Meetings, reports, client calls, coaching, training, running a business and ad hoc tasks – These are just some of the things I have to fulfill within eight hours of a day’s work.
When I started working, my greatest challenge was time management. I used to work for more than nine hours per day in six days and these hours were not even paid by the companies I used to work for.
Similarly, many workers around the globe are experiencing the same dilemma as they work overtime, oftentimes being unpaid for those extra hours. It is easy to be overwhelmed if you have just about too many tasks to fit in a regular work day.
“It is easy to be overwhelmed if you have just about too many tasks to fit in a regular work day. “
However, less is more. You could still work without extending your time and even use fewer hours to do so. I learned these tried and tested strategies that you could use in managing your time successfully. Say hello now to going home “on the dot”!
1) Understand your work rhythm.
Everyone has his own work rhythm and it is important that you find your own comfortable and efficient work rhythm. For example, you may find it effective to read previously unread emails at the first hour of your work day rather than doing so at the middle of the shift as it could allow you to focus on the current day’s tasks rather than catching up on back work the whole day.
Or, you could try planning on your next day’s tasks near the end of your shift to allow you a much smoother work the next day. Discover the work rhythm you are comfortable with and see the wonders it could do for you.
2) Challenge yourself to work more in less time.
When you think about that you have eight hours of work to finish your tasks, you could easily slack off and not even finish all of them. Try finishing them in five to six hours. This will allow you to maximize your time and not extend beyond your normal working hours. It will give you a chance to practice efficiency as well.
3) Think of quality, not quantity.
Always strive improve and work the best way possible. If you do not know something, then try learning it. I have worked in a multinational technological company before and I found out that I could produce better results by doing it right the first time. I also mastered using the company’s systems to my advantage so that I did not waste my time repeating work all over again. This gave me a chance to produce stellar work and did not have to consume my full eight hours.
4) Automate digitally.
The digital age gives us great ways in managing our lives better. You too could automate some tasks and free your time for things that do matter to you.
As a project manager, I find that by using certain apps such as Asana or Trello, it allows me to be in track of my deliverables. It gives me a great picture of what my day looks like and what I need to do to complete my project. Another example was that when my colleagues in a call center manually completed their notes for repetitive transactions, I used spreadsheet formulas so that I would only spend three to five minutes in what would have been a 10-minute work.
In social media marketing, instead of manually posting your content, you may use special tools such as Hootsuite, Buffer and Planoly in scheduling them. Explore options and you could see the difference in your everyday routine
By being efficient, you could truly experience the fun of having a work-life balance.
5) Delegate.
If you could delegate your tasks to someone else who could do a great job, then by all means, do so. It will help you in focusing on the tasks that are truly important to you. If you are a business owner, you may explore the option of getting a virtual assistant who could accomplish them for you. Many virtual assistants are experienced professionals who specialize in real estate, social media, project management and customer service and their overhead expenses are considerably low as you do not have to necessarily pay for benefits or expenses that are associated to office-based employees.
If you are a business owner, you may explore the option of getting a virtual assistant who could do accomplish them for you.
While working overtime may be unavoidable at times, you will also need to evaluate always so that you minimize the time you spend in working and eventually eliminating extending your hours that are required of you. With these simple strategies, you could easily beat the clock and spend time with what matters to you such as your family, friends and hobbies. You will feel less stressed and be much happier as being swamped of work could contribute to burnout and depression. By being efficient, you could truly experience the fun of having a work-life balance.
It worked for me. I am confident it will work for you.