Mastering Time Management: 8 Quick Tips for Busy Lives
If you have spent any time with me or read any of my writing, you will discover pretty quickly that workaholic tendencies, perfectionism, and taking on too much at once are things I struggle with.
Part of managing that is utilising organisational and time-management tips that help to control the chaos.
Do Not Disturb Function
Use the do not disturb function on your phone – most smartphones have this. You can set do not disturb for certain times of the day, and block out all or certain apps, calls, and messages. What I like about this function is that you can control who is allowed to interrupt you. My family for example is always allowed to interrupt my do not disturb time. Once you start using this function, it’s eye-opening how many times you pick your phone up in a day to check notifications.
Set Boundaries
Set boundaries around your time. My friend is an Executive Pastor with an incredibly busy schedule. We were discussing meetings and she mentioned she had put aside a day that she schedules meetings. It’s her day to serve her team and it allows her to not feel frustration over constant interruption to work. I have adopted this in my own work life and it has been a game changer.
Time Blocking
Use time blocking – block your day into segments to allocate time for your tasks. I noticed that I was living in my email inbox and it was unproductive. Now I check it in the morning to map out my day, and then twice more throughout the day. I allow around fifteen minutes each time. Anything that needs actioning is transferred onto a task list and everything else is filed.
At the beginning of each day, I look over the next couple of days and make sure I have allocated everything in time blocks. I generally break my day into four segments. My job is meeting heavy, Tuesday and Thursday. This means that Wednesday and Friday are dedicated to focused work, with each task being blocked off into it’s own segment. I find that it limits multi-tasking which is ineffective. I also feel more in control of my day and my workload.
Plan for Important and Non-Urgent
Set time aside for the important but non-urgent things. In Steven Coveys book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, this is known as quadrant two. Important but non-urgent things are things that we do that develop relationships, plan for the future, develop vision, create new opportunites, and allow for rest. This quadrant of our work/life is the area that allows us to live and work in a way that is less about crisis management and about controlling how we spend our time.
Utilise the Available Tools
Utilise the organisational tools available on the market, such as Monday.com, or a planner but use caution. There is always a new shiny toy out there to take the place of the last thing and it’s easy to get sucked down the rabbit hole. Find what works for you and stick to it. For me, it’s fast brain friend planners and bullet journals along with the leather cover from Creators Friend and my organiser from PersonalPlanner.com. I have tried many options, but I love that the fast-brain friends are a month at a time and allow me to change up my layout and have a slightly more structured layout than a notebook.
Control Your Bedtime
Not getting enough sleep is linked to various health problems, affects productivity, and generally makes it harder to keep on top of life. We all go through stages of life where it is hard to control the amount of sleep we get. Having young children, illness, poor nutrition, and anxiety are all things that can disrupt sleep, but developing a good bedtime routine and good sleep habits can make a massive difference to your overall health and wellbeing.
Set Goals
Set goals for your day, regardless of whether you are in a workplace or home environment. Reward yourself when you achieve them. The reward can be something small, like a trip to the bookstore or plant shop or something big that you have been saving for. I recently tried this with adjusting my wake-up times, and it worked well for me. It gives you something to work towards and keeps you focused.
Write Everything Down
Write everything down. I mean everything. We tell ourselves we will remember all the things. I can’t speak for anyone else, but before I know it, I have 20 things I am remembering. I get distracted by something shiny, and they are gone. If you write down everything on your list for the day, you can see how much you need to do, keep track of what is completed, and stay on task without distraction.
Stick to Your Routine
Stick to your routine. If you have a routine that works for you in managing your time, stick to it. Every time I get overwhelmed it’s because I have stopped doing the things that work for me. I have gotten lazy with my bedtime, or stopped writing stuff down. Ironically, it’s usually to save time because I am tired, busy, or overwhelmed but it always ends up costing more in the long run.
We live in an increasingly busy world in surrounded by hustle culture. There is a celebration of doing more, fitting more in, and achieving more. This is not a healthy way to live, and it leads to barely surviving. Effective time management allows you to control your day-to-day life instead of allowing it to control you. When you can learn to employ some simple time management tips, it allows more time for the people and things that matter the most in your life.
Article supplied with thanks to Lorrene McClymont.
About the Author: Lorrene McClymont is a writer and photographer who lives in the beautiful Barossa Valley in South Australia. You can connect with her on Instagram.
Feature image: Photo by Cathryn Lavery on Unsplash
