Having a productive day starts with the way you organize your time. And while it might seem like a simple task, organization can be difficult if you’re not committed to having a productive day. Luckily, there are many ways to set yourself up for success. I’ve found that these tips work for me and hopefully they’ll help you too!
To-Do List
A to-do list is a great way to organize your tasks and keep track of what you need to get done. Make sure that you’re prioritizing the tasks on your list, breaking down large tasks into smaller steps, and making sure that each task can be completed in an appropriate timeframe. If a task is no longer relevant or important, then get rid of it!
Calendar
Use a calendar to schedule your tasks and events. Don’t let yourself get caught up in the hustle without giving yourself breaks, time for reflection, fun, friends and family. You deserve it!
Prioritize
When you’re feeling overwhelmed, it can be hard to figure out where to start. A good first step is prioritizing what needs to get done.
- Prioritize tasks that have a deadline (or at least a date by which they should be completed). If there are no specific deadlines, then prioritize the tasks that will help move you closer to your long-term goals or the things that are most important to you right now.
- Prioritize tasks based on how much time each will take—not necessarily in chronological order of importance. For example, if there are three meetings scheduled for later in the day and one appointment with an important client today at 1 pm, schedule this meeting first so it doesn’t interfere with any other appointments after lunchtime!
- Prioritize tasks based on how easy or difficult they are for you personally; don’t assume everything will take as long as others suggest it might because everyone works differently! For example: An HR representative may say their department can handle updating employee records once per quarter but someone who’s been working there longer knows better–that job takes twice as much time each month due to unforeseen complications during this process (such as unexpected absenteeism).
Delegate Whenever Possible
It’s easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day details of your business, but delegating whenever possible is a great way to free up some time. If you’re not sure where or how to delegate, try these tips:
- Ask for help. You’d be surprised at how many people will offer to pitch in if you ask them directly! Perhaps a friend has a skill that could help with one of your tasks, or maybe your spouse would like to learn more about the industry. Don’t be afraid—just reach out and see what happens!
- Learn to say no. While it may feel selfish at first, learning how and when not only helps establish boundaries for yourself but also shows others around you that they can trust you with their own responsibilities as well as their own time management skills (which will come in handy later). It’s important not only for this step but also throughout this whole process; if someone asks for something unreasonable from either side (“My coworker asked me if I could watch her kid tomorrow night,” “My boss wants me somewhere else), don’t do it unless there’s an extenuating circumstance like an emergency situation involving family members/children (and even then give careful consideration). Remember: saying no doesn’t mean saying never!
Schedule Breaks
- Take breaks. Breaks are essential for recharging your mind and body, so schedule them into your day. You should take a break after every hour of work (or less if you’re feeling it). The most common types of breaks are:
10 minutes
15 minutes
20 minutes
30 minutes
Schedule in Reflection
Another way to increase your efficiency is to schedule in reflection. It’s important to spend time reflecting on what you’ve accomplished and what you’ve learned, so that you can improve on the next task. This is especially important if a project has gone wrong. In this scenario, it’s imperative that you reflect on where things went wrong, how they could have been done differently, and how you’ll handle similar situations in the future.
You can motivate yourself without being mean to yourself.
Motivation is important. It’s the fuel that keeps us going, the juice that keeps us going when we’ve hit a wall and are ready to throw in the towel. But there are many different ways of motivating yourself, and some of them aren’t very effective.
One way people try to motivate themselves is by being overly critical of themselves when they make mistakes or don’t do something well enough, which only makes it harder for them to be motivated in the future. This kind of criticism can cause us to give up on our goals too easily because we feel like we’re never good enough.
Another way people try to motivate themselves is by setting unrealistic goals for themselves—goals that no one could possibly achieve but them—and then feeling bad when they fail at meeting those standards instead of realizing how awesome it was just for them even try at all! This kind of thinking leads people into a pattern where they keep trying but never succeed because their expectations are always set so high they’ll never reach them (and thus won’t be happy).
get a planner
A planner is a tool for time management, and it can help you get your life in order. If you think of yourself as a person who is good at keeping track of dates and events, but not so great with following through on tasks, this might be the perfect solution for you. A planner will allow you to prioritize and stay on track throughout the week or month, so that when important things come up (like work deadlines), you don’t miss them because they slipped your mind.
A physical planner can be an effective way to stay organized if all of your tasks are visible at a glance. You can use certain sections to denote different parts of life: work, family, exercise routine—whatever works best for your lifestyle. And if none of these sorts of sections fit within the structure that works best for you and your schedule needs changing often enough that trying to adapt them would become tedious before long? Well then maybe an app would work better! Apps like AnyDoList2 do much more than just remind users what’s next; they also help users keep track of how many hours per day are being spent on various activities so that they know when it’s time give up some leisure time in favor of getting some actual work done during working hours (or vice versa).
use daily to do lists
Start the day by making a to-do list. Remember to prioritize tasks, so you don’t overbook yourself. If something comes up that needs to be done, add it to your list as well—but only if it’s truly urgent and important. Otherwise, resist the temptation! It’s far more important that you get everything done in a timely manner than it is for you to do everything on your list (and yes, we’re talking about that little voice inside your head).
