01.01.2018
The amount of times I have found myself stressed out due to poor time management and procrastination is unbelievable. I could never quite get my head around why it seemed like I was the only who would still be awake at three in the morning, trying to complete work due the next day.
1) Prioritisation
Make sure to write all your tasks for the following day at the end of your current day. This allows you to have time to prioritise your work and develop a clearer understanding of what you need to complete when your day starts.
Creating yourself your very own daily to do list enables you to focus on what needs to be done but it also gets you back on track for when you have unplanned distractions. What I've found useful is incorporating a colour code system. This consists of: red, which represents the most important/ urgent tasks (closest to a deadline), amber (a week before it's due) and green which are the most recently assigned tasks.
2. Time Out
I can't stress how important this one. It's often overlooked and rarely is it recognised as an area of importance. But as simple as it may sound...you need time out! By observing your energy curves, you learn to establish routines and identify the times in which you are most alert. This therefore encourages productive work sessions rather than spending hours unable to continuously treat the task as important.
By taking regular breaks, it allows you to come back to the given task at hand with renewed energy and sense of purpose.
3. Time Management
The best solution to tackling time management is starting now. Aim to complete, or at least start a task on the day it was issued. For example, if you are a student, a certain criteria of your assignment may have been covered in class. This enables you to recall more information as it's still fresh in your memory, resulting in less time needed on researching. Also, by starting early, it allows you to ask your peers/work colleagues/ tutors any questions you may have or any areas of difficulty.
4. Plan Ahead
This is closely linked with time management. Planning in advance allows you to identity what needs to be done, when and how you will do so in order to complete given tasks.
I sit down and write an estimate of how long the tasks will take me. For example, if it's fewer than five minutes, I try to complete it immediately. However, if it requires more time and breaking down, then be sure to think realistically and plan time in the day, recording it in your daily to do list.
5. Organisation
Organisation is key to success! It allows you to help yourself in achieving as much as possible in a given time frame. Create a colour code system for your desk or work space. I use a file organiser which has three sections: incomplete, to focus on and complete, which allows me to see visually how much work is outstanding. By introducing these small changes, not only will it help you to identity where everything but it reduces the risk of losing important documents.
Needless to say, not only are you constructing valuable life skills which will prove useful in the future but you are also providing structure to your everyday lifestyle.