Keep your eyes glued to the clock

Oftentimes as a producer, it is easy to get carried away with tasks and lose track of time.  For instance, I may be hard at work writing one story, and forget that I still need to leave time to write the teases.  Therefore, it is important to keep an eye on the clock throughout the day.

Since I leave the newsroom to go to class for two hours on Mondays, I'm extra crunched for time.  Thus, I like to keep a list of tasks that need to be completed by a certain time every Monday.  For instance, it usually takes me a long time to write teases, so I allot extra time for myself to write them at the end of the day.  Normally, I try to write my own story before the rundown meeting at 1:30.  However if I haven't written a story by that time, I try to have the story written by 4:00.  This leaves me with about an hour to write the cold open, preshow teases, introduction, and super teases.  

Time management is key in preparing for the newscast.  Every producer has their own system of keeping track of time and getting stories written. Preparing a list of tasks that need to be done by a certain time works well for me.