5 tips to improve time management
At the risk of sounding extremely self-important, we all feel too busy. How can we possibly strive to maintain a work-life balance when both our personal and work to-do lists are constantly growing? While we can’t wipe your diaries, we’ve got 5 hacks to help improve your time management skills - all with the same number of hours in the day. If you don’t decide how to manage your time, someone else will.
Go for goals
Clarify your top three goals to give oversight of your objectives for the week. It then becomes easy to see what tasks you need to contribute to support each goal. Schedule these tasks into your calendar with start times and deadlines. You’ll be surprised at how much you can break down the tasks and prioritise in order to achieve your goal. At the end of each week you can evaluate your productivity and adjust accordingly.
Rethink multitasking
Multitasking is a necessity, not an option. We can’t praise it enough. However, when dealing with multiple tasks and objectives, it can be easy to lose sight of the task at hand if you’re switching in between several projects, tasks and potentially clients throughout the day. The reality is that things can simply become messy, overwhelming and outright stressful. When it comes to multitasking, try to avoid switching between several projects in one day and instead designate days or half days to a particular job. You’ll focus more clearly on what matters to you in the big picture.
Set a routine
Without a clear separation between work and personal time, you can find yourself burning out, especially if you work from home. Create a routine by scheduling activities at the same day and time each week. Try to wake up and go to bed at consistent times and ensure you have a strict finishing time for work set in place. This automates productivity and supports your commitments - “I have boxing class at 7pm, I need to finish up” is like a positive affirmation! When your workday is done according to your trusty routine, that means it’s time to knock off and enjoy your personal or family time.
Make a list
There simply isn’t enough room or time to list all the reasons that we love lists. We highly recommend you keep track of what you have to do and give yourself an overview of everything that needs done personally and professionally. It’s not just for fear of forgetting what you have to do, but because it can also ease your mind, improve organisation and it’s just too satisfying when you get to cross an item off your list. But really, it can increase productivity. Let’s take grocery shopping for example. A list promotes a healthy budget, food choices and schedule. Without a list, you may forget items and return to the store multiple times (and we’re all guilty of that). When it comes to work, you can opt for an online tool and share it with your colleagues or simply go old school by putting pen to paper. Whatever you choose, note it down.
Divert distractions
It sounds simple to switch off all communication devices when you need to knuckle down but when your colleague or client needs to get in touch, it’s simply not practical. Plus, we simply may not have the willpower to resist social media scrolling and endless browsing. So, try the working smarter, not harder approach. Segment your day into chunks followed by breaks, à la the Pomodoro technique, to help focus you more in the moment and give your hardworking brain regular rest. You may have heard the first hour of the morning being referred to as “the rudder of the day”: how you start your day sets the course for the rest of the day. Start scattered and you’ll probably stay that way throughout the day. Therefore, it’s also worth getting the most challenging tasks out of the way at the start of the day, as it’s when your brain is most efficient and you’re less likely to get carried away with distractions.