Everyone has a lot they need and want to get done. Unfortunately, time often feels minimal. And it can feel as though you don’t have enough time to fit everything that you want to get done into your schedule.
Luckily, there are different ways to prioritize and fit things into your schedule that can help you to accomplish everything that you need to get done. Read on to discover some essential tips that will help you achieve everything that you want to promptly.
Create a List
Lists can be a lot more helpful for figuring things out than most would think. To complete this particular list that will help you get on track to accomplishing everything that you want to do, follow these steps:
- Start by creating a list of non-negotiable priorities. For example, working, studying, sleeping, and anything else that is entirely essential.
- Draw a line beneath the list of non-negotiables and then create a list of all the things that you would love to do if you had more time.
- Allot the amounts of time that you would be willing to contribute to your goals each week. Be realistic.
Once you have completed your list, you can create a spreadsheet that you can use first to put on the non-negotiable things and then see where you can fit in your other goals.
Do not feel discouraged if you don’t think there is enough time to fit everything in. The best way to get things done is by completing one task at a time or incorporating one new habit at a time. If that is all you can do, start with that and save the rest to add on later gradually.
Use Mindless Tasks to Enrich Yourself
If you are looking to read some more books or learn something new, the perfect time to fit that into your schedule is when you are cooking, cleaning, or driving. Everyday mindless tasks like commuting or washing the dishes are the perfect time to play an audiobook, a podcast, or even an instructive YouTube video playing in the background. You will feel so much more accomplished to know that you can fit in something as simple as this that will teach you new things.
People often complain that they do not have enough time to take on a hobby or finish their chores or even relax. Multitasking is the easiest way to tackle this. You basically hit two birds with one stone because not only are you completing chores but also learning something new.
Move Procrastination Pressure to as Soon as Possible
Are you notorious for leaving things until the last minute? Do you tend to work better under strict time limits or pressure?
There is a way to accomplish tasks that you may feel inclined to procrastinate on to move them out of the way so that you can focus on the things that you want to do. The procrastination mindset is that you do not need to get things done until a specific date in the future. Knowing that you have to do those tasks is stressful in itself. But you can’t bring yourself to do them until the last minute. The secret to stopping this is to preprogram yourself. Start acting as if everything that you have to get done is due as soon as possible. You can set timers as well to help you work more efficiently and limit distractions.
It is certainly easier said than done to implement this habit. But it will benefit you in the long run. It will take away your anxiety about things that you have to get done in the future. Train yourself to think in terms of getting things out of the way ASAP. This is better than just getting it done before the due date. Now this does not mean that you should overwork yourself and keep working for hours until everything is done. Make time in your schedule for each task. Maybe a task only takes minutes but it is due weeks later, get it out of the way now. If you have bigger tasks at hand, allot time each day to it instead of completing the whole thing at once the night before it is due.
Try the Pomodoro Technique
For some people, focusing on one task for hours at a time is too much. They easily get distracted and in turn take longer to complete their tasks. In the recent years, the Pomodoro Technique has been gaining quite the traction.
“This popular time management method asks you to alternate pomodoros — focused work sessions — with frequent short breaks to promote sustained concentration and stave off mental fatigue.”
todoist.com
People who may benefit from this technique are those who:
- Get easily distracted
- Overwork themselves to the point where they are no longer productive
- Have many open-ended tasks
- Are overly optimistic in terms of how much work they can finish in a given time
- Prefer to set goals
What is the Pomodoro Technique?
- Identify a task
- Set a timer for 25 minutes
- Work on your chosen task in that 25 minutes
- Set a timer for 5 minutes and take a break
- For every 3 rounds, you get a 15-30 minute break
“The beauty of timed working like this is that you eliminate the temptation to check your emails, make a cup of coffee, or talk to your colleagues.”
Eric Jackson, lifehack.org
Give Yourself a Break
Believe it or not, having one day in the week where you just relax and do nothing actually boosts your productivity levels throughout the week. If you force yourself to constantly be productive 24/7, you are doing it wrong. You will burn out and crash and recovering from that will waste more of your time. When you get high quality sleep for 7-8 hours every day, your bodies produce a lot of human growth hormone. This hormone helps with things like muscle tone, energy levels, and cellular regeneration. If you follow a good night’s sleep with a lazy day, your body will have a good 24 hours to recover from a week’s worth of stress and tension. The rest of the week you will be much more active and happy because you will always have this lazy day to look forward too.
We hope that these tasks were helpful to you in trying to start fitting everything that you want to do into your schedule.
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