Are you frequently late for appointments and pushed to squeeze tasks into your busy schedule? Tardiness can make you appear thoughtless and irresponsible. Also, the pace of your life and the frustration it causes can make you anxious. If lack of punctuality stems from trying to do more than you can handle, you need to apply time management know-how. Otherwise, your stress is set to grow.
Stressed by Lack of Time? Here’s How to Add Hours to Your Day
Recognize time-related habits
Individuals have different perspectives on how to best use time. At present, your way of managing time doesn’t work for you. You have many tasks to perform each day and recognizing your time-related habits is the first step to fitting them into your schedule with ease.
Some people, for instance, are always late because they leave chores until the last minute or misjudge how long the journey to their destination will take. Others use time unwisely, filling it with unnecessary activities, or spend ages getting around to what they need to do. Think about how you use time to uncover hidden ways you lose minutes and hours.
Do you procrastinate? If so, are the tasks you put off similar? Maybe they relate to one area of your life, like household chores, family gatherings, or paperwork. You’ll understand which aspects of your lifestyle to focus on once you spot time-wasting patterns of behavior.
Consider priorities
Do you place jobs in order of importance? Certain tasks are essential while others can wait. Get into the habit of listing priorities so you know where to begin instead of tackling chores haphazardly. Your stress level will go down along with items you tick off on your to-do list.
Delegate or discard
Do you really need to sort out your CD collection on the same day as a project deadline? People sometimes try to complete unnecessary jobs on busy days. If your schedule’s already chock-a-block, discard superfluous chores. Also, consider whether you must be the one to carry out jobs. Perhaps someone else is equally responsible, but you carry out tasks on autopilot. Delegate when possible and create space in your day.
Plan the day
Outline each day early in the morning or at the end of the previous day. Set aside time for sending work-related emails, returning phone calls, and writing memos. Keep personal jobs separate to your work and give your day structure rather than jumping from task to task and then back again without reaching a conclusion.
Set time aside for tasks
If you’re a procrastinator, you probably put off those jobs you dislike. Of course, they rarely get done because you never set aside time for them. Plan when you are going to clear out the spare room, paint the hallway, or sort out clothes to take to the charity shop and you’ll do them.
Reduce distractions
Do you engage in time-consuming, non-essential activities that eat your day? Scanning social media sites, chatting to friends on the phone, and playing games may seem to take a moment or two, but the reality is different.
The few minutes you imagine you spend pottering are more likely to be ten. Add them up and you may waste an hour or more. Plan to carry out these activities, if you want, when you outline your day. Set time aside for them when other undertakings are completed.
Change the way you use time and you will add more hours to your day. Identify problem areas to fix and structure your use of time. You’ll be less stressed and more organized as a result. Also, others will appreciate your scrupulous timekeeping.
