. Are you feeling overwhelmed with all the tasks and responsibilities in your life? Do you find yourself constantly running out of time to do everything that needs to be done?
Could you use a few extra hours in the day?
Who can’t!?!
Many women struggle with managing their time effectively, leading to feelings of stress, confusion, and overwhelm. I have learned through balancing home, kids, business, and ME, the key to overcoming this challenge lies in understanding how to prioritize tasks rather than time management skills. If you’re any thing like me, you likely have a million things to do, a few different paper and digital planners that you have started and used for a couple weeks, and a stack of things you have started but not completed.
Know How You are Spending Your Time
Managing time effectively requires understanding which activities are most important and which activities are fillers. Properly prioritizing tasks helps us make sure we’re dedicating our time to the most important activities while minimizing time spent on less important ones and using all the time we have available in a day. Taking a bit of time up front to understand exactly how much time you are spending on your major time priorities and your minor time priorities will make this system work for you!
Stop Multitasking!
We like to think that we are masters of multitasking, but the truth is, there is a lot of research that shows that multitasking diminishes productivity and actually wastes precious time and accuracy! For many women, the feelings of overwhelm that come with time management issues stem from executive function challenges. This is a vast subject but a quick explanation is that our brains cannot manage tasks that involve focus, planning, remembering and juggling tasks. This also is often paired with time blindness, where one either underestimates the time that it will take to successfully complete a task or loses track of time while working on something. Multitasking simply makes things worse!
How to Do It!
If you need a step by step action plan and to dive deep into each of these steps, make sure to join the Unlock Learning Library where we will explore each step and support you in building a routine that works for you. But, if you just need a stepping stone to increased productivity without increased stress and frustration, here ya go!
- Keep track of how you’re spending your time with a time log
- Prioritize tasks based on importance and urgency.
- Break down big projects into smaller, achievable goals.
- Avoid multitasking whenever possible.
- Set time limits for tasks.
- Plan ahead for potential setbacks in order to avoid them.
- Eliminate time wasting activities.
- Create a time-blocking schedule.
- Schedule time for relaxation and self-care.
- Outsource or delegate tasks to free up time.