Tools to manage your day

So are you managing the day or is the managing you?

I've been there where I felt completely out of control of my day, not knowing what needs doing next or even where to start.

Well the writing to do list is always the first step in managing your time and workload. however, this can end up feeling like a never ending list, a bit like the never ending story but without the dragons.

And a never ending to do list can start to feel a bit de-motivating as it can sometimes appear like you're crossing one thing off but adding another two things to it.

So it's time to take a bit of control of this, this will lead to you leading more productive days, and it's leading a much more mindful kind of day by keeping your focus on the moment and the task in hand. What's not to love about that?

So, set yourself alarms and reminders on your phone or electronic calendar, if you're setting reminders in your electronic calendar remember to ask for notification. When you've done this it's going to create pop ups for the times you've requested and it's gonna pop up on you're screen reminding you what you've got next and it's got your attention.

Also you can colour code your tasks and appointments so you can tell at a glance roughly what's coming up. I would also recommend you blocking time out in your calendar to complete tasks and also for taking your lunch, some people never take prolonged breaks away from their desk or work space, this simply healthy for your mind or your body.

Also scheduling your work in line with your energy levels just makes sense. If you take a while to come round in the morning then you're probably not going to be on your "A" game so those really big and important tasks are not morning jobs for you. Whereas if you're an early riser then you're going to be at your most productive in the morning. And if you're like me you fall somewhere in the middle it's about working out what your energy levels are and working with it.

You really don't need to be checking your emails more than three times a day, it's unlikely that something needs to be addressed in under four hours. And if it's someone who has a habit of sending emails and then immediately coming over or calling you to say did you get my email I'd look at putting a pop up or flag on the emails from this person. I used to have manager who had the habitual habit of sending an email and either immediately ringing you or coming to your desk to see if you'd seen their emails, this can be quite frustrating and a bit off putting as you then need to go into your email, read the email, all while they're talking to you.

Then finally, coming back to the to do list, set priorities to the do list, you can even match these up with your energy levels so you know what time of day to tackle these jobs.

A = Urgent and Important

B = Important but not Urgent

C = Urgent but not Important

You can also add levels to this 

1= it needs to be completed today

2= this needs to be started today

3=This can wait til tomorrow

4=This can be done later in the week

And some just small pieces of advice to bear in mind during your working day:

"Under promise, over deliver" This principle is one of saying to someone you can do it for this time and date, giving yourself plenty of time, in fact give yourself a little bit more than you need because when you complete it early it reflects well on you and it shows that you're responsible and you care about your work.

"Be honest about your workload & remember breaks are necessary" Sometimes we want to take on as much work as possible, maybe because we're people pleasers, or because you want to learn and develop you skills or you want to be noticed. However sometimes we need to be open and honest about our workload, because it's no use taking on something that you simply haven't the time or resources for, as the end result will be one of three things

1. You complete their task to a high standard, but the work you promised someone else is to a low standard, and they're not going to be happy and it's not an accurate representation of your standard of work.

2. You complete their task to a low standard, but the work you promised someone else is to a high standard, and they're not going to be happy but the other person isn't happy with the work you've done and it's once again, not an accurate representation of your standard of work.

3. You complete both pieces of work to a low standard and no one is happy.

So all in all, honesty is the best policy. And please remember to take your breaks, it's important for your body and your mind. Get up and walk about, make yourself a drink, go outside if you can.

And finally, this piece of advice was given to me by an IT officer about 11 years ago, the department I was in at the time we were responsible for taking on the admin for most of the local office. However that also meant that people had a tendency of dropping work on us at the last minute, either because they'd sat on it for a while, or their manager had sat on it for a while before they delegated it to them or orders from the top came down demanding for it to be done yesterday. This used to cause me quite a bit of stress but I became quite adept at juggling over the years, but before I did adapt, there was a day where I was really stressed and frustrated that I'd had to drop everything and he passed on these words of wisdom saying to me next time this happens consider saying this or at least bear it on mind "Your lack of planning should not constitute as emergency on my part". Those words have stuck with me, as this was a big lesson in responsibility and respect. Quite often this boiled down to people either having a lack of their own sense of responsibility, so I had to become responsible for their lack of respect for managing their time and workload effectively.

Now these tips I've given are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to time management, if you would like a more in depth, hands on time management training or coaching please get in touch to schedule a consultation.