Mastering Your Time at Work
If you're like me, you probably have a lot of thoughts about how to get more done at work. But there's only so much time in the day, and no matter how organized you are or how good your work habits are, it's hard not to feel like there's just not enough time in the day to complete everything on your plate. But if we're all feeling this way right now (and we are), then there must be some common obstacles holding us back from being more productive. Thankfully, there is! Here's how I've learned how to use my time wisely at work:
Be realistic.
To be more efficient at work, it's important to be realistic about your workload and goals. If you're trying to do everything by yourself and you're not delegating enough, it will take longer. If you have the power to delegate tasks effectively (which requires some training), then your employees will be able to handle more responsibilities in less time than if they were just following instructions from an overworked boss.
Don't try to do everything at once either. When we're working on a project that requires several steps, it's easy for us feel like we should finish one step before moving onto the next one—even though this isn't always true. Sometimes waiting until all of your materials are ready can actually help save time in the long run because it prevents mistakes or confusion along the way.
Assess your priorities.
Now that you've got a handle on overall time management and how to stay focused, it's time to learn how to prioritize your tasks.
You don't have unlimited hours in a day, so it's important that you use your time wisely by focusing on the most important tasks first. You can do this by prioritizing your tasks by importance or deadline date. However, another way is to ask yourself: "Who will be impacted if I don't do this?" For example, if there are three meetings on your schedule today and two of them can be rescheduled for tomorrow morning (because they're less important), then focus on the remaining one because someone else needs an answer from you as soon as possible.
Make a plan.
Plan your day the night before. Before you go to bed, make a list of all the tasks you need to do tomorrow and prioritize them by importance and urgency. The next morning, get up early, eat a healthy breakfast, and start with the most important task first.
Consider different methods of assigning tasks.
You can also get organized by using a task analysis, which is basically a breakdown of your workday. For example, you might decide that you'll work on one project for 30 minutes before moving on to another project. This way you can make sure that nothing gets overlooked and your time isn't wasted on unimportant tasks.
With a checklist in hand, mark off each item as it's completed. This method prevents mindless repetition of the same task over and over again—like when we all do our laundry once per week instead of every other day because it feels like we have more free time then! Checklists are especially useful for repetitive tasks or activities where there are multiple steps involved (e.g., making dinner or filing paperwork).
If any part of your job requires managing projects or initiatives with multiple stakeholders—and who doesn't?—then consider using one of these systems: project management software like Trello or Basecamp; Asana; Jira; LiquidPlanner (for teams); Todoist (for individuals); Wunderlist (for individuals).
Give yourself the right scheduling tools.
If you're not ready to make the leap into learning a new project management software, you can use any of these tools to keep track of your time:
A calendar. You can use a calendar in the office or on your phone to see what events are upcoming and how much time you have until they arrive. This helps with scheduling tasks, staying on top of deadlines and making sure that your projects are progressing as they should be.
A to-do list. Track all of the things that need to get done each day in an organized way with a physical or digital to-do list. Make sure each item has its own line so you can cross it off when it's finished, which will help keep your motivation levels high while also giving a sense of accomplishment at the end of each day (or week).
A clock! This is one of those simple tricks that's been around for centuries but still works just fine today: place a clock where everyone can see it, preferably next to where most people work so there'll always be some reminders about how much time has passed since starting on something important (and therefore how close we are getting toward hitting our deadline).
Delegate wisely.
There is a balance between delegating too much and not enough. It is incredibly important to understand the strengths of your team and how they naturally work or complete tasks. This will allow you to delegate things you're not good at or that take you a long time to do in order to avoid poor quality work and wasted time as well as tension between you and your employees.
Also, don't delegate what you're good at—or what you enjoy doing—to other people. If there's something that comes easily for you, it may be tempting to pass off those tasks onto someone else so that they can learn from watching how the process works for themselves; however, if no one has done something before or isn't yet familiar enough with a project's requirements then passing these tasks off could lead down another path of problems altogether: inefficient use of resources (your time) due to having someone new involved in an area where they aren't yet comfortable working independently without oversight; frustration stemming from trying new things without guidance; etcetera...
Break big projects into smaller tasks.
One of the most effective ways to ensure that you meet your deadlines and stay on top of your workload is to break big projects into smaller tasks. This allows you to focus on one task at a time, which helps prevent procrastination and gives you a sense of accomplishment when each step is completed.
Break down projects into smaller units by asking yourself:
What does this project entail?
What steps do I need to take in order for it to be successful?
How long will each step take me (in hours)?
Keep your cool.
In all likelihood, you're not working in a stress-free environment. Even if you are, there are still times when it's easy to start feeling overwhelmed and anxious. At these times, I encourage you not to let your emotions get the best of you or interfere with your ability to be productive at work.
Instead: keep calm and carry on!
Get organized and you'll be more productive, not just busier.
Getting organized isn't just about organizing your desk, it's about getting your life in order. It's about organizing the way you set tasks, not just the way you schedule them.
When it comes to getting things done at work, it can be tempting to approach it like a college student cramming for exams or an athlete practicing drills: do as much as possible in a short amount of time. But this method doesn't scale well when applied over long periods—and if something doesn't scale well at work, chances are someone else has already discovered that fact and is doing something better than you are.
Instead of thinking about how much work you can pack into a day (or week), think instead about what kind of results you want out of each day (or week). For example: would you rather spend 10 hours working on one big project that takes two weeks? Or would it be better if you spent eight hours working on eight separate projects that took one week each?
Conclusion
We’ve covered a lot of ground in this article and hopefully you have a good idea of how to get your time management skills in check. It’s not easy, but it is possible! Now that you know the importance of prioritizing, planning out your tasks effectively, delegating work where appropriate and even taking a few deep breaths when needed, we hope these tips will help make your work life less stressful and more productive.
