Over the past 3 months I have learnt the highs and lows of time management and how it affects my work as a trainee producer. By prioritising tasks from most to least important it has helped me stay organised and level headed- especially in stressful situations.
When starting this apprenticeship I wouldn't of pictured myself being as organised as I am today, and it's surprising looking back on how tiny changes (in how I work and plan my day) has affected my time management skills and concentration levels.
When being given a notebook from the team during my first week I felt that I may not make much use of it, however it has gradually merged into becoming a general day to day use in order to make sure I am up to date on tasks which I then can reflect on what I have/haven't completed. When starting my day, I will reflect on previous dates with uncompleted tasks and jot them down from most to least important (based on my schedule) so I can work through my list and also add to it throughout the day. At the end of the working day, I will check off everything I have completed and make sure to write down reminders for tasks I need to do over the following days, along with symbols that mark the level of urgency in which they need to be completed.
So, what is the impact of time management? As someone who previously has had difficulty in concentrating, I feel that being able to map out my days and manage my time efficiently in a way that works for me really helps me focus and remember details that I would've struggled with in the past. By helping my keep an organised schedule to my day, I also use 'Google Calendar' which is linked with my colleagues and is consistently up to date with meetings, training sessions and holidays, which I find extremely handy when mapping out what I will realistically be able to achieve each working day.
By having these schedules in place, I feel that I can work though my day smoothly with efficiency whilst also keeping up to date with my daily duties when working at a fast pace.
Obstacles and challenges:
Of course it isn't always smooth sailing as an Event Assistant, I have faced a lot of challenging situations within my first few months revolving around- keeping up to date with my work/training, completing all the necessary hours during my weekly training, last minute changes to the day, challenges with clients etc. However, through all these obstacles I feel the main importance is how you resolve them in a way that won't effect your work ethic. With the help of my team and line manager, I found by expressing any difficulties and asking for help greatly changes the outcome of the situations- by taking a breather and looking at the situation with a fresh pair of eyes, I can then explore possible solutions and it ends up becoming a lot easier to catch up on. I have found in situations where I have had to work on my own and in a team, that communication is key- whether that is me going through my work and remapping it out on my own, or discussing it with my colleagues and having that addition help to get things completed in a time efficient manor.
In addition, we also hold team meeting at the beginning of each week where we discuss different topics that we are focused on and go round as a group explaining what has been done in the previous week, along with planning our next steps and noting down who is responsible for different upcoming tasks. By having these team meetings at the beginning of each week, we as a team are able to complete tasks to a high standard whilst also acknowledging each others tasks and needs. We are able to keep up to date with one another as well look back on what issues are yet to be resolved and who will take lead onto it- I would say this definitely helps up work better as a team and understand each persons responsibilities.
It is easy to get stuck on tasks or fall into a messy schedule (I have been there before), however I have found through my apprenticeship so far that time management can be extremely easy and helpful when working with the right people and using the right skillset to help you cope and coordinate your working days. Of course, I am still aiming to improve in the foreseeable future as I know there is still areas I could work on, however from the start to now I have already seen a dramatic change in my work ethic and management skills by enforcing a schedule that works for me in order to keep my consistency when organising my priorities on a day to day basis.
Comments