I don’t have enough time for this! Why does a day only have 24 hours? All of us have said these statements sometime or the other. We, humans, are creatures of habit, and one thing which stresses us the most is not having enough time on our hands. We try and plan to fit everything right into our schedules and make elaborate plans on how to manage our time and how to make the most of everything. But in all of this hustle, we forget that we only have 24 hours, and we have to manage and prioritize our work as we are not superhumans. In the name of being efficient and managing time effectively, we put more stress on ourselves.
As we try to clear out the clutter, what we don’t realize is that it is never-ending, the time you save doing one task will lead to the addition of a new task, and these tasks, meetings, discussions will leave us with nothing other than stress because the problem with the human brain is that we want to get done with everything and end up with filing our plates.
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The reality of time management during Covid-19 Pandemic
When all of us got stuck in our homes, and our work desk witnessed a change of scenery, what everyone felt was the feeling of relief. The common statements were that we now have so much time on our hands that we spent commuting to the office or on business trips. Everyone felt they now could utilize this time in doing tasks that are more important and have more time for themselves and their family. But, the truth of the matter is that the more gaps we got to fill in our schedules, the more time we devoted to putting more work on our shoulders and ended up working extra hours than before in the name of productivity. Our brains ended up exploiting the privilege of flexibility in working hours, resulting in an increase in work hours.
Time management is important; this fact cannot be denied but what needs to be corrected is the way we employ it in our routines. We have to understand that time management is meant to do our tasks effectively but not hoard more work. It should be about realizing what is important and dedicating enough time to it. Time management does lead to productivity when used correctly.
The article lays down some tips for helping you not fall into the trap of time management and using it effectively.
Tip 1: Don’t overburden yourself
Take responsibility for your work, take the initiative but don’t fill your plate so much that you won’t manage. As you start aligning your work on a Monday morning, the stress starts to pave its way. The need is to not set unrealistic expectations for ourselves. We have to learn and accept that we have our calendar filled, and the more we try to squeeze in more work, the more we are inviting stress into our lives. As I said earlier, consider yourself humans and not superheroes. You don’t want yourself to get overwhelmed with the amount of work you are doing.
It is necessary to learn when to draw a line and say that I have enough work in my bucket. The need is to prioritize work based on their importance rather than the time that they will take up. Setting unrealistic deadlines is not worth it. Recognizing and accepting the barriers you might face in completing a task is of utmost importance. Otherwise, the deadline will come, and so would be the incoming train of stress.
Taking breaks into account is also important. Our mind demands it. We all have felt a time in our schedule where we are at our most unproductive selves. So rather than sitting in front of our laptops and stressing it out, it’s better if we just take a break and rejuvenate ourselves.
Tip 2: Procrastination is your enemy
The biggest hindrance that you can pave for yourself is procrastination. You have set your schedule, and it is realistic. You have considered breaks; all you have to do is follow them. Make sure you keep your schedule flexible so that if an emergency arises, you can take care of it. Using an online calendar is a good way of keeping tabs on your schedule.
Technology is a great help that allows you to work anywhere from everywhere. Whether you are waiting for a client or commuting to the office, utilize that time for your personal or professional work. Don’t delay work because the next day other tasks will be waiting for you. Procrastination will send your schedule for a toss, but if you are attentive and adhere to it, then you will sail through.
Tip 3: Focus on building a structure
Make time for important things. Learn to differentiate between what work is important and what you can let go of. Learn to say NO and stay as far away as possible from distractions. You need a structure, a roadmap that you can follow. If you have the privilege of building a routine, then do that. The understanding as to what tasks require your time and attention and what does not is of the essence. Keeping a well-organized calendar that has allotted time for queries that can be raised by your team will save you from everyone asking you to spare 5 minutes of your time.
Commit yourself to the task at hand. If you are preparing a presentation, that should not mean that you are also busy checking your phone on the side. It is not helping. Complete your task, and then take a break to use your phone. Stick to things; if you have a diet chart to follow, then follow it, but don’t get distracted with a new diet plan that caught your eye on the internet. Eliminate distractions as the half work that you are doing is just messing with your scheduling and resulting in stress.
Tip 4: Learn to delegate
Again, realize the tasks that are important and meant for you. Not everything has to be done by you. We work in teams for a reason, so utilize that privilege. You have to learn to let go and trust that the other person knows how to do their job. Getting involved with everything won’t lead to any good. Take time to train your team, and this will help the other person learn the tricks of the trade and help with your confidence in the delegation of work. Freelancing is also a great way to share the workload. Believe that they are experts in their field and would do a good job. The quality of leading and supervising is a necessary trait if you don’t want to get stressed with the amount of work in your kitty.
Tip 5: It’s good to plan ahead
It would be a total waste of time when you sit to start your work in the morning, and you have no clue where to start from. Never leave the work you did the day before unattended. Make sure that you have crossed out everything in your schedule that was assigned for yesterday, and make it a habit to plan and organize your work for the next day well ahead. While wrapping up your day for the night, take out 10 minutes to line up your work for the day after so that you know where to start from the next day and what are the important things in your schedule so that you don’t get caught off guard. Imagine you are doing an MBA course online, then you should plan how much you would cover the next day. In the morning, make a mental note to make sure that yesterday’s work is done and go through the important tasks that are lined up for today.
Closing Thoughts
In the end, a reminder to everyone would be that time management is a myth, and it is up to you how much you can make of it by not overburdening yourself. You have 24 hours like everyone, so don’t fight it and stress yourself. Give yourself credit for what you have done and know when to call it enough. Take control of your time, and don’t let it overpower you. We know life is short and there are a lot of things to do, but who are we fooling if we are not even happy through it, rather stressed. So learn to do things that are important to you rather than to aim for doing everything.
