Are you good at time management? If you are like many people, you are probably don’t realize how much it can impact the productivity of your day.
We understand that things at work can get overwhelming, especially when there are tons of deadlines and what seems like and endless list of things to complete. Hire Up has developed an easy 5 step process to help you manage your time at work a whole lot better and help you accomplish all that you want in a day!
Make a TO-DO List
Instead of keeping your days tasks in various places such as your phone, calendar, emails, and in your mind, make a complete list. Physically write down all that you need to accomplish for that day in order of priority. If the projects are large, break them down by section. Cross each item off your list as the day transpires and you will feel great about all you have accomplished. If your work has an extremely heavy workflow, project management software is available and can be very effective under the right circumstances.
Set Personal Goals
Do you know where you’d like to be in six months? What about this time next year, or even 5 years from now? If not, it’s time to set some personal goals! Personal goal setting is essential to managing your time well, because goals give you a destination and vision to work toward. When you know where you want to go, you can manage your priorities, time, and resources to get there. Goals also help you decide what’s worth spending your time on, and what’s just a distraction.
Say “No Thanks” To Distractions
If you really think about it, how much time do you waste being distracted everyday? The average American wastes approximately 2 hours a day being distracted in both their work and home lives. That is about 10 hours per work week that you could be spending on accomplishing your goals! There is a way to gain control of your day and manage your distractions! It is simple, turn off your IM, respond to emails only twice a day, try to avoid social media unless necessary, & let people know if they are distracting you too often. Another key factor in this is learning to focus concentrate better when faced with multiple distractions.
Procrastinating Is Easy To Do
Procrastination occurs when you put off tasks that you should be focusing on right now. When you procrastinate, you feel guilty that you haven’t started; you come to dread doing the task; and, eventually, everything catches up with you when you fail to complete the work on time. Take the following quiz to see if you have been bitten by the procrastination bug:
I like to make plans and to-do lists and I also follow through on them.
- a. No
- b. Sometimes
- c. Yes
I often find myself stressed out by things that I need to get done at the last minute.
- a. Yes
- b. Sometimes
- c. No
I regularly wait until the last moment to pay bills.
- a. Yes
- b. Sometimes
- c. No
“Why do today what I can put off until tomorrow” sounds like my motto.
- a. Yes
- b. Sometimes
- c. No
I’d like to improve my time management skills and habits, but it just seems like too much work.
- a. Yes
- b. Sometimes
- c. No
Mostly As: If you answered A on most of the questions, then you probably have a fairly serious problem with procrastination. Your habit of putting things off might be having a negative impact on multiple areas of your life, including your personal life, work, and social life.
Mostly Bs: If you answered B on most of the questions, then you probably don’t have a terribly serious problem with procrastination. Sure, you might find yourself dawdling on certain things, but you have managed to avoid making a habit out of dithering.
Mostly Cs: If you answered C on most of the questions, then you are not much of a procrastinator. You are good at organizing your time. You enjoy tackling projects and crossing them off of your to-do list.
If you are a procrastinator, one useful strategy is to tell yourself that you’re only going to start on a project for ten minutes. Often, procrastinators feel that they have to complete a task from start to finish, and this high expectation makes them feel overwhelmed and anxious. Instead, focus on devoting a small amount of time to starting. Although the suggestion is quite simple, it should help you drastically.
Schedule Accordingly
Are you a morning person? Or do you find your energy picking up once the sun begins to set in the evening? All of us have different rhythms, that is, different times of day when we feel most productive and energetic.
You can make best use of your time by scheduling high-value work during your peak time, and low-energy work (like returning phone calls and checking email), during your “down” time. Pay attention to see when you feel the most productive and schedule your day accordingly!!
Hire Up Staffing is in the people industry and love to help other succeed in their positions wherever you are in the world! For more job tips CLICK HERE. If you are currently looking for work, please call us today (559)579-1331!
Thank you for reading!