Make Time Work for You
By Cyndi Seidler
Is your “list of things to do” packed up with tasks that only a “super-human” could do in a day? It’s clear, you don’t want to leave off anything or, heaven forbid, have something fall through the cracks. Yet, that lengthy list can get somewhat difficult to confront, if it’s not doable in a day.
We often find ourselves quite busy yet, at the end of the day, we don’t feel a good sense of accomplishment. When we have goals we want to achieve and do them, that’s an accomplishment. When we don’t have goals and set out to do things randomly, that’s chaos.
Here’s a strategy you might try:
Keep a Master Task List and a Daily Task List. On the Master list, keep everything you need to do. This list can be categorized and broken down into “household”, “work”, and “projects”. It might even be necessary to keep a separate task list for projects.
On the Daily list, only incorporate the things from the Master list that you need to do for that day. Nothing else should go on this list. You’ll find that you’ll add items which aren’t on your Master list, like errands and certain calls. It’s easy to view the Daily list when it is separated with tasks, errands and calls. Some people keep these lists in their carry-around organizer and some people keep it on their desk on a clipboard. You’ll want to keep it in a place where you’ll actually look at it though!
Organize an agenda. Establishing a routine schedule for our activities can ensure that we carry out various necessary tasks. By having an agenda for the week and for the day puts order into our lives, and that kind of structure enables us to use time to its fullest capacity.
The agenda should schedule in various “chores” or tasks that need to get done, either on a certain day of the week, or a certain time of the day. It’s better to keep it simple and break up the day in segments of time (morning, afternoon, evening), instead of hourly schedules. Most people dislike routines because they can’t stick to it, and the reason many can’t stick to it is because it’s not workable for them. So, play around with it. Create a routine and try it for a week or two. If you end up shifting things around, follow that routine for a week or two. Eventually, you’ll find something that works for you.
