Poor time management is one of the most common problems I encounter with the people I work with.
“I’m too busy.”
“I’m just not organised.”
“There’s not enough hours in the day.”
“I didn’t have time.”
Sound familiar?
There are no more hours in a day and no more days in the week that I can offer you. What I can offer you is some advice as to how to manage your time better.
I am a list maker. I love having a ‘To Do’ list that I can tick off and see that I’ve accomplished what I have set out to do for the day. But even in my daily list making excitement, I still find I get overwhelmed and underdone and end up having to re-write the list the following day with things that were not ticked off today.
The best advice that I was given recently in regards to time management is, forget the ‘To Do’ lists. Not altogether, but do away with never ending ‘To Do’ lists containing every task that you would like to get done in the next month. I know as a list maker I can be a little over zealous in listing down any thought that pops into my head. What I end up with is a list of things that are not vital for today’s productivity but instead a wish list that never ends up being completed.
The end result of using is a feeling of “there’s not enough time in the day”.
Rather than a ‘To Do’ list, turn your list into a ‘MUST DO’ list. The ‘Must Do’ list is for today only. Only the tasks that absolutely have to do be done before you step into bed tonight are allowed on the list.
Give it a try and please let me know how your ‘Must Do’ list improves your productivity and your feelings of accomplishment at the end of a day.