Time Management Techniques To Do More With Less Stress

Have you ever caught yourself thinking that you are always busy? No matter what many of us try to do, we are always fighting a deadline, checking off a to do list, and adding dates to your calendar. We live in a busy world and often there are not enough hours in the day to complete all that you need to do.

If you feel overwhelmed by your long lists, do not fret. Lucky for us, there are many time management techniques that you can quickly learn and make a part of your life. Time management techniques help to take the stress out of your daily life and maximize your time effectively.

Reducing clutter

Most of us become stressed out at work because we are not organized. Folders, notes, and papers usually consume our desks and make it hard to find what you need. There is no such thing as “organized clutter” and if you are telling yourself that you are able to work in those conditions and that it is not the clutter that is stressing you out, and then you are fooling yourself. One such time management technique that will really help save you time is to organize your desk. Label all of your files and organize them alphabetically, place pens and pencils in a jar and place it to your right for easy access, purchase baskets that slide into your desk and organize the contents inside, and throw away all useless papers. By taking 10 minutes or so every morning to organize your desk, you will save yourself a lot of time searching for things that you need.

Organize your day

Decide what needs to be done first in your day and complete it first. Examples include spending the first two hours of your day making calls and checking e-mails. Those tend to be the most important tasks of the day and you will feel much better if you complete them first thing in the morning. That way too, if for some reason they take longer than two hours to complete, you have the time to complete them. Plan meetings for the middle part of the day. That way if for some reason you are late to work, you are never late to a meeting and your stress level is not as high. Plus, you can always have a working lunch and kill two birds with one stone. Use the last hours of your day to plan for upcoming meetings, schedule appointments, or return any e-mails and phone calls that may have come during the middle portion of your day. The last 15 minutes of your shift should be spent organizing your desk for the next day so that when you walk into your office, you walk into a clean, workable area.

To Do List

Make sure that you have a calendar directly in front of you at desk and use it. Mark important meetings and deadlines in bold so that they stand out at you. Every evening before you leave, write a to do list, for the next day and have it sitting out for you to easily see. On that list rate the things that are the most important to complete at the top, along with a time frame for each item. Be realistic with your times and maybe even allocate more time than needed. As you complete each item, check it off. At the end of your day, whatever is not checked off add it to your new to do list.

Time management techniques are not only helpful at the office, but can be completed anywhere. Keep a social calendar at home as well as a to do list. Use the same techniques at home that you would use at your office, especially the one about keeping a clean area. You will me amazed at how much calmer your life becomes and how the word stress will not be a part of your vocabulary.

By: Lindy Belk

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