Time management is an important skill for everyone, but especially for those in the workforce. These tips will help you better organize your day and stay on top of things.
Set Goals and Priorities.
One of the first steps to managing your time well is setting goals and priorities. You should set realistic goals and then prioritize them based on what's most important to you. This helps you focus on the tasks that matter most and avoid getting distracted by less important ones.
As much as you already know this, it is crucial in a number of ways, particularly to your brain which is the driving force here. Consideration of what needs to be done and by when will help in a number of ways such as activity in your pre-frontal cortex in the area responsible for planning and execution.
It also stimulates your motivational systems and starts to dispense dopamine throughout your reward system which benefits your effort and intensity of activities towards those goals. Success here relies upon the correct goals at the correct time approached in the correct way.
Create a To-Do List.
A to-do list is an effective way to organize your day and keep yourself focused on the things that need to be done. It also gives you something to check off as you complete each task.
A list here is important because you are able to weigh each item and prioritise them into the correct order of attack. Top items completed are motivational and dopamine inducing which makes you feel good. Unimportant or non-urgent can be rolled over for another time.
Break Down Tasks into Actionable Steps.
You should break down tasks into smaller steps so that you can focus on one thing at a time. This will help you stay organized and avoid getting overwhelmed by too much work.
As the saying goes..."How do you eat an elephant" Answer is "One bite at a time." The athletes and professionals that we work with, have to consider what action steps will achieve the goal that they are seeking. These action steps are derived from process goals and subsequently performance goals that lead back to the original outcome goal.
Schedule Daily Activities.
To make sure you're not wasting any time, schedule daily activities such as exercise, reading, writing, and social media posts. These activities will keep you focused throughout the day and prevent you from being distracted by other things.
To be perfectly successful needs a reality check here. Focused attention at work or performance needs to be highly intense periods with breaks between. These breaks may be short and comfort-based but should include oxygen intake and movement.
Other time-based activities need time assigning. To move, sleep, read, connect and others are crucial to a well-rounded individual. Brain energy in the form of glucose needs to be topped up through good nutrition to ensure razor-sharp focus, resilience, problem-solving, and decision making.
Review Your Day's Accomplishments.
Once you've scheduled your daily activities, review them at the end of each day. This will help you stay organized and avoid wasting time.
Trust me when I say that a tick after an item is motivating not just at a conscious level but also at a brain level where your reward system is activated and continual small successes constantly trigger these reward neurotransmitters and hormones for your wellbeing and happiness.
Check out this new CPE/CPD mind management course
Geoff Greenwood FCCA MBA MSc
Performance Specialist
Never miss a post.
We'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the modern professional development world.
