How to manage your time and reduce overwhelm
When I have lots of things to do, places to be, varying competing priorities it is very easy to fall into the trap of overwhelm, procrastination, burnout and not achieve anything in any area of my world. So, what does it take to manage your time effectively? Let me begin by sharing that I too am human and do not always get it right, however I have the techniques to come back to when I find myself off track.
The first step is self-awareness, identifying when these situations arise and being able to pause, reflect and make a change. It could be something small like waking up and noticing a feeling of anxiety, it can show up in the form of procrastination, getting stuck in a social media rabbit hole, and/or you find yourself in a bad mood not having much patience for anything. All very normal, yet important to notice what is happening and being curious to understand why.
Once you have identified that it’s lack of time, with too many tasks and activities bringing you feelings of overwhelm and anxiety, then you can focus on making a change. Take the below techniques and implement them into your daily, weekly, monthly routines to proactively create an environment to perform at your best.
Managing your time, the process of planning and controlling the amount of time you spend on specific tasks, increasing your efficiency and productivity. Having the ability to time block for important and urgent tasks and being intentional with your time. It is crucial to have effective time management strategies and techniques to get the most out of each day, minimising procrastination, and the feeling of overwhelm and stress.
Play to your strengths identify when you work at your best and allocate tasks accordingly. If you are a morning person complete the hard tasks at the start of your day and leave the meetings or emails for the afternoon.
Plan for what you want to accomplish have a prioritised to do list and cross it off. The feeling of completing your tasks will create momentum and keep you on track.
Prioritise your tasks accordingly. What is urgent versus important, where do you need to spend your time and where can you push the task out and plan ahead.
Get organised and keep a clean work environment. It helps with your ability to stay focused.
Batch your time for completing tasks, including brain breaks. Consider grouping tasks that are similar, use your analytical/reporting skills first then swap over and focus on any creative elements.
Remove distractions by turning off notifications, close emails, place your phone on silent or dare I say it, put it in another room! This will help reduce the temptation of multi-tasking.
Manage your emails effectively, don’t get stuck drowning in your emails. Email time sinks can look like overflowing inboxes (read and unread), no clear digital filing system or multiple inbox management with no clear rules. My advice is read it once - file, delete, or action.
Delegate where possible to an appropriate person. Learn how to ask for help or say yes when it is being offered.
Hold effective meetings have a clear purpose, capture outcomes, actions, and due dates. Think about time in a meeting, how can you make it more efficient? Can you book 45 or 50 minutes instead of an hour to provide you with time between meetings.
Staying focused, managing your time, and performing at your best is not always easy but it’s possible. Take some time to reflect on the above techniques. Identify the areas you currently do well and where you may be able to put some focus to make improvements. Think about where you can habit stack and add this new focus onto something you already do well. Enjoy the feeling of productivity, embrace getting some time back, and use it wisely!