This is another one of Reader's Request which has been works for a long time. Shocks and Shoesasked for this post back in June. She asked me how I balance my work, life, blog, workout and travel. My first response was (as it is to most things), "I don't know!" I have never thought about such things or questions. But I am thinking about them now.
Time Management is something most of us learn as we go along. Often, many of us fail at it too. Challenge of being able to effectively manage time is that it needs to be constantly adapted to the changing needs and requirements. And since everyone is different with different needs you would have to find your own work-life balance to zero-in on a plan which works specifically for you.
1. Make Lists: This is a basic fundamental tool to get organized. Make lists according to the priority (from most important to least important) and tick off tasks as you complete them. For example, I have a work-week-list and a weekend-list and I refer to it several time in the day to keep track of my goals.
2. Focus On One Thing At A Time: While people believe that multi-tasking is a great asset but my personal experience is that being focused on the task at hand can increase productivity. Do one thing at a time and do it right. And with A LOT OF practice I have managed to do that: Stay in the present.
3. Set Long-Term Plans: Having a rough idea about what you want to achieve in the next 3 – 6 – 9 – 12 month increment is a good way to set a goal to strive for. It is what would help you get through the tough days. Revise is regularly to stay on top of it. My goals for the year often include vacations, family time, work goals, etc.
4. Reward Yourself: When you reach your goal, meet your objective/deadline take a moment and celebrate. How you decide to do that is completely up to you. It could be as simple as taking a power nap, treating yourself to a Starbucks or splurging on that one investment piece. Keep it simple but make sure you do it. I reward myself with workouts, workout gear, massages, and more.
5. Use Your Downtime: Or ‘idol’ time such as driving, traveling, walking, etc. Not to be confused with your ‘break time’. This is the time in between your tasks that you can use to plan ahead and re-analyze your to-do-list. For me it is usually while showering and driving to work.
6. Delegate: Do not take up more than you can handle. Sure, no one can do it better than you, but this is where prioritizing comes in. Do what is important yourself and delegate the other tasks. Taking on too much is poor use of time and increases stress. I have learnt it the hard way. I do not care if things are done to perfection as long as they are done on time.
7. Set Personal Deadline: Ideally set the deadline for a few days before it actually needs to be completed. Give yourself some buffer time. This helps reduce stress and manage your priorities more wisely.
8. Disconnect From Technology: While technology is supposed to help us get more productive and efficient, unfortunately it is doing just the opposite. The number of hours we spend on Internet cannot be justified. Plan your day with slots which require you to use technology and others where you completely disconnect from it. For example, set block of hours in the day to catch up on your virtual life and emails and then other blocks where you do not need technology at all (while cooking, family meals, exercising etc.). Doing this has helped me get back to my reading habit. This year I have read more books than I had in last two years combined.
9. Get Enough Sleep: That is the most important step in the time management. Even when you feel you can go on for 24 hours - Don’t. To avoid burnout make sure you at least catch up on 7-8 hours of shuteye. I am not great at this but I try my best.
I hope I was able to put my thoughts on this matter succinctly. If you have more such requests feel free to email me.
