By Jasmine Scott

Here’s a painfully honest peek into the life of a full-time college student, who also works remotely as a part time PR Professional for a non-profit organization.

7:15 a.m.: My alarm clock goes off.

I’d love to tell you that I hop out of bed with an abundance of energy and joy, but I said this would be honest. So, I hit snooze on my alarm clock…two more times.

7:30 a.m.: I roll out of bed and check my email.

I am subscribed to several news reporters, so this is my version of reading the newspaper. It’s very important to keep up with news in the PR world. PR is a quick moving industry and it’s important to keep up with what’s going on in your community as well as the world.

After I’m up to date, I brush my teeth and throw on a coat (it’s winter now). I make sure everything is in my backpack, grab a bottle of water out of my fridge, and make my way to my 8 am class.

7:55 a.m.: I sit down and pull out my notebook. I check my email until the professor starts his lecture and make a mental note of what I have to do this day. Spoiler alert: I have a lot to do.

8:50 a.m.: My only class of the day ends, and I make my way back to my apartment to get the second part of my day started: work.

9:00 a.m.:  I clock in and check my email. I usually only have about 10 unread emails in my inbox, some of which are just funny memes to put everyone in a good mood. I read through everything and update myself on any information I miss working remotely. I respond to the funniest memes first. After that, I email my boss and update him on my projects.

10 a.m.: I make a to-do list of everything I need to accomplish before I clock out. The list usually goes something like this:

• Review recent Facebook posts
• Schedule Facebook posts
• Check email again
• Scour through thousands of photos and stories sent to the company I work for
• Check email again
• Start blog draft
• Plan out LinkedIn posts for the week
• Check email again
• Eat lunch at some point?

10:30 a.m.: It’s prime content creation time. I work for a non-profit company, so our posts are created to be ‘donor-centered’, which means that donors and investors are our target market.

I start creating new content by reviewing our Facebook posts. I see what posts our donors are interacting with and what posts are doing well or poor. Next, I look through our photobank for and start planning out posts in my head. After some creative thinking, I start creating posts. Finally, I schedule it and repeat the process.

1 p.m.: Did you hear that noise? Yeah, it was my stomach growling.

It’s time for lunch. So, I quickly make a sandwich (turkey and cheese with mustard, obviously) and continue working.

1:05 p.m.: I notice I have 4 unread emails since I last checked my inbox. I read through those and continue on with my day.

1:30 p.m.: Coffee.

After I eat my lunch, I tend to lose my focus. This is when I hit my mid-day slump and need to change my focus. I make a cup of coffee and switch my focus to the blog.

The first step of writing a good blog post is having a strong and compelling story to tell. Luckily, we keep track of the stories sent to us by our donors and partners. I read through the stories, sip my coffee, read through a couple more stories, and sip my coffee. I repeat this until one story particularly catches my eye. After picking a story, I start the first paragraph of the blog. I write it, pause, read it, erase the whole paragraph, and start again. Yes, this exactly how it goes almost every time. But I preserve and finish my draft. I email it to the writer I work with and wait for her edits.

4:30 p.m.: My boss randomly Facetimes me.

5:00 p.m.: I should clock-out, but I can’t. My to-do list isn’t complete.

The last thing I need to do for the day is plan out my LinkedIn posts for the week. This really depends on what’s going on for the week. Some weeks there is a huge event coming up, so I center my posts around that. Other weeks, I make posts based off what else is going on or even any amazing stories we have. I write down the posts I want to make this week and plan them out.

5:30 p.m.: After checking my email one last time, I clock out for the day.

5:31 p.m.: I open my fridge and make a snack. Probably a Hot-pocket.

6:15 – 8:30 p.m.: This is usually when I have meetings for different organizations.

9:00 p.m.: I’m tired, but my day isn’t over yet. In fact, it’s just beginning.

I open my agenda book and go over my schedule. I open my school email and see if my teachers have emailed me (they have). I respond. I open Blackboard to see if my teacher’s have put any grades in. I begin my homework.

I love being a PR major because my homework mostly consists of writing, creating content for mock clients, and preparing presentations. A PR Pro must be deadline driven, even in college. I don’t miss a deadline.

10:30 p.m.: Have I eaten today?

Yeah, I have. But I’m hungry again. I know you aren’t supposed to eat big meals before you go to bed but…it’s only 10:30 and I’m still doing homework. So, I usually eat. Most of the time it’s super healthy and definitely not a bag of chips.

10:31 p.m.: I open a bag of chips. Hey, I’m just doing what I can to make it to graduation.

11:30 p.m.: If at all possible, I try to give myself at least 30 minutes of relaxation before I go to bed. Sometimes I’m being productive until 2 am, but I try not to be.

I love working remotely because it’s helping me get one step closer to my goal of being a PR professional after I graduate, but it definitely takes focus and balance to get everything done. Every day is different. But it’s worth it.