Tips for Better Time Management Organization
- Purchase an organizer/planner
- Identify the task and what you might need
- Appropriate work space
- Correct tools
- Make note of your "best" or peak time of day
- Be disciplined about distractions
- Put things away when you're done
Planning
- Think through the steps of the task before you begin
- Set specific goals
- Make an overall plan or outline
- Evaluate how you will spend your time and if this is the best way to complete the task
- Create a realistic weekly schedule
- Also make a daily schedule
- Be realistic about time - people often underestimate how long things take
- Allow time for unplanned/unscheduled activities
- Don't plan to do more than you can do
Prioritizing
- Big picture first - details later
- Prioritize daily and weekly activities
- Monitor your activities
- Do only what's important
- Stay focused
- Take responsibility for each delay
Procrastination
- Explore emotions associated with procrastination
- Recognize your fantasies about the task
- Evaluate your avoidance of the task
- Assess the cost of avoidance
- Confront negative beliefs
- Look for hidden rewards
- Put aside worry
- Start with small steps - and start early
- Recognize "good enough" - "perfect" is subjective and unattainable
Self-Knowledge
Do you...
- Have trouble saying "no"?
- Know what works for you?
- Ignore your own signs of stress?
- Rush through things and end up doing them again?
- Let personal problems invade your work time?
- Make yourself anxious?
- Delay making decisions?
- Being an important assignment when you're tired or hungry?
- Take on too much, then criticize yourself for not getting it done?
General Suggestions
- Take work with you when you might have to wait
- Practice mindfulness - stay in the moment
- Give yourself permission to do nothing from time to time
- Link a distasteful activity to another that you are sure you will do
- Reward yourself for getting things done or completing unpleasant tasks
- Don't waste time on decisions that involve inconsequential or equally attractive activities - flip a coin!
- Finish one thing before starting another
- Create a metaphor for the task
- Listen carefully to be sure you understand what's communicated and expected