As a busy professional, there are times when all the things you need to do at work can pile up and there is nothing much you can do but to carry on and complete them. But despite their similarly busy schedules, some people manage to accomplish so much more than you because they know how to manage their time and turn their stress into positive energy.
While having a hectic calendar isn’t a place you want to be in, some find it tough to get out of. If you’ve done major adjustments and ended up in futility, it’s high time you apply some serious time and stress management methods to make some drastic changes.
In the words of entrepreneur William Penn, “Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.” So, to help you finally get you out of this deep, dark rut, here are a few essential, life-changing hacks to consider.
There is much to glean out of meticulously planning any activity since this also helps you set goals that can you must hit to make efficient use of your time throughout the day.
The key here is to plan your entire day first thing in the morning or the moment you wake up if you work on a graveyard schedule.
One good tip to keep in mind here is to take a moment and look at the bigger picture to know which tasks to prioritize. You should also consider travel time to know how you can pack your day with activities.
Depending on the importance and urgency, you need to learn how to turn your daily tasks into habits for successful time management. This often-overlooked method can help you make things easier to complete.
If you are a writer, you should make it a point to write something daily. This will condition your mind to be in the habit of writing, making this task more natural and eventually quite enjoyable.
Take it from Warren Buffett, who said that good habits are a major key to success, and once you’ve established them, it’s might be better than being smart. It’s hard to argue with a billionaire.
The tech boom has made many aspects of our lives a whole lot easier in recent years. And with the smartphone trend changing how we deal with daily tasks, apps can help organize your day and lessen distractions since they can help you squeeze more into each day and boost productivity.
These apps may prove indispensable, particularly for the busy professional, since they help keep them stay focused on the numerous tasks they must complete daily.
Nothing slows down productivity more than those chat messages sent by co-workers and friend about trivial news, amusing workplace chatter, or just plain memes.
A notification sounding off can be a huge momentum breaker whenever you lose concentration on the task at hand. The solution? Switch your smartphone to silent or turn off notifications to all your chat apps that aren’t related to work to avoid interruptions.
Emails should be treated the same way since checking too frequently can slow you down. Ideally, you should check your email inbox twice for the whole day: as soon as you arrive at work to help plan the day ahead and another before leaving to avoid falling into the trap of getting distracted with other tasks while in the middle of one.
Another thing is to never check your email when you’re home. You don’t need that kind of stress outside the workplace.
This actually goes without saying since putting off a task simply doesn’t work to your advantage however you see it. But the funny thing is that most people find it hard to avoid procrastinating at some point, particularly when they are about to tackle a tough task.
Unfortunately, what happens is it still needs to be completed, but since it has been put off for some time and needs completion soon, they end up doing a poor job.
Procrastinating doesn’t make it go away. It just delays the inevitable, while adding more stress from having a smaller window to complete it.
A lot of times you approach a certain task with an attitude that’s not going to let you stop until you’re done. But to be more efficient, it’s better to set a realistic time limit to complete the task so that you can push yourself to focus and be more productive.
Setting a deadline for yourself negates the possibility of procrastinating while motivating you to achieve certain goals. This hack can also set you up for a healthier workplace attitude.
Warren Buffett said it best: “The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.”
The investment mogul may have hit the nail right on the head when striking the right balance between work and the things that truly matter in life such as your health, family, and other personal interests. This creates a more ideal working environment for you where you can grow and reach your full potential.
Time and stress management can be challenging since work gets increasingly demanding as the business you’re involved in grows bigger. The trick is to find the right balance in working smart while still having time to enjoy what life has to offer using methods and tools that can be learned through the right training to achieve this. This can help you be more productive at work with a healthy attitude that will point you in the right direction to success.
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