Time Management Tips For Those of Us Feeling Overwhelmed
You work your 9 – 5 and then your 5 – 9, go to school, gym, friends, family, and keep up appearances at events. From the outside looking in people think you have everything together with a beautiful smile on your face. Then you blink and the end of the month is approaching and you’re overwhelmed with the idea that you’re falling short of the goals you set.
Thank goodness for a ton of ambition mixed with some caramel macchiato!
Considering those are only the major activities you may run into daily, leaving out transport, eating and maybe even catching a few zzz’s – where can we find the time? We don’t! Unfortunately that can’t be purchased at your local “Tarzhay” (Target) or via Amazon. However, in a generation of DIY projects we can get creative by taking advantage of every moment.
Let’s get the ball rolling by jotting down all the tasks that need tackling to reach this month’s objectives. Then separate them into four groups of priority in what should be completed in this four week span. Now that you have a platform to work from, try creating a day by day to – do list so that every responsibility you set out for that week is essentially completed by Sunday evening.
The next step is probably the most tiresome one but could be the difference between potentially reaching your goal and ACTUALLY getting to the finish line.
Time allotment.
BE honest with yourself about the amount of time each task will take YOU and allow yourself space in between so that everyday seems do-able. Everyone is different so create a schedule with a custom time allowance for each task and plug them in from the moment you open your eyes until it’s time to call it quits. Create moments for “me time”, TV time or even procrastination time.
Last but not least, don’t forget the most important step: FOLLOW THROUGH! Stay on schedule as best possible and feel responsible for every step of the journey.
As fun as it is to “live in the moment” sometimes life forces us into productivity and we have to take charge of our time wisely.
Always remember, YOU CAN DO IT!
Some extra motivational tips for time management beginners:
–Create time slots for everything from painting your nails to sleeping.
Think 8 hours of sleep, followed by 10 minutes of snooze time, 1 hour to get up, stretch, and work out, then time to shower, get ready and eat. It may seem a little crazy in the beginning but soon you’ll have the hang of it and won’t need to schedule in every 5 minute stretch.
–Going through the time management steps each month can get tedious and eventually discouraging.
If the objective at the end of that month is just not proving itself worthy of the tasks at hand then light a fire under your behind with a different form of motivation. At the start of the month pick a reward to go along with your goals completion. Whether it’s a dessert cheat day, some retail therapy or a getaway with friends, pick something well deserved for all the work you’ve put in.
Here are some great apps to help with time management and organization.
– Evernote
A productivity app that lets you create written, voice, video and image notes and to-do lists. You can mix and match to create attachments and share them with others.
– Google Calendar
Allows you to keep a calendar to create and remind you of tasks and events all year round. You can even share your events or tasks with friend’s calendars.
– Mailbox
An email app that lets you create multiple genre folders to organize all your emails with an easy swipe of your screen.
– My Life Organized (MLO)
You can plug all your tasks and the final goal into this application and it will create its idea of a prioritized list for you.
– Remember the Milk
Still struggling? Sync all your productivity apps right here under one roof. With reminders and tips, this app is extremely useful.
