5 Tips for Best Time Management
by Kara Shobe
Do you ever wake up in the morning, think about the hundreds of tasks that lie ahead of you in the day, and just want to roll over and go back to sleep? You’re not the only one! While I can’t do all this work for you or give you tips on how to make these tasks disappear, I can help you manage your time, so these tasks aren’t nearly as stressful and daunting!
Time management is absolutely key to having a productive, low-stress(ish), positive workday. By managing your time perfectly throughout the day, you won’t feel the urge to roll over in denial every time the alarm sound rings. By following these five tips below, those dreaded, overly packed workdays are a thing of the past.
1. Get Up Early
I know what you’re thinking: “I HATE getting up early.” While the majority of us would prefer to wake up at our leisure a few hours past the alarm, getting up even 30 minutes earlier will save you self-induced panic throughout the day. Starting your day off in a rush and already behind on tasks will set you up for inevitable disaster. I’m not saying get up at 4 AM (unless that’s your thing, then get after it!), but allow yourself time to get ready and wake up in the morning. Whether that’s a quick yoga session in your living room or a hot cup of coffee on the couch, you WILL thank yourself immediately upon shaking the sleepiness off.
2. Get a Good Night’s Sleep
Let’s back up to the night before. How can you get up earlier in the morning if you are still staying up until all hours of the night? As we’ve all been told time and time again, the key to feeling fantastic starts with a good night’s sleep. This might be five hours for some or nine for others, but I would figure out what keeps your body awake and motivated for the (entire!) day and stick to that on a nightly basis. If not, you’ll wake up for your yoga/coffee/breakfast pre-work treat and hit that snooze button, telling yourself it’s okay since you didn’t go to sleep early enough to get the proper amount of sleep. So, setting yourself up for success for the workday really starts the night before!
3. Prioritize
It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you sit down at your desk and see the tasks already piling up, making it seem impossible to get all this work done in an eight-hour day. While it’s completely natural to fly into a tizzy on first look, don’t let it get the best of you! Whether you write it all out or mentally rack-and-stack tasks in your brain, prioritize all that needs to be done before you head home at the end of the day. What’s most important? What’s the most time consuming? What just needs to be taken care of before 5 o’clock? Try to knock out the most grueling tasks first to instantly feel productive, accomplished and to keep those from bogging your mind down all day.
4. Take Breaks
While you might have enough work to do to keep you busy every second of the entire workday, take breaks! Just 10-20 minutes away from work a couple times a day will ensure you stay as productive as possible. If you don’t, you could easily find yourself aimlessly scrolling through BuzzFeed for an hour in dire need of a mental hiatus. I suggest taking a stroll or lounging outside to soak up some vitamin D – great for your mind and mood!
5. COMMIT!
The most important step in time management: committing to your plan! If you don’t commit to going to bed early, you won’t get up early, then you’ll be rushing to work where you won’t feel you have time to take breaks and need to just jump into the day without prioritizing your tasks. Don’t be that guy/girl! Commit to making your day a little less stressful and a little more blissful. Your 5 PM self thanks you.