Do you find enough time to accomplish all the works which you have included in the "Things-To-Do" list? Do you think that it would have been much better if the day had extra hours? This is because, some of your day's works remain unaccomplished as you struggle with limited time! But you need to fulfill numerous demands of people around you - in your professional life as well as in your personal life. You need to give proper time to everything and everyone including yourself. Here are some tips to help you make more of your time:
- Do the Difficult Tasks in Your Most Productive Time: You should perform some of the most important tasks during your peak performance times. For most people this time is the morning time when they are fresh, while for some it is the evening time. During this time, don't do any unimportant tasks like answering emails or holding boring meetings.
- Give Weight to the High-Priority Jobs: Don't just rush from task to task throughout the day. You need to prioritize your chores. Start with the most urgent tasks and don't pay much attention to the emails or calls which can be processed later. By completing the 'must do' tasks, you'll have a feeling of accomplishment at the end of the day.
- Maintain a Record: It would be wise on your part to maintain a diary to record your commitments in the short, medium and long terms. Keep a single diary to keep a track of your professional as well as social commitments.
- Take an Organized Approach: Make use of physical and electronic filing and storage systems which would make way for easy handling. Also, use the first 5 to 10 minutes in the morning to organize your work area. This way you will reduce the time wasted in looking for things like papers, phone numbers etc. When you stay organized, you can perform several tasks within a short period of time.
- Have Realistic Goals: You should be aware of your own capabilities and the amount of work that you can actually perform in a certain period of time. There is no point in overburdening yourself with a lot of tasks which you would fail to accomplish at the end of the day. You should focus on the results and not on keeping yourself busy throughout the day.
- Break Down a Large Job: Every large job consists of smaller parts and details. First think how you can break down a large job in smaller sections and then pay individual attention to each section.
- Minimize interruptions: Reading emails, SMSs as soon as they come or answering every phone call are some of the interruptions which drop your productivity and lead to wastage of time. Turn off all email or text notification, don't take phone calls, and disable instant messaging applications when you need to get something done. Set aside particular times of day to read or listen and respond to email and phone calls.
- Take the Assistance of Others: There is no such rule that tells you to perform an entire job singlehandedly. When you feel pressure, don't hesitate to take help from people around you!
- Relax in Between Your Works: Take some time off from your work and relax. Surfing the net or reading a book for 10 to 15 minutes after every 2 to 3 hours would allow you to return to your work refreshed and more productive, making you accompalish more in the amount of time available. But you should take care to get back to work at the right time. Make sure an alarm reminds you to resume work at a scheduled time.
- Get Up Earlier: Need an extra hour in the day? Get up an hour early. The quite morning time is also the time when your mind is at its clearest and most well-suited to solving important problems. You can use this time to make a plan for the day (making a to-do list and prioritizing the tasks) or read through the book or journal that you keep meaning to get to.
You need to pay proper attention to all the jobs and to every single detail associated with each job. You need to give time to your family as well after you complete the day's work. And you should also be able to find time for self-care! How would you find time for so many things? You have to find it yourself!
