TIME MANAGEMENT Make time to spare
Always
pressed for time? Here’s a Saturday to Sunday plan to make your life simpler
Do you often
feel overloaded, and end up working late to meet deadlines? Or are you spending
the day battling one crisis after another? The problem may be in your time
management skills. When we manage our time well, we are more productive at
work, and our stress levels are lower. Here’s a weeklong guide that’ll help you
work, not efficiently, but effectively.
SATURDAY: Sort the mailbox
Electricity bills, telephone bills, bank statements, sundry invoices and other promotional letters sum up to nearly 1,000 pieces of mails every year. Being surrounded by clutter can sap away at your productivity.
So, choose one spot at home to sort out your papers on a weekly basis. Ideally, sit in front of the computer and stock the table with stamps, envelopes, pens, ‘In,’ ‘Out’ and ‘File It’ folders, so you can work at top speed. Ask yourself, what’s the worst thing that could happen if I don’t keep this junk mail? If you’re willing to live with the result, then toss it in the bin so you can get to the important paperwork quickly.
SUNDAY: Catch up on sleep
Do you scramble through the week to get your eight hours of snooze? Medical experts point out that chronic sleep deprivation has a huge impact on memory, creativity, concentration and problem solving skills — and it can double the length of time it takes you to accomplish a task. If you want to be productive tomorrow, getting eight hours of sleep tonight needs to be way more important than sending
those mails that can wait until morning.
MONDAY: Do the tough job first
After a long, relaxed weekend, walking to office on a Monday morning can be quite challenging. It is found that people spend 75 per cent of their time on a Monday doing only 20 per cent of work. Besides, distractions, interruptions and unnecessary tasks chew up the remaining five per cent. So, to boost productivity, pick the toughest, most unpleasant task you need to accomplish first. Once you knock that off your list while you’re still fresh, focused and working at good speed — everything else will seem like a breeze in comparison, and that will help you stay on track all day.
TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY: Avoid social media
According to Mayo Clinic researchers, women spend at least one out of every seven minutes at work checking, and responding to, social media messages. Going online several times daily can cut your productivity by 25 per cent or more. To protect yourself, schedule specific times when you’ll log on and limit how long you’ll stay online when you do. To start with the socialmedia detox, check mails and long on to social networking sites only once a day.
THURSDAY: Trim the to-do list
Is dragging work home with you eating into your free time? People spend at least 75 per cent of their day doing tasks they feel are important though they could have delegated, or ignored most of them. Each morning, divide your day’s to-do list into two categories — things you could do, and things you must do. Mark the more important ones as, ‘A’ and the less as ‘B’. Be ruthless and put as much as possible into that easily-ignored could do list. Then tackle your tasks in reverse order, so you start with the must-do’s, first, and only bother with the could-do’s if you have time.
FRIDAY: Tidy your home
There’s no question it takes time to clean out overflowing closets, tables,and the mess that has accumulated in the kitchen. However, you could lose even more precious time if you don’t spend time cleaning up the mess. According to a British research team, women spend up to 188 hours every year looking for things they’ve misplaced — like keys, remote controls, passports, and matching shoes. While your home doesn’t have to be perfectly organised to prevent this frustration, start by getting rid of the things you no longer use or value, so you’ll have easier access to what you actually need.
SATURDAY: Make an errands list
Once you’re done sorting out your mails, make a trip to your local market. If you are one of those who run to the grocery store two or three times a week,this weekend visit could save you at least an hour every week just by combining your errands into one big trip. And, instead of writing what you need on a scrap of paper, create a blank grocery list — with headings like fresh veggies, fruits, meat, canned goods and dairy products. Photocopy it and stick a fresh copy on the fridge each week.
SATURDAY: Sort the mailbox
Electricity bills, telephone bills, bank statements, sundry invoices and other promotional letters sum up to nearly 1,000 pieces of mails every year. Being surrounded by clutter can sap away at your productivity.
So, choose one spot at home to sort out your papers on a weekly basis. Ideally, sit in front of the computer and stock the table with stamps, envelopes, pens, ‘In,’ ‘Out’ and ‘File It’ folders, so you can work at top speed. Ask yourself, what’s the worst thing that could happen if I don’t keep this junk mail? If you’re willing to live with the result, then toss it in the bin so you can get to the important paperwork quickly.
SUNDAY: Catch up on sleep
Do you scramble through the week to get your eight hours of snooze? Medical experts point out that chronic sleep deprivation has a huge impact on memory, creativity, concentration and problem solving skills — and it can double the length of time it takes you to accomplish a task. If you want to be productive tomorrow, getting eight hours of sleep tonight needs to be way more important than sending
those mails that can wait until morning.
MONDAY: Do the tough job first
After a long, relaxed weekend, walking to office on a Monday morning can be quite challenging. It is found that people spend 75 per cent of their time on a Monday doing only 20 per cent of work. Besides, distractions, interruptions and unnecessary tasks chew up the remaining five per cent. So, to boost productivity, pick the toughest, most unpleasant task you need to accomplish first. Once you knock that off your list while you’re still fresh, focused and working at good speed — everything else will seem like a breeze in comparison, and that will help you stay on track all day.
TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY: Avoid social media
According to Mayo Clinic researchers, women spend at least one out of every seven minutes at work checking, and responding to, social media messages. Going online several times daily can cut your productivity by 25 per cent or more. To protect yourself, schedule specific times when you’ll log on and limit how long you’ll stay online when you do. To start with the socialmedia detox, check mails and long on to social networking sites only once a day.
THURSDAY: Trim the to-do list
Is dragging work home with you eating into your free time? People spend at least 75 per cent of their day doing tasks they feel are important though they could have delegated, or ignored most of them. Each morning, divide your day’s to-do list into two categories — things you could do, and things you must do. Mark the more important ones as, ‘A’ and the less as ‘B’. Be ruthless and put as much as possible into that easily-ignored could do list. Then tackle your tasks in reverse order, so you start with the must-do’s, first, and only bother with the could-do’s if you have time.
FRIDAY: Tidy your home
There’s no question it takes time to clean out overflowing closets, tables,and the mess that has accumulated in the kitchen. However, you could lose even more precious time if you don’t spend time cleaning up the mess. According to a British research team, women spend up to 188 hours every year looking for things they’ve misplaced — like keys, remote controls, passports, and matching shoes. While your home doesn’t have to be perfectly organised to prevent this frustration, start by getting rid of the things you no longer use or value, so you’ll have easier access to what you actually need.
SATURDAY: Make an errands list
Once you’re done sorting out your mails, make a trip to your local market. If you are one of those who run to the grocery store two or three times a week,this weekend visit could save you at least an hour every week just by combining your errands into one big trip. And, instead of writing what you need on a scrap of paper, create a blank grocery list — with headings like fresh veggies, fruits, meat, canned goods and dairy products. Photocopy it and stick a fresh copy on the fridge each week.
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