Berklee Blogs follows Carla Martinez, a Professional Music major and participant in Berklee’s Summer Internship Program in New York City. In Today’s post, Carla tells Berklee Blogs how she manages to keep a life rooted in both Boston and New York humming along…
Time management can be a challenge for any student, but it’s essentially something that could make or break you in the real world. Here in New York, I have an internship that I work three days a week. When I’m not in the office, I’m at auditions, working at my part time job, watching shows on and off Broadway, and even sitting in the audience of my friend’s gigs.
That’s just New York.
I’m also balancing my life in Boston (from New York), which includes being the President of the Musical Theater Club, Peer Advising, scheduling gigs with the band I sing with, and about a dozen other things that keep me on my toes! So how does one keep it all together? Here’s a list of things that work for me (and you might find that they work for you too!)
#1- To-Do Lists
I might be mildly obsessed with making to-do lists but they’re incredibly effective! I personally like writing things down on bright post it notes (so they’re easy to find in my bag) but I know friends who use their iPhones or the Stickies application on their MacBooks. I like to cross things off when I complete them; it’s a great feeling of accomplishment!
#2- Calendar
I definitely wouldn’t survive without one and there are a ton of ways to get yourself organized! I used to use the Berklee planner (given out at orientation) and I got really creative by using different colored pens for different activities. It was convenient because I’d have to carry the planner around anyway to write down homework and seeing my schedule in front of me helped map out when I’d be able to get the work done. Now that Berklee email has switched to Google, I’ve been taking advantage of the applications and recently started using the calendar. I then downloaded a Google calendar application on my phone and synced the two together. It has been a lifesaver at times because I set reminders of when I’m supposed to be somewhere or when something is due!
#3- Prioritizing
This is pretty self-explanatory. You have to put the most important things first and then the extra stuff can fit it the mix somewhere. The level of importance is different for everyone so it’s up to you to decide what gets most of your time. Some people put school first, while others think that the direction of their band is more important. Once you figure that out, you can make a solid routine and everything starts to become a lot easier to manage.