Procrastination can have a detrimental effect on productivity. You're busy all day long, go home tired, but at the end of the day you haven’t accomplished much – some days nothing at all. Where did the time go, and more importantly, why didn’t you get anything done? With these workday time management strategies, you can make each day a more productive one.
Eat the elephant one piece at a time
This is an old analogy about how to get something done that when whole seems overwhelming. Eating an elephant whole is impossible, but when you break it down into bite-size pieces it becomes doable. Big projects are the same way – break them down into manageable smaller tasks.
Create a detailed timeline
Break down and schedule your day into half-hour increments including deadlines. Fill in your timeline for the next day before retiring for the night. By knowing what you are doing the next day and that you have the time to get a project completed before the deadline, you will sleep better that night.
Use your most productive time wisely
Do the most difficult task during your most productive time. We all have times in our day when we are more productive than other periods during the day. If you use this time to get a project you are dreading out of the way, or at least get the most done on it that you can during this time, you will have less stress and a more sense of accomplishment.
Eliminate procrastination in the first place
If you are easily sidetracked, eliminate the source of the distraction. That might mean not checking emails every five minutes, not answering phone calls and checking voice mail only a couple times per day or refraining from checking social media every time you get a notification someone posted something. In other words, focus on the work at hand and block everything not related to that work out of your mind. Schedule a time of day when you can get all these other things taken care of.
Just do it!
Make the motto of an American fitness wear company your mantra. Or if you like this one better, make it your own – Get ‘er done!
You can’t procrastinate your way to success. All the planning, strategizing, and hypothesizing in the world won’t accomplish anything if you don’t act. Don’t subject yourself to analysis paralysis, where you analyze something to death to keep from doing it.
Use these five organizational tips to keep yourself focused on a project until completion. Not only will you have a greater sense of accomplishment, but you will be more productive too!
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