Everyone has the same 24 hours a day. Time is a really scarce resource both in private and professional life. Often times our success depends on how productively we spend our time. Due to digitalization which simply makes that we are available most of the time, maintaining a healthy work-life balance is becoming more and more difficult. However, reconciling professional and private life isn’t impossible. We just have to realize that how we manage our time equals how we manage ourselves. In other words, you need to become your own leader aiming at making your personality stronger and improving your productivity and efficiency. Here you have some tips which will help you to get closer to this goal.
Create clear targets and reward yourself when you reach them
Make sure that you know exactly what you want to achieve. It should be clear where you’re heading and why you’re doing it. When you are aware of your ambitions it’s easier to maximize your productivity. You can break bigger tasks down into smaller subtasks so that your goal looks more attainable and, simultaneously, achieving it will become less overwhelming. Also, remember to link your everyday activities to your objectives. Think about what you do each day and how it can help you to accomplish your goal. If it turns out that some actions aren’t useful, eliminate them from your schedule or reduce the time you spend on them. Pay attention to what kind of people you surround yourself with as well. Ideally, the people who feature in your social circle should be, at least partially, aligned with your aims. It’s because the types of personalities you have much contact with have an influence on whether or not you reach you targets and how long it will take you. Remember that the right people will encourage, inspire and motivate you whereas the wrong company will have the opposite impact.
Each time when you manage to get to the next step, reward yourself by doing something that makes you happy. You can buy yourself a new gadget, eat a piece of cake or go to the concert, you name it.
Plan your day and week ahead of time
Spend around 30 minutes at the end of each week on planning your next week’s schedule and also allow a few minutes each evening to make sure that you know what you’re going to do next day. You will be better prepared for any challenges that the new week can bring and it will allow you to avoid problems down the road. However, remember that people tend to be overoptimistic when evaluating the time needed to complete different tasks. It’s called the planning fallacy. In other words, it’s better to add some extra time to your calculations so that you don’t fall victim to this phenomenon.
Next step would be reviewing your schedule for any unstructured time you may have and deciding how you can fill such gaps to make your day even more productive. For instance, if you spend a significant amount of time driving, try to take advantage of it by listening to some valuable audiobooks, podcasts or even recorded language lessons. It can turn out to be very beneficial for your and contribute to achieving some of your goals, e.g. learning a foreign language.
Finally, even planning your meals in advance can be very useful as it will help you to reduce the time spent on grocery shopping and preparation.
Set clear deadlines and stick to them
In order to keep track of your time you should decide on a time limit for each task. It will keep you going and help you avoid time-wasting and procrastination. When your task has a deadline you are less likely to put it off because you won’t enjoy working under time pressure later. On top of that, when your chores have time limits, you can organize them accordingly. Make use of your calendar either a classic one or an app where you can also set reminders for the most important tasks. It will give you a better control over your schedule and help you to meet all deadlines.
Learn how to prioritize
Not all tasks have the same level of importance. For this reason, put them into two different categories: important and urgent. When you decide which of them are urgent, do them first. Even if they aren’t your favorite or you find them unpleasant, just get the job done. After that you can move on the chores from the second category. Here you can make a list starting with the tasks of the highest level of importance and finishing with the least important ones, such as those that have no specified deadline.
Don’t be afraid to delegate
Delegating isn’t easy especially for people who are perfectionists convinced that nobody is able to do the job better than them. In spite of this, it’s necessary to let someone else take responsibility for some tasks because there aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done. All it takes is finding the right person you can trust. After showing them how to do the job it should be a smooth sailing and you will save a lot of time which can be invested elsewhere. It’s true that you will lose some control but, on the flip side, you will gain more efficient ways of doing things.
Note that you can delegate in your private life too. For instance, by sharing household chores with other family members you will have more time for yourself. You can also ask your friends and relatives for help, especially when they are eager to do you a fever.
Avoid multitasking
Multitasking doesn’t really save your time even though you might think the opposite. It will make you deliver low quality job because when juggling many different tasks you are more likely to overlook some important details and make errors. It can also make you think less creatively since your attention will be constantly divided between two or more chores. Your brain needs time to switch from one task to another so at the end of the day multitasking can actually lead to low performance and productivity.
Make small changes in your schedule
If you need extra time for a new task try to make some little tweaks in your current schedule. For example, you can wake up 15-30 minutes earlier every day or reduce the time limit for some tasks by a few minutes if you know that it’s possible to complete them faster. Also, look at your schedule carefully to find out if there are any slots that you can use. The less unstructured time you have, the more productive and focused you will be.
Get rid of distractions and be assertive
If you work from home set up a workspace that is only meant for work and completing tasks so that your brain can associate that space with work and productivity. Put your phone away and disable notifications from social media. Learn to say ‘no’ to any new tasks and assignments before completing your current projects. Also, don’t be afraid to refuse to help others if you have tight deadlines.
Don’t get lost in the details
Being perfectionist isn’t good if you’re pressed for time. Make sure that you don’t get lost in the details while trying to make everything perfect. It can drive you backward by reducing your productivity and creativity.
Also, don’t think about everything that you have to do. Seeing a long list of tasks can be really overwhelming and may lead to low concentration and frustration. For this reason, try to focus on only one task at a time. You can also consider splitting your big tasks into smaller subtasks to make them more approachable.
Stay motivated
Maintaining yourself motivated when things aren’t always going your way isn’t easy. Find something or someone that will keep you inspired in the long run. You can talk with people who you find inspirational, watch videos, read books and articles on motivation. Generally, we tend to stay motivated longer when we feel good both physically and mentally. That’s why you should take enough breaks at work and rest when you feel tired. Also, find time for friend, have your little joys and relax before you go to bed so that you get a good quality sleep.
Joanna Borzym | September 26, 2020