Near day, I went to the Manhattan office, where I worked as a tutor. I’m hoping to be able to process my inbox before the first session. Instead, I clicked on a news alert and succumbed to the media storm of Ukrainian refugees fleeing bombed homes and President Biden’s ominous warnings about chemical warfare. of Russia. This news cycle — like a hurricane — then engulfed me in TikToks of tearful teenagers mourning their country, families sheltering in subways, and footage of safe life of Ukrainians just a few weeks before. Just then my chest constricted uncomfortably. A donation to International Rescue Committee absolutely could not comfort me before my client arrived.
I’m describing my mornings, but I’m not the only one having this experience. In particular, when the updates about Ukraine made me feel helpless, I felt even more anxious knowing I couldn’t sit and scroll forever. Despite life-changing events, I live in one of the most expensive cities in the world: I have to fulfill my job requirements.
On the one hand, the importance of daily commitments diminishes while so many people suffer. However, ignoring everything but the most recent global trauma will lead to unemployment and instability. The line between calculus and dire realities and the desire to be productive in order to support oneself is unnecessary. “The media covered us, but there’s a lot of bleak news out there. And our brains have a negative bias,” says psychiatrist Jess P. Shatkin. “We have an innate mechanism in the amygdala and limbic system to notice what could be harmful to us. But such engagement affects our mood, sleep, and anxiety,” he says.
Shatkin, director of NYU’s Division of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Research, emphasizes that getting involved in professional and family matters can prevent feelings of incompetence in the face of current events. . “I cannot directly influence what is happening in Ukraine,” he said, “but I can try to be nice to my students, patients and families.” Invest in your own commitments and relationships build resilience.
While technology can paralyze bad news, online tools can also help you contribute effectively in your various roles. As an organizer who has juggled four part-time jobs with college classes and a private life, here’s how I balance the responsibilities.
Schedule and confirmation time
A to-do list can feel like a failure record when you can’t tick things off your list. Google Calendar works better for me, because it pushes (A) to time every task so that I see what I can practically accomplish each day, and (B) to easily document changes let me acknowledge my efforts when a meeting is last-minute, my Wi-Fi stops working, or a friend is in need.
I Create event for most daily activities: dealing with emails, errands, presentations, even lunch. This way, I assign a starting and ending point to each business instead of staring at an undirected list. The best part of GCal is its flexibility. With my time estimation turned off, I edit the event to capture the time I’ve spent on an obligation and roll over subsequent tasks to the next day, if needed. For example, this week, sending my colleague an email after a meeting took another 30 minutes because I was searching our shared Google Drive spreadsheet. (To be polite — I’m ready to throw my laptop against the wall.) To compensate, I’ve adjusted my follow-up task to start later and edited the “Email interview” event. ” to reflect its actual duration. When I opened GCal the next day, I understood why my plan was changed instead of thinking I wasn’t productive enough and I knew I had to spend more time composing emails in the future. .
Also try create calendar for different aspects of your life and Attach documents Enter the event description so you’re not me Monday night, frantically searching for the missing document. If scheduling daily labor becomes imperative or tiring, you can use GCal’s reminder or mission instead, there is always Reminder app for Apple users or Todoist for Android fans. I find allocating time more motivating, but do what you enjoy most.
Emphasize responsibility
Focusing on deadlines is difficult when it feels like World War III is raging. Sometimes, you just need to congratulate yourself for the little victories, like attending all of your meetings (or even the smaller successes—I’m not above celebrating in the shower). Don’t beat yourself up, but compassionately accept responsibility.
If quantitative data motivates you, consider an app like Yeolpumta, available in English and Korean for Apple or Android devices. The app’s graphs track time spent on different projects helping me visualize progress on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Additionally, starting an in-app timer locks unapproved apps from opening, which encourages concentration when willpower is waning.
