The time when I did an all-nighter before an end presentation but not because of it
I’m telling you a story that should question how you think about prioritization.
At some point, I started to prioritize like crazy. I didn’t have much time, and I wanted to do everything this semester:
- 3 semester projects (all group projects)
- volunteering at my student organization
- exams
- living my life
This led to me doing an all-nighter before a semester project end presentation, not because of it but because I went to the university ball.
I got the free ticket from volunteering, and I knew I was usually done the day before with all the stuff for the submission.
Well, my project partner wasn’t. She also did an all-nighter, but because of the deadline.
I danced the waltz at the Hofburg in Vienna (yes, we have our ball there). My partner finished her tasks until 5 am.
At the same time, I went home and finished our poster for the presentation at 9 am.
I don’t remember if we did a great presentation but the poster looked good.
Prioritization and everything is possible
Why am I telling you this?
I want to show you everything is possible if you prioritize and manage your time.
I prioritized my project the weeks before, and I was done in time to go to the ball.
Going out during the exam period isn’t a good idea, but it is possible.
I prioritized the ball over my presentation, and I managed my time the few weeks before so I would have the time.
That’s the goal of time management for me: to do what you want to do with your time.
If that means giving everything I have to the project now to be able to go to a ball in a few weeks, then I will do that.
Preparing, planning, and prioritizing
My most precious tool is my calendar. All appointments are in there and I’m using it to plan my weeks in advance.
During stressful times with submissions and exams every week, I planned the whole month in advance to figure out:
- when I have time for what
- what are my priorities
- can I manage all of it or do I have to cancel something
- what are the most important things about this submission
What did it look like?
I opened my calendar, and I have an overview of my submissions, exams, and important meetings.
I got up a little earlier to get some things done before going to university. I didn’t have my morning routine yet, so I usually had a small breakfast and showered.
I was breaking down the things to do into smaller parts I could do in a day, and then I had a to-do list to work through.
Let go and de-prioritize
For this busy time period, I let go of:
- social media
- watching TV
- going out (except for the ball)
- going to meetings that are not important to me
- all-nighters
- overthinking
- doubts
- family time
I needed all the time I could get to be as productive as possible.
To prioritize something more means letting go of something else. It doesn’t mean I never took a break: I did to take care of myself.
But during busy times, letting go of distractions and negative thinking is the best way to gain more time for productivity.
This also meant to de-prioritize my family time for a few weeks, but it was necessary, and it was only twice a year.
Conclusion
With the tool of prioritization, you can do the impossible, like going to a ball the night before an end presentation.
It was a busy time and I recommend only doing that temporarily.
But if you have the discipline and the priorities set, you can manage all the busy times that will come your way.
There’s a reason why prioritization is part of the book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey.
“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule,
but to schedule your priorities”
— Stephen R. Covey
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