: Working on more than one thing at a time is a recipe for failure. It's impossible to juggle multiple things at one time and give everything your all. Make a to-do list and work your way down one task at a time.

3. Keep track of yourself: If you find yourself in a situation where you have to multitask, make sure you're writing down what has to be done, what has been done, and what can wait until later. Keep your list organized and orderly to get the most out of it.

4. Ask for help when you need it: If a project or assignment is becoming too much for you to handle, ask for help. It's never good to miss a deadline or turn in an assignment late. Communicate your workload with the people you work with, they won't want you to be overwhelmed and will most likely love to help you out.

How do you manage multitasking? Let us know!

Happy First Day of Classes!

PRowl Public Relations would like to wish everyone a great first day of classes!

We have a lot of exciting things planned for the semester and we are looking forward to starting the new semester off right. Below are some tips I have outlined to make your first day a little easier.

• Use a planner! Even if it is in your phone, having a weekly organizer will help you manage your time.
  
• Utilize your time wisely. Don't wait until the last second to wake up before class or to get that reading done. Rushing first thing in the morning can leave you feeling disorganized the rest of the day and can lead to you forgetting things.
  
• Treat your body right. While it seems impossible, getting at least 7 hours of sleep every night can make a huge difference. Also, if you're grabbing a quick snack, make an effort to make it something healthy instead of junk food that will make you crash hard in the middle of your day.
  
• Make time for you. As someone who always neglects time for myself, I try to make an hour or so a day to relax and not think about school.

What were your favorite classes on your first day? Any internships?

Gmail: Keeping You Sane Through Labels

Thanks to the power of the iPhone I have access to my email virtually 24 hours a day, but with my organizations, school and work, I have a messy inbox.

Gmail has a variety of ways to keep your inbox organized with labels. Labels allow you to color coat and categorize emails from different people or a set of group of people. So for example, I have a set color label for all of my staff members who work on one particular account. Gmail also allows you to create folders where you can save particular conversations. For instance I have a TO-DO folder where I filter all of my to-do emails.

To create a label:

1. Click the Labels drop-down menu; click the gear icon Mail settings and Labels.

2. Select Create new.

3. Type the name of your new label and click OK

To apply a label to a message, you can select the check box next to the message(s) in question, and then select the label name from the Labels drop-down menu. You can also drag a message to a label's name to move that message to a label.

Also, when you receive an email from a person who you would like to add to an existing label:

1. Click More
2. Select Filter messages like these
3. The From box should already have the individuals email address, from there you select Next Step.
4. Under Choose action select Apply the label and choose accordingly

For more tips follow Gmail on Twitter: @gmail.

Cleansing Your E-mail

Just like your closet, sometimes your e-mail inbox becomes cluttered and disorganized. Similarly, part of keeping your inbox pristine is maintenance. Below are some tips on how to purge your inbox and keeping it organized in the long run:

• Unsubscribe is a beautiful word-It seems so easy when you go shopping to just give away your e-mail address for coupons. However, you sacrifice a harmonious inbox. Soon your inbox become flooded with dozens of e-mails from every retailer you've ever set foot into. Just click the unsubscribe button and your inbox will thank you.

• Set up a FAQ page- So you keep getting e-mails from clients asking the same exact questions. Setting up a simple FAQ page will save you time and alleviate your inbox from repetitive e-mails.

• It's OK to leave people out- But only when its not necessary to include others. Hitting "reply all" and CCing everyone opens the floodgates and allows everyone to freely crowd your inbox. Be careful that when you do so, it is really necessary, as its very easy to get buried under all of the replies.

• A'la Twitter!-The 140 character limit can be your best friend. It forces people to get to the point and gives your inbox a break from long drawn e-mails.

So start off the school year with a cleanse. Purge all of that junk mail, separate your important e-mails into folders, and save yourself a bunch of time.

Will you be clearing out your inbox? If so, how? Let us know!