How to Catch Up When You’re Behind
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How do you catch up with school or work when you have been away? That’s always the dilemma we face after a trip. I’m currently in that situation, so I thought I would share my thoughts on the subject.
Make a list
I love lists. How can you know what you need to do, if you don’t have a list? I suggest that you make a list of everything you need to do to be caught up through tomorrow. Do it on your computer, a notepad, or toilet paper. Whatever suits you. Once you have a list, you can begin crossing things off (that’s half the fun!).
Stop getting behind
The next step is to do whatever needs doing so you don’t fall further behind. For example, as a law student this usually means that I need to read for my next classes (thus, you need your list to include tomorrow). The idea here is that you can start to close the gap on your behind-ness by keeping the gap from getting bigger. Plus, you get to mark things off that list!
Get caught up
After you have today and tomorrow’s work done, you can start to work on past tasks. This is when you prioritize the old tasks on your list and do them in order of priority. Thus, you will be getting the most important old things done first. Be sure you don’t forget about the less important old things, but you won’t, since you have a list!
Burn the list
Once everything is marked off your list, you can revel in your new caught-up-ness. Now is the time for your ceremonious burning of the list. Ok, maybe you should just throw it away. If you need some therapy, try shredding it. Better yet, make a paper airplane or some origami. You deserve it.
Do you have a technique for catching up with work or school when you are behind? Please post a comment or drop me a line to let us know.
[tags]legal andrew, law school, catch up[/tags]
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October 29th, 2006