Do you ever feel like you don’t have the time for everything? There aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything you need to do? A work/life balance has always been a struggle for many people to get right. And with advancing technology, you can answer work calls and emails at home. Therefore it is easy for the line to become blurred. At The Square Metre Group, we look at how you can manage your time more effectively.
We all want to be busy at work, but with more work, the less time you have free to do extracurricular activities. Even if that is spending half an hour reading your favourite book, we all need time set aside to relax. Implementing time management skills will help you plan out the amount of time spent on specific activities and help increase productivity and effectiveness. efficiency, and productivity. Here are five top tips from our experts on how to get better at managing your time.
The first step in effectively managing your workload is to make a list of all the tasks you have to complete on a daily/weekly basis. This to-do list should contain all regular tasks/administration duties that you have to fulfil. Then assess how long it takes you to do each task. Determine what activities you are spending most of your time on and then prioritise accordingly.
There have been moments when you will have missed an appointment or been late to a meeting because you’ve forgotten. Whether it’s in a diary, on your phone, or both, plan ahead and get organised. Two minutes of writing down your task, will save time and relieve stress.
Group similar tasks together. For example, set a time to look through and answer your emails in one go. Whether it’s an hour at the beginning of the day or smaller chunks every couple of hours, put time aside to focus on one thing.
It has long been the envy of most; people that can multitask. However, you will be more productive if you concentrate on one task at a time. The less confused you will become if you take time to focus on the task at hand. Looking at an email from one colleague when trying to write a report for another will only lead to unproductivity and errors. Scientists call this ‘Switching Cost’. The brain takes time to become fully engaged with an activity. When you transition between multiple tasks, you need to wait until your brain has ‘warmed-up’.
Sticking to a routine helps you avoid procrastinating. Giving structure to your time will make you feel more in control. However, routines don’t always have to be definitive. There may be times throughout the day when the unexpected happens. A job may come up that you weren’t expecting; there may be more traffic on the way to work. Give yourself time to factor in these moments and plan. This will lead to less stress and higher levels of productivity.
As educators, The Square Metre Group are committed to delivering a positive experience for learners, from course induction right the way through to final assessment. Using creative delivery methods and the latest technology to deliver training, we keep our students fully engaged and on the path to achieving their learning objectives.
If you’re keen to speak to a member of our team about a particular course, or would simply like to request more information, get in touch today and we will be back in touch shortly.
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