Why is Time So Hard to Manage?
Do you go to work every day and come home feeling like you’ve gotten nothing accomplished? Is multi-tasking okay for everyone else but not for you? Is your desk a mountain of paper that you push from one side to the other each day and the pile just keeps getting higher? Sounds as though time management might not one of your strong suits! However… it’s a critical business skill to learn – especially in the fast-paced world in which we live and work today.
Here are several time-management tips that may help you to “pull it together” and get more done on the job. You’ll feel less stressed out and more comfortable when you’re more “in control” of your daily activities.
• Email – Find a manageable way to deal with email, especially if you have an ever-full inbox! Decide you will only check it three times per day (9:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m., let’s say). At all other times, shut off your email so you are not tempted to look at it every fifteen seconds!
Resolve to handle each email only once – read it and then act on it (respond to it, forward it to someone else for action, etc.). File important email in specific folders you have set up in your email program or delete them. Be sure to check your spam folder to see if any non-spam emails landed in there by mistake!
• Organize your next day’s “To Do” list before you leave work for the day. Prioritize each task. When you do arrive at work the next morning, spend some time on the most important task before you do anything else, including checking email!
• Work according to your “personal best time of the day” schedule. If you are a morning person, then perform all important tasks then and leave the less important ones for the after-lunch slump period!
• Break large projects down into manageable tasks. It’s much easier to start and work on one step of a project at a time, than it is to look at the whole project as this huge, monumental work effort.
• Avoid multi-tasking whenever possible; it affects productivity negatively. It’s difficult to give adequate attention to many “spinning plates” and you may find you have a lot of projects started and none of them finished.
• Make sure to take scheduled breaks each day; productivity decreases when you sit at your desk for hours on end.
• Learn when to say “no,” both inside and outside of the work environment. Better to do one thing well than do a mediocre job on many.
• Reward yourself when you’ve completed a job well. Celebrate victories – this is a terrific way to stay motivated and on-task.
• Get enough sleep, exercise and eat healthy foods – these three things help with concentration and efficiency on the job.
• Be sure to create a healthy work/home balance. Don’t sacrifice your family for your career!
Time management in today’s competitive marketplace is critical if you want to keep your job and move up the ladder.
Remember, too, that stress can cause nerve interference in your body – so be sure to keep up with your regular chiropractic adjustment schedule to minimize the effects of stress on your nervous system.
Patient Login
Dr. Jeff Asks...