This will also help keep your stress levels down throughout the day because knowing what needs to get done gives us a sense of control over our lives—even when things seem chaotic around us!
Make sure each item on this list has another step or two attached: “grocery shopping” should lead into “plan meals” which leads into “make grocery list.” These steps will help make sure nothing falls through the cracks along the way.
set aside time for work and time for relaxation
It’s important to set aside time for work and time for relaxation. By doing this, you can avoid burnout and make sure that your work is up to your standards.
To set aside time for work and time for relaxation, block off a chunk of the day where you’ll be working on your project. This can be anywhere from an hour to four hours depending on what you’re working on. Once this block is over, take a break: go outside or take a walk; eat lunch; watch TV or play video games if that’s what relaxes you; or do whatever else brings joy into your life! If possible, try to end each day with some quiet time so that it feels like there is an end point in sight—and then start fresh the next morning by going through this process again!
don’t overbook yourself
One of the most common time organization mistakes is scheduling too much into a single day. While being busy and productive feels good, it can also lead to burnout and exhaustion.
- Schedule in breaks: Giving yourself time to relax and recharge is important for maintaining your energy levels throughout the day, so schedule regular breaks or vacations into your calendar.
- Set aside time for work and time for relaxation: It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all we have on our plates at work, so it’s important to make sure that we’re not sacrificing our free time just because we’re busy with other things during the day. Make sure that you set aside some time each week (even if it’s only an hour) where nothing but recreation takes precedence over everything else in your life—that way when you return from break refreshed and ready to continue working, it will be easier than ever before!
organize with technology
You may be familiar with the old adage, “a place for everything, and everything in its place.” But how do we actually make that happen? Organizing is an ongoing activity that requires constant maintenance. The trick is to keep it simple so you can focus on what really matters: getting things done.
There are many ways to get organized—here are a few of my favorites:
- Use a calendar app to track your appointments, tasks, deadlines and more. I use Google Calendar because it’s free and works well with other apps like Todoist.
- Use a task manager app like Todoist or Wunderlist (both free) to keep track of all those little things you need to remember throughout the day or week—like paying bills or picking up groceries after work!
- Get yourself a planner where you can write down your schedule any time of day or night—it’ll help keep your mind focused when starting something new (or finishing something important).
wake up earlier to have more time during the day
- Waking up early can be the key to staying organized. If you wake up earlier, you have more time to plan for your day, and can therefore maximize how much you get done.
- The best part about waking up earlier is that it’ll make getting a good night’s sleep easier—and we all know how much better we feel when we’ve had enough sleep!
- To wake up early, set an alarm clock (so tempting) or stick to a regular schedule of waking at the same time every day—even weekends! This will help train your body so that it gets used to being awake earlier than usual. You might find it difficult at first, but eventually it will become second nature and become easy as pie!
- There are many benefits associated with being an early riser: you’ll have more time during the day; there will be less traffic on public transportation if you travel by bus/train; there may even be discounts available at restaurants/stores when they open early in the morning!
make goals that are easy to achieve at first, then get harder as you go on
When you’re starting out, it’s important to set goals that are achievable. You don’t want to get frustrated and give up on your organization plan because you’re trying to do too much at once. It’s also important not to get overwhelmed with the number of tasks on your list; it’s better to have a small number of daily tasks than an overwhelming amount that feels impossible!
If you find that one goal is too difficult, don’t be afraid to change it. For example, if you decide that writing thank-you notes every day sounds like too much work (it will take longer than 20 minutes), try setting smaller goals like writing one thank-you note per week instead—or even just sending a quick text message instead of actually writing out the card itself!
Also make sure not to set yourself up for failure by being too ambitious when making plans for yourself or others…or even worse yet: setting unrealistic expectations for others’ behavior towards us as well! If we want our family members or friends (or even our coworkers)
take care of yourself by organizing
The idea of self-care is something that comes up a lot in organizing circles.
Self-care is important because it allows us to recharge our batteries and do the things we need to do in order to take care of other people—our friends, family members and co-workers. When you’re not taking care of yourself first, you can’t be there for others as much as you would like.
The good news is that there are lots of ways out there for you to be more organized. They don’t all have to cost money either! You might even already have some organizational tools lying around your house that could help get those piles under control quickly.
Conclusion
You don’t have to be a superhero to organize your life, but you do need to be consistent. Little tweaks here and there can make a huge difference! If you’re struggling with time management or organization in general, it’s worth considering some of the tips above. They may seem obvious, but they really do work when implemented properly—and they’ll help keep your sanity intact as well!
