5 time management skills and effective work organization

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You have too many things to do but the time is limited? Do you have tons of emails in unread inbox? Don't worry, this is a common situation that we often encounter. In today's flat world, it looks like we're busy 24/7 just to chase the most basic things. What we can do is never seem to be enough and it always seems to be a lack of time to accomplish the job well.

Pressure of time and thought 'scarce'

Being overly demanding in time can lead to ' scarcity of thought ', which is when you are always busy running around resolving problems right before your eyes and ignoring proper actions or making decisions for future. Feeling lost time or energy makes you often have to eat fast food instead of cooking healthy meals, forgetting to pay bills on time, not answering emails or important calls, even leaving your apartment become a mess. The idea of ​​' scarcity ' can lead to neglect of the people you care about, as well as your health and happiness.

Time control

So what can you do instead? It is important that you control your time instead of letting it control yourself. One study found that people who are under time pressure but take control of their time often enjoy a happier life, not feeling overwhelmed and less stressed than those who are busy. but always feel little or no control over time. Even if you can't control your free time because of work requests or child care, you can start to pay more attention on how to manage the amount of time you have.

Here are 5 things you can do to better control and manage your time.

1. Set priorities

Stop and think about bigger goals in your life . See which one is most important to you. Build and maintain good relationships, parenting, promotion at work, contribute to your family or where you live, make money, take care of your health or live a balanced life? Once you have defined your priorities and goals, you can use it as a basis for planning your time and commitment.

2. The reality of what you can do

Like most people, you tend to overestimate what you can do . You may forget that you will work less effectively when you feel tired; forced to stop or may encounter problems while doing halfway ( such as printer jam ); or neglect your own time and attention.

Please give an initial estimate of the time taken to perform a task and then increase it to at least 25 percent to begin the process. See how things happen and then adjust up and down accordingly.

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3. Limit interruptions

Limiting the frequency of interruptions is an important key to accomplishing work. This is especially difficult if you have small children. If you are in the office, you may be interrupted by colleagues who want to chat or ask questions.

Messages or emails can continuously ping ping on the phone. Obviously, you cannot avoid this interruption completely, but you can also do some things to limit it. For example, wear headphones, close the office door ( if possible ), turn off notifications on phones and computers when receiving emails. Surely the children who are playing outside will not bother when you are working or you can ask someone to help you. If you can't work from home, leave home and work in some quiet library or café.

4. Say 'no' to marginal commitments that do not serve your goals

Most of us tend to say ' Yes ' rather than ' No ' to people we care about or trust. However, prioritizing important goals means removing some of the things you want. If you think you can ignore yourself when you say ' no ', focus on what you can achieve with this time period, even when you need a break.

Setting boundaries with others is an important part of dealing with stress. Managers often give more jobs to volunteers because this is much easier than convincing people who never contribute.

So, before committing, think about the position of the task or role in your priority list and just say ' Yes ' if it is in the priority area.

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5. Stop hesitating

Even when you're free, you can postpone getting started because of boring work, because you're working too hard or because you don't think you can do it well. Once you find out why you are procrastinating, you can easily find a solution.

If the task is difficult or boring, think about its importance to you and your family.

Washing clothes is an extremely tedious but necessary job. In this case, it is best to set a specific schedule to do it every day to form a habit. After all, your brain will automate habits and feel like it is part of normal life. Washing several times a week means you only do it for an hour or two and then continue with the things you like.

If the task is boring and not important, think about leaving it.

Is your tray or closet really needed to be arranged in a perfect way? The general rule is to first work most important. If you clean the house, clean up visible areas and then switch to faucets and cabinets if you have enough energy.

If a task is not important, you can think about leaving it or asking others to help and focus on more important things.

If you are overworked and tired, try wiring up the spirit.

You can agree with yourself that you will take a break and watch your favorite show after completing some tasks. Or decide to exercise first to regain energy. Imagine the desired outcome ( such as a clean living space or a feeling of satisfaction after completing the job ) to motivate yourself.

If you don't think you can do well, evaluate whether this belief is right or not.

The belief that you cannot succeed can be just an expression of lack of confidence. If you are not skilled in the assigned task, seek help or learn the skills yourself. You might be surprised at what you learn when you put your mind into it. If faith is a problem, make a commitment to yourself that will not entangle that old story and just start over.

Summary

If you always feel like you don't have enough time, it's time to control everything. Determine which time needs are out of control and which options you have. After that, choose the best for yourself without feeling guilty.

To achieve the most important goals, you may need to plan, ignore everything, stop procrastinating, motivate yourself, delegate or pay more attention to your commitments. No matter what you are doing, remember that rewards will be valuable when achieving higher achievement, less stress and more calm mind.

The above article was translated from sharing by Melanie Greenberg - Doctor of Psychology at Alliant San Diego University.

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