Wednesday, November 19, 2008

No such thing as "To-Do" Lists in PR

One thing that has been surprising to me through my public relations studies is there is no such thing as a "to-do" list.

Every piece of advice I've gotten is while you may have a "to-do" list for the day, you probably will not accomplish more than 50 percent of what's on it.

I am an extremely organized person and I like to have my day planned. I am worried I may struggle with this and that it may cause a lot of stress.

However, I'm going to have to come to grips with this. In Robert Kornecki's book How To Thrive in the Public Relations Business: 35 Practical Tips from a 35-Year Veteran, he says, "Despite your best efforts to prioritize projects and accomplish things on that list, don't be surprised if your day becomes a blur of un-planned and unexpected activities, meetings and events. While unsettling to some, those kinds of days are more common than not...In my experience, there has been no typical day. You never know what new challenge may lie around the corner."

In my public relations writing class, we've had two speakers come, Kasey Anderson, Creative Services Specialist at Citizens Bank and Tony Cervone, GM Communications - Global Strategy and Operations. They both mentioned this topic as well and how one of the most frequent questions from students is "What is a typical day?" and their answer is always, "There is no such thing."

SONG OF THE DAY: Taylor Swift - Hey Stephen
Today's Scripture: “Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains” (Colossians 4:3)

*imastar*