Do you waste time just doing ‘stuff’ and find that the important things are getting left? Does this cause you anxiety or stress?
If the answers to the ab
ove questions is yes then here are some handy tips to get you focused on the real things and less on the ‘stuff’.
Get better organised - Plan your day better. Start the day with the list of things you want to get done. This will only take you a few minutes to do but will save you a whole lot more. You can do this for work and personal tasks. List the tasks in order of importance. If you are like me and love ticking things off a list then tick away. You will be amazed at how good you feel after ticking a few off!
Break down tasks – If you have some huge tasks on your list, break them down into manageable tasks. That way you see progress, even on the largest of tasks.
Excuses - Don’t use excuses; I don’t like lists; I can’t be organised; I won’t keep it up; I haven’t got time; you don’t understand. Just get it done!
Time wasting and procrastination - Now, we all spend time on Facebook, checking emails, doing nothing much of anything and putting off the things on the list we created. This is fine, it’s natural to waste a bit of time and you will not matter what; also some of these activities are essential. Just know when you are wasting time, recognise it and start to cut down on the time wasting activities or schedule a specific time to do them. I set reminders on my phone for certain things, that way I know they always get completed.
Don’t let interruptions get in the way – I am smiling as I type this because I am the queen of letting this happen! You have to be tough with yourself if you are an interruption magnet like me. You can fix this by learning new habits:
Prioritise your tasks – what are important and what aren’t. Put all your tasks into one of these categories to help you focus on what needs to be done:
urgent and important
not urgent but important
urgent but not important
neither urgent nor important
Let people know you are focusing on something and you will be happy to listen to them in 10 minutes (or whenever you finish)
Turn off your phone or laptop or TV
If you don’t need to be connected to the internet, disconnect yourself so you won’t be tempted with Facebook or google
Keep this up (practice, practice, practice) and you will change any bad habits you have with time wasting to good habits. You may even find that once you’ve achieved everything you needed to for the day you have time to surf the internet or watch TV.
With Love xxxx