Making The Most Of Your Time: Tips For Handling Tasks

When it comes to productivity and time management there are plenty of theories and techniques out there to help you. I have read a lot of these and adopted many techniques to make my day flow more smoothly but I have not found the perfect scheme. Instead I now have an amalgamation of advice from these resources and my own experience. Some of the more useful advice is presented below.

Just 24 hours in a Day: How Do You Want to Spend Them?

By far the most common complaint you will hear from busy people is that there is not enough time in the day, which is never the real problem. The problem is that most people are filling up the 24 hours that are available with too many projects/tasks/jobs. Therefore the first step to becoming more productive is to do less!

Learn to say “No” to tasks that other people can do, delegate responsibility more and hand off tasks you do not need to personally keep control of. Some of you will be shuddering at the thought of leaving projects up to others but it is an important step. If done correctly, your career will not suffer and you will not look lazy of self-absorbed. All you are doing is clearing the desk so you can free up those precious hours and work on the tasks you are really good at.

Plan Your Day
After you have taken stock of the number of tasks you take on and handed off a few you will probably find you still have more than enough to fill your day. The next step is to plan your day in advance. Create a list of what you need or plan to achieve for the day. Do it the night before or first thing in the morning and write it down!

A basic mental outline of everything you want to achieve does not have the same effect as a plan outlined on paper. Be realistic of what you include on your daily plan – make sure the items listed are achievable. Having said that, don’t go easy on yourself either. Use common sense.

The most important thing to remember is that it’s OK to have some things left on the list at the end of day. Things get out of control; urgent problems will force their way onto your list and alter your plan. And remember to cross things off the list as you complete them. This simple act is a powerful re-enforcing. You experience a small thrill and sense of achievement as you strike items off the list, which positively empowers you to move onto the next.

Break Large Tasks into Smaller Chunks
The list mentioned above only works if you are honest with your own abilities and fair in the tasks you set yourself. An important aspect of completing a large task is to break it into manageable chunks. Procrastination sets in if you feel overwhelmed. Instead of writing down “write content for website”, break it up so it becomes “write home page content”, “organise contact details”, and so on. These tasks are easily achievable and each one wouldn’t take too much time whereas, “write content for website” could span days or weeks!

Know When You Are Suited for Certain Tasks
Everyone is different in terms of energy levels and the ability to concentrate but knowing where your strengths lie can make you more productive. Are you more creative first thing in the morning? More analytical after lunch? Know where your mood and energy levels are set for a certain type of task and plan the day around those times.

Obviously, writing a screen play when you feel creative is much faster and of higher quality than trying to force yourself to do it. For example, I prefer to do coding at night; it seems to be when my brain can easily focus on the logical nature of the task. Know your own preferences and match your workload to them; you’ll get more done and enjoy it more too.

That’s it for now. Improving your productivity is all about practise and persistence. You have to want to do it or your old habits will persist. So, make a change and see how your productivity can soar!