I have always struggled with getting work done, organizing my thoughts and overcoming the most arduous tasks. The YouTube cooking tutorial, late-night Wikipedia binge on serial killer trivia or my suddenly rekindled interest in the fundamentals of papercraft can and should wait, but when they present a welcome distraction, I often opt for them instead of the transcription I’ve been putting off, or the 60-page reading I’ve known about for two weeks.

You can’t procrastinate in reporting, though. I have no issues with spot news—when that arises, my adrenaline pumps and I can churn a piece out like anyone else. It’s when there are tasks floating in the background of my brain that I’ll find other things to while away the hours. Eventually, I catch myself hours or sometimes minutes from a deadline and rally, but in graduate school this is an unsustainable practice.

I’m purpose-driven, so I resolved to overcome this tendency toward procrastination years ago when deciding I wanted to go into journalism. Here’s what I’ve done to keep myself on level:

• Pursue counseling. While this is not the ideal solution for everyone, I find that having someone to blabber to about my issues on a weekly basis and seek out solutions with can be a real boon to my productivity and general ability to handle my workload.
• Plan every day. The work of a reporter at its core requires a willingness to drop what you’re doing and refocus. Too often, I go about my days floating from task to task. Whatever has the most pizazz on my to-do list gets done as it pops into my brain, leaving things like homework and grocery shopping undone until the deadline. After years, I’ve finally found a piece of software that works with my brain. I plan every class task ahead of time, and then dump what needs done on a given day in the “today” section, then dropping that on a calendar so I know what gets done when. One thing I’m still bad at: estimating the time needed per task.
• Create personal time. Specifically, create it in the morning. As a J7450 student, we’re required to read the Missourian and competitors every morning, which is unquestionably a good idea. That morning time, I have learned, is also a good space to drink some coffee, read my favorite newsletters and breathe. Too often I procrastinate simply out of a desire to turn off my brain and take a minute for myself—so now, I do my best to create those minutes early in the day.
• Have a reference point. What I’ve just described is the ideal of a given day. Rarely does it go that way—often, I rush out the door after oversleeping. My workload, unfortunately, doesn’t magically lighten itself if I waste time. On days like this, I try to have at the very least a place to go to reorient myself, so that I can reference everything in my life and what should be prioritized when. Todoist is good about this too—I’ve shopped around, trying different apps and notebook workflows like clockwork, for years. Perhaps it’s too tool-focused an approach, but I’ve now found a piece of software that fits how my brain works.

I’ll spend some time in the future talking about how I use these tools to manage my reporting. ttfn.