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Cleaning your workspace daily
It's acceptable to have a little clutter around your workspace. This doesn't mean you have to leave food wrappings on your desk or never putting tools back to their place after using them.
If you don't have the time, then there's no need to stress yourself out about a small mess. Set aside a day per week to organize your space.
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Stop saying that you don't have enough time to complete your commitments.
Admit that you need to get better at managing your time and start searching and trying techniques that will help you reach your goals.
It's important to have an idea of what your daily priorities are and tasks you need to complete, preferably the night before.
Also, make sure you prepare in the evening the outfit you're going to wear and the meals for the following day. Doing this will save time in the morning, and reduce decision fatigue.
Take all of your tasks and place them into four quadrants:
- To do first: the most important responsibilities that need to be done today or tomorrow.
- Schedule: important tasks that are not urgent.
- Delegate: essential items that are not important.
- Don't do: tasks that aren't important or urgent.
You don't have to be doing everything — check your ego and delegate.
For example, if you don't have a staff, outsource specific jobs to freelancers: hire a personal assistant to manage your calendar, email, social accounts or blog.
You don't have to wake up early to be productive.
Instead, you have to figure out when you have the most energy and focus during the day and complete your most important tasks then. It's all about working around your peak productivity.
No matter how well planned you are, you will get interrupted. That's why it's crucial that your calendar has some flexibility.
We all strive to deliver quality work, but constantly aiming for perfection is unrealistic.
Often the pressure we put on ourselves to "be perfect" leads us to pressure other people about their issues. It's not worth it.
It's not always easy to determine how long it will take you to finish a task — but usually, it takes longer than you think it will.
Keep a time log for at least a week to see how you spend your time.
Regardless of how much you have on your plate, everyone needs breaks to refocus and recharge.
Your break could be a 10-minute walk between tasks, but try to unplug completely during non-business hours.
Experiment with various time management techniques until you find the system that works best for you.
It will take some trial and error but until effectively manage your time, you'll constantly battle the clock.
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... instead of task management.
Task management is more effective than time management because these tasks come with clear limits which make them easier to manage. You know when you’ve started work on a project -- and you know when you’ve completed the job. It’s one limited thing at a time.
You are indecisive and often deals with things in the nick of time. But procrastination has a physical and social toll as your body and your coworkers get stressed over it.
Solution: Reserve time for work and start in small chunks. After starting, it’s easier to continue. Forcing yourself to start makes use of the Zeigarnik Effect, which states that not finishing a task creates mental tension and the only way to alleviate the anxiety is by completing what you started.
- Integrate apps and automate your routines with online calendars, scheduling apps, time trackers, project management systems and other tools.
- Delegate some tasks to focus on more important tasks and teach your team members new skills. Next time you feel overloaded, you’ll have a trained employee who can back you up.
- Outsource tasks that take too much of your time and put your focus where it's needed most.