Better Time Management

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Find yourself overwhelmed with things to do each day at work and end up doing none of them? Organise, prioritise and implement healthy time management habits into your life.

1. Create a daily plan.Planning your day before it starts helps you see things clearly. Do it at night before you sleep; your job for the day is to stick to the plan as best as possible.

2. Use an organiser. Using a tool to help you organise your activities is a fundamental step to managing your time. Arrange information and build to-do lists to help stay on top of your day.

3. Don’t fuss. Everything can’t be done exactly the way you want it, so focusing on unimportant details could cause you to be even more inefficient. Sometimes, being too much of a perfectionist can be distracting.

4. Prioritise. Since you can’t do everything, prioritise the important points and let go of the rest. Categorise your to-do list in a descending order of importance.

5. Plan out each task individually. Take five minutes before and after every task to decide what result you want to attain. Then assess what was missing and inject it into your next activity.

6. Delegate. If there are things that can be better done by others, or things that are not so important, consider delegating. This takes a load off and you can focus on the important tasks.

7. Learn to say “no”. Taking on more than you can handle is one of the easiest ways to lose control of your time management. If your plate is full, then a firm “no” is what you need.

8. Break down your tasks. Taking on one huge task can be overwhelming. Break time-consuming tasks into smaller ones; work on them a few minutes at a time to get them all done.

9. Have a clock visibly placed before you. Having a huge clock in front of you will keep you aware of the time instead of having to check your phone every few minutes.

10. Eliminate distractions. Identify your distractions and remove them. Text messages? Facebook? Twitter? One thing you can do is to remove easy access to social network applications.

11. Focus. Are you multi-tasking so much that you’re just not getting anything done? If so, focus on just one key task at one time. Close off the tabs in your browser that are taking away your attention and focus solely on what you’re doing.

12. Set reminders. These days, all calendars have a reminder function. If you have an important meeting to attend to, set a reminder 15 minutes in advance.

13. Group similar tasks together. Batch your related tasks and activities into one group and tackle them one after the other. For example, if you need to send out a set of emails to different people throughout the day, allocate a specific time slot to do them together.

14. Use buffer time. Packing everything closely on your to-do list could cause havoc. Leave a five to ten minute buffer time in between each task to help you wrap up and start on the next one.

15. Practise the ten minute rule. If you have a large, dreaded task at hand, work on it for ten minutes each day. Once you get started, you may finish it sooner than you thought.

16. Know your deadlines. Knowing when to finish your tasks is key. Mark the deadlines out clearly in your calendar and organiser so you know when you need to finish them.

17. Deal with things as they come. Handle your work as soon as it comes in. Whatever it is, read it, file it, redirect it to the right person, schedule it in your calendar or discard it. This will keep you from creating a never ending pile of things to do on your desk.

18. Physically organise your workspace. Use trays or drawers to organise piles of work into categorised groups. Keep files that are done and ready to be sent out together and files that are pending separately.

19. Be confident. The less confidence you have, the more likelihood you can’t complete the tasks at hand. Drown out negative messages that keep you from achieving your goals.

20. Stay healthy. Maintaining a balanced diet, getting seven to eight hours of sleep and continuing a good exercise routine can not only do wonders to your body, but also your mind. Staying healthy keeps you focused and alert.