A time-management convert

I have three hours to write this column. If I don't meet the deadline, it will trigger another late-night study session.

I hate staring at my computer after midnight.

"Write column, don't watch football game," the Microsoft Outlook alert on my laptop computer reminded me at 12:45 p.m.

"Time: 1 p.m. Location: Upstairs office (away from the TV)," it said, adding that I must finish by 4 p.m., at which point it's time to work on my accounting assignment. At 7 p.m., I'm supposed to delve into my economics readings. At 9:50 p.m., I have a hockey game.

Until a few weeks ago, I was never the kind of person who kept an eye on the clock nor did I write down appointments. I was always of the mindset that if it was important, I'd remember it.

However, I've learned that effective time management is the key to success both inside the classroom and inside the boardroom. It's also critical to ensuring a sense of normalcy away from those textbooks and expense reports -- what career and student-life experts tout as that all-too-important work-life balance.

Even before classes began a few weeks ago, I set a goal for this semester: Stay organized and not get overwhelmed by the workload that accompanies most MBA programs.

I was spoiled in my previous job as a full-time business reporter. Most days would see me come into work, get an assignment, interview sources, write a story and then file it to an editor later that afternoon.

Sure, I was aware of the time (mainly because there are clocks in plain view in almost every corner of the newsroom) but I rarely wrote down firm appointment times in an agenda. And because I usually wrote a different, and often unpredictable, story every day, I never took work home.

When interviewing sources on Bay Street, I would snicker at all the people running through the halls of First Canadian Place in Toronto, wolfing down a sandwich with one hand and clicking their personal digital assistants with the other.

I now realize the importance of those PDAs: They help bring calm to the often-chaotic workplace. While the number of obligations may be overwhelming, spending a few moments to plan out a schedule into small chunks -- and maintaining, as best as possible, all of the appointments -- can make a large project a lot more manageable, experts say.

When you deviate from a schedule, that's when work piles up. When that happens, say goodbye to your life outside of the office.

On a CEO panel during orientation week, one of the executives brought in to talk to us wide-eyed business students mentioned over and over the importance of work-life balance, and how crucial it is to remain focused on both your job and on your personal life.

Work hard, he said, but don't forget to visit friends, spend time with your family and enjoy life. All of which isn't possible if you don't plan your time properly.

Indeed, while my new-found affection for time management has been a godsend for keeping my studies on track, I am also finding it essential to maintaining that sense of normalcy in life outside of the classroom.

I've scheduled workouts at the gym, my weekly hockey games, and even a 1½-hour visit to a friend's house to watch the season premiere of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

"Welcome to my life," said an MBA grad friend, now a Toronto businessman.

"I can't live without my BlackBerry," he added, tapping the sleek e-mail/phone/digital-day-planner attached to his belt.

These days, neither can I function without my own time planner.

Three weeks into class, and I'm kicking myself for not getting on top of this time- management thing earlier in life. Now that I'm organized, I don't get stressed out about deadlines; I just open up my laptop, check my calendar and see when I have a free block.

There goes the alert -- 15 minutes to grab a coffee, make a quick call and then start crunching numbers for accounting class. It's time.

Richard Bloom is a former Report on Business writer who has enrolled in York University's Schulich School of Business to obtain an MBA. He writes about the career lessons he is taking away from the classroom.