Look up articles on time management, or how to be productive, or habits of successful people. You’ll be inundated with hundreds, probably tens of thousands, of experts teaching the “10 Rules to Effective Time Management” or an article on successful people who follow their daily ritual each and everyday so you should too. My time management advice: relax.
Relaxing
I’ve always had a hard time with time management. I am good at getting tasks done, but when I have to schedule a bunch of my time for different tasks throughout the day I start getting stressed. Mathematically I have the time. Two hours here, three hours there, a few 30 minute projects, a couple breaks for food and leisure, and another hour long project. That’s a complete day.
But when I sit down for the first two hours my mind can’t help itself from thinking about projects 2, 3, 4… and how to get those done. Soon my two hour project becomes stressing on my other projects and nothing gets done.
Here’s where my advice comes in. Relax. Focus on the task at hand, do it to the best of my ability, and stop worrying about everything else. Once task number one has taken it’s necessary allotment of work, move onto task number two. Relaxing, and taking tasks one step at a time, is the only way to work through a pile of projects. Otherwise nothing gets done.
Gameplan
Relaxing isn’t the only thing I do. My other process is to create an effective gameplan. The gameplan helps put my mind at ease and let’s me relax while focusing on the task at hand.
I like to map out my time at least a few days in advance. Ideally I’d map out my large time goals 60 to 90-days in advance and work back from there, but sometimes far-off goals aren’t so easy. So, I at least try 2-3 days in advance.
Creating a gameplan of tasks I want completed, and the priority of completion, gives me confidence that what I’m spending time on now must be the most productive use of my time. Completing the highest priority, usually the hardest, task first, commonly referred to as eating the frog, is my first step. After that I plug away at my task list as best I can.
If I don’t complete everything on my task list, I relax. Stressing about what I could’ve done won’t improve anything. Instead, I focus my energy on planning for the next day, so I know what I need to do to propel myself forward. Taking a relaxed mentality is my secret to managing time.