MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER
Knowing exactly how you spend your time
may help you use it more effectively.
♦♦♦♦♦
Figure Out Your Goals
- You need big goals for both your work & home life.
- For example:
1. You may want to find a better work-life balance
2. Get more exercise
3. Become more involved in your children's after school activities
4. Spend some 'down time' with your friends - Once you know what they are, you can break them into smaller tasks & focus on
how to fit them into your life.
Keep Track
- It can help to take a week or so & note how long it really takes you to do things you do all the time like laundry, make breakfast & make your bed.
- Most people overestimate how long it takes to do something simple like take a shower
- Others underestimate the time needed for bigger tasks, like cleaning up your kid's play room
or the dishes from a family meal. - If you know exactly how you spend your time, you may be able to manage it better.
Prioritize
-
Put to-do’s in 4 groups
1. Urgent & important
2. Not urgent but important
3. Urgent but not important
4. Neither urgent nor important - The goal is to have as few things under “urgent and important” as possible.
- Those cause stress when they pile up.
- If you manage your time well:
1. You’ll probably spend most of your time on “not urgent
2. But important is where you can get the most useful things done & keep from feeling
overwhelmed later.
Schedule Your Day
- Once you know just how long things take & what’s most important, start to plan things out.
- Be flexible.
- What kind of schedule do you want?
1. Do you get more done in the late afternoon or early morning?
2. Do you like to have your evenings free to relax?
3. Are you more likely to do yardwork if you have a chunk of time to do it all at once
or spread it out over the course of a week.
4. Thing about what works best for you & don't be afraid to change things up.
Do the Hard Stuff First
If you have something hard to do, get it out of the way
so you don’t have to worry about it the rest of the day.
Write It Down
- A to-do list is tried and true.
- But you can use other tools, too.
- The main thing is to write it down somewhere.
- Whatever you use to keep track of things you need to do, it’s better to have just one &
keep it with you wherever you go. - Some kind of list keeper or calendar app is probably on your cell-phone already.
Is It Worth Your Time?
- Remember your big picture goals & ask yourself if what you’re doing is likely to help
you get there.
For example, that extra hour spent at work on something no one asked you to do might have been better spent at the gym or on the piano or at your child’s baseball game.
Don’t Cheat
- If you schedule a work session at 9 a.m., stick to it because if you start at 9:30 am, that
won’t work,even if you work alone. - Missing one start time will make you more likely to miss others.
- If you want some flexibility, allow yourself a choice:
1. Return e-mails or file papers for example
2. But stick with the schedule as if it's set in stone.
3. If you try it and find it doesn’t work for you, you can always change.
Just Start It!
- If you feel a strong urge to put things off, find a way to push past it & take even a small
step forward. - You’ll feel better once you make a little progress & may soon find yourself in a real place.
- That’s because your attitude often comes from your behavior & your resultsm, rather
than the other way around.
All Your Time Counts
- You’ve got a free 15-minute chunk of time before you have to be somewhere so you think
you have time to surf the Web & check social media, right?
1. You might be surprised by what you can get done in that time.
2. Four 15-minute chunks spread through the day is an hour of productivity.
3. So now you'll feel better about relaxing later.
Your Computer Can Help
- Technology, the Web, email & social networking sites can distract you for hours on end.
- But it can help too.
1. Look for tools to help you track & schedule your time
2. Remind yourself when you need to do something or even block you from the websites that tempt you most.
- Set the most allowable time for the task.
- You may get it done sooner, but if not, the limit helps keep you from overdoing it.
- Once you hit the limit, move on.
Email: The Black Hole of Time Wasting
- It can take up a huge time & a source of stress.
1. Delete: If it doesn’t concern you or isn’t something you need to know, get rid of it.
2. Do: If it’s about something urgent or something that can be done quickly, respond to it.
3. Delegate: If an email asks you something that’s better taken care of by someone else, forward it to that person & move on.
4. Defer: If it’s going to take more time than you have at the moment, set aside time for it later.
Take a Lunch Break
- It may seem efficient to work through lunch, but it can backfire.
- As a general rule, 30 minutes away from your job will help you work better in the afternoon.
- If you’re not hungry, go for a walk outside or do some stretching.
- You’ll likely come back with more energy & focus.
Schedule ActivitiesYou'll Enjoy
- The whole point of getting better with your time is to make more time for the things you
want to do. - Sprinkle fun, healthy, non-work stuff throughout your week to keep you positive about your schedule & motivated to keep going.
- This includes breaks, snacks, recreation, exercise, even vacations especially when you
finish an important task.
♦♦♦♦♦
♦♦♦♦♦
Copyright © 2012 - 2017 KosherWoman.com
All rights reserved