Managing your time effectively
Without the time management techniques in place, you can start feeling overloaded. It can make you feel unproductive when you have various tasks without a plan. So Lighthouse Personnel have put together their best tips for effectively managing your time.
Prioritisation:
Learning to rank your tasks on what needs to be done first is the most efficient way to get your work done effectively. In order to do this, you need to decide what tasks are important and urgent and what tasks can wait longer.
Before the start of each day make a list of tasks that needs your immediate attention and then a list of tasks that need to be done when you get a spare minute. Working through a list often helps people to be more productive.
Creating deadlines:
Set a realistic deadline, and stick to it. This may be difficult if you’ve only just introduced this, but it’s useful to help you stay on track and get ahead of tasks. Challenge yourself to meet the deadline, and reward yourself for it. This may be something for you to work towards.
Top Tip: Email yourself every day, outlining what you need to do throughout the day, then at the end of the day tick what you have done. This will motivate you to keep going. You could also consider sending it to a trusted colleague so you feel you have someone you are accountable to.
Avoid procrastination and stress:
Both are the two main robbers of productivity. It means wasting essential time and energy, resulting in more work. This is why it’s important to be realistic with what you can handle. Learn to say no – don’t accept more work than your ability, you will begin to feel drained and it won’t be beneficial. Multi-tasking will lead to confusion, so concentrate on one task and give it your all.
Use calendars to set reminders:
Whatever your job may be, you will need planning in place. Here are 2 simple but useful strategies:
- Setting calendar reminders: this is particularly useful on your emails, when you open them each day you will get a reminder of things you need to do or places you need to be. This is a great way to stay on track and also book in holiday so you know what tasks need to be done before you go away. You could also plan your monthly workload in advance to ensure you give yourself a realistic time frame to complete your work.
- To do lists/diary: a pen and paper in front of you with what needs to be done for the day will allow you to tick off as you go with what’s been done, giving you a sense of satisfaction to keep you motivated. Set realistic targets to achieve.
Take regular breaks:
A short break, even if it’s for 10-15 minutes, will improve productivity. If you schedule your breaks then you can work towards getting a task done by this time. Then when you go on your break you can relax and get back to work with energy again for the next task. A break can involve taking a short walk, listening to some music or even doing a tea round for your colleagues. No matter how long or short the break is, use it so you can come back and work more effectively.