Time Management
I was so proud of myself last week. I finally completed an online training that had been assigned to me at work way back in late May. It was a self-paced course that was supposed to take 20 hours to complete, but with no “due date” attached, I took a much longer than I should have. I was doing bits and pieces here and there and I had other things I was working on, so I never really committed to putting the effort in to finish it. Last week I decided I needed to devote myself and finish the darn thing already. And today I can proudly say that I did it!
“Time. Got the time tick, tick, ticking in my head.”
Prioritize
We all have a billion things to do in a day and it’s easy to become overwhelmed. When thinking about what needs to be done, think about what things are really important, and do focus on doing those things first.
Create a To-Do List
It’s easy to forget things that we need to do when we have so much going on at work, school, wherever. Creating a list makes it easier to keep track of things. Just before my workday end, I make a list of the things I would like to get accomplished the next day. When I start my day the next morning, I review my list and prioritize what needs to get done first.
Keeping a Calendar and Time Blocking
It doesn’t matter if you use the calendar on your phone or prefer a paper planner, it’s important to keep track of your appointments, events, and other things you want or need to do on a calendar. For me personally, if there’s something I want to do on the weekend, it won’t happen unless I put it on my schedule. I should also mention, it’s not enough to just put something on your agenda, you need to indicate how much time you’ll spend on that task. For example, when scheduling clients at my human services job, I block off an hour per appointment. I know I won’t need the entire hour, but I block it off anyway so I can write my progress note, take care of any smaller tasks, or just decompress before my next appointment. I believe the fancy term for this is “time blocking”, which is essentially putting something on your calendar and carving out a certain amount of time to do it. I know that using a calendar or planner is “common sense”, but common sense is not that common! I used to work with a guy who would schedule appointments with clients but then forget those appointments later because he didn’t write them down anywhere. So many angry clients!!!
Do a Time Audit
Many of us tend to underestimate the amount of time we spend on tasks. We think that we only spend 30 minutes or so on social media to only realize we just wasted three of hours of our day mindlessly scrolling on Instagram. A time audit is the process of keeping track how you spend your time for a given period. I highly recommend doing this for one week. Time each and every task you do on a daily basis for a whole week. How long does it take you to brush your teeth? Get ready for work? Check emails? Cook? When you do this for a whole week you’ll realize that many things you do probably take longer than you thought. After doing a time audit you’ll also identify some time wasters.
Get a Handle on Your Time Wasters
Once you’ve identified your time wasters, figure out how to manage them. In some instances, you may be able to avoid them entirely, or at the very least limit the amount of time you spend on them. Facebook and YouTube are HUGE time wasters for me, as is chatting with a certain colleague on my way out of the office on Friday afternoons. While I might not be able to cut Facebook out entirely, I am able to set limits on the amount of time I spend on it. And as for my chatty coworker – I just use a different exit, avoiding her altogether when I leave work.
Stop Multitasking
It’s been proven that the human brain is unable to do two or more things at the same time and do them both well. Multitasking slows you down and makes you more likely to make mistakes. You’re much more productive when you focus on one task at a time. This is where time blocking could come in handy.
STOP PROCRASTINATING!!!
I know, I know. Easier said than done. But seriously, quit putting stuff off! Just do it already!