Hey Lovely,
Do you sometimes feel as if the days are merging? Or do you sometimes think that you’re forgetting something? What about feeling like you have “too much free time” and think something is missing? You are not alone! I have felt all of these things, and my gut lurches with anxiety at the thought that I may be forgetting a commitment. There are even days when I forget what day it is! Juggling work, personal life, and everything in between can sometimes feel overwhelming.
This is why it is essential to manage time wisely. Effective time management not only allows you to get more done, but it’s also a discipline that creates balance in your life by arranging your priorities. Let’s get on it with these Agenda-Based Goals!
Here are some practical tips to help you be more mindful of how you spend your time and boost your productivity.
1. Set Clear Goals with SMART Criteria
Begin by defining what’s important to you. Are you aiming to improve your career, nurture relationships, take charge of your health, or prioritize self-care? Use the SMART criteria to define your goals. This process empowers you to take control of your time and focus on what truly matters.
- Specific—This means deciding precisely what you need to do to eliminate distractions and focus on what is important. For instance, if your goal is to improve your career, a specific task could be completing a professional certification within a certain timeframe.
- Measurable—How will you know how to measure your process or if your goal is accomplished? Set milestones to see your small achievements as you meet them.
- Achievable – In addition, the goal should be realistically viable according to your resources.
- Relevant – Ensure that your tasks are directly related to the goal that you have in mind.
- Time-bound – How much time will it realistically take to get done?
This framework clarifies what you need to focus on for a specific timeframe and helps you track your progress effectively.
2. Prioritize Your Tasks
Have you ever felt like everything on your to-do list is urgent and needs to be done RIGHT NOW? You’ll need to use a prioritization method that asks questions like:
How much time do I have to do this task, and how much time will it take to be done?
- Urgency—Does this need to be done right now, or can it be scheduled for later? What are the consequences if it’s not done now?
- Dependencies – Do I have another task that depends on this one? Or does this task depend on another one to be done? Adjust the order of items on the list with this.
- Available resources—Do I have everything necessary to complete this task, or will I have to wait for other resources before completing it?
- Impact—How important will this task be in achieving my goal? It can wait if it’s not very impactful, but if it has a significant impact, it requires higher priority.
- Effort—How much effort and time do I need to complete this task? Do I have that amount of time and resources?
Use the Task Prioritization Matrix to categorize your tasks into four quadrants: urgent and important, important but not urgent, urgent but not important, and neither. In this matrix, you either do, schedule, delegate, or eliminate. Focus on tasks that will yield the greatest impact and set deadlines to keep yourself accountable.
3. Create a Daily Schedule
If you know me well enough, you’ll know I am a pen-and-paper girl! When I write things down physically, I am better able to remember them and act on them. Outlining all the details is like a mini contract with myself.
Whether you use a digital or physical planner, planning your day, week, and month in advance helps visualize your tasks and deadlines. Two useful ways that can help you to manage your time wisely and to remember commitments are to:
- Block time: Allocate specific time blocks for different activities (e.g., self-care, meal prep, exercise, community building, and rest).
- Set reminders: Use apps or alerts to remind you of upcoming deadlines or appointments. You can also set early and frequent reminders for commitments you’ve made so that you can plan and make the time to do so if you need to prepare for them.
If it is possible, sit down to plan your time at the beginning of the week. Ask yourself these questions:
What is the most impactful task/goal I’d like to accomplish this week? Break that task or goal into steps and distribute them throughout the week. When planning your days, ask yourself, “What’s the main thing I want to accomplish today (based on the week’s goal)?” and plan around that.
Remember not to schedule your tasks one directly behind the other; have about a 30-minute buffer between times to provide for any setbacks or mishaps that might occur. This buffer time allows you to handle unexpected situations without disrupting your entire schedule.
4. Limit Distractions
Identify what usually distracts you—your phone, social media, or noisy environments—and find ways to minimize these interruptions. Even more so, try to be conscious of what you should be doing at any given point of the day, and if you have strayed from doing your planned task, get right back on track. Remember, if you are doing unplanned activities (not unforeseen emergencies), you are getting distracted. Another helpful thing you can do is designate specific times to check messages and emails and create a dedicated workspace that helps you focus.
5. Avoid Multitasking
I cannot say this enough! When I was younger, I thought multitasking was the hallmark of productivity. But now, I realize that it reduced my focus, diminished my attention to detail, and decreased my accuracy. Things were done less than eXcellently.
Multitasking reduces efficiency. Focus on one task at a time to improve the quality of your work. When you finish one task, give your full attention to another. For example, if you’re planning your time or doing any other work that requires your full attention, avoid simultaneously checking emails or your social media.
6. Practice the Pomodoro Technique
This point piggybacks on the previous point. This popular technique involves working in short bursts (typically 25 minutes) followed by a 5-minute break. After four sessions, take a longer break (15-30 minutes). This method enhances concentration, improves focus, minimizes distractions, boosts motivation, and keeps your mind fresh.
7. Learn to Say No
Big one! As a recovering people-pleaser, saying ‘no’ can be super uncomfortable, but it becomes a little easier when you know what your goals are and where your focus should be at any given time. Sometimes, you have to say “no” to things that will become distractions in order to say your best yes to the things that will help you fulfill your tasks.
I’m not saying you should be inflexible because sometimes God gives us assignments outside our plans. The Bible says in Proverbs 16:9, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” So pray about what you should be doing as God directs you; he will certainly give you the wisdom to make the best decisions.
It’s tempting to overcommit, especially when opportunities arise. However, saying yes to everything can lead to burnout. Assess your current commitments, and feel free to decline requests that don’t align with your goals or stretch your time too thin.
8. Reflect and Adjust
At the end of each week, take a moment to reflect on what worked and what didn’t. Were you productive? Did you feel balanced? Use these reflections to adjust your approach for the following week. Adjust your strategies if necessary, such as increasing time allocation for certain activities or identifying areas where you can improve efficiency.
9. Prioritize Self-Care
Lastly, remember that effective time management isn’t just about productivity; it’s also about making time for yourself. When planning your time, you should balance your work and your life. Schedule your downtime, hobbies, and social activities. Be sure to put in time for your self-care activities before you reach the point of burnout. Investing time in self-care boosts your mood and self-esteem and enhances your efficiency when you return to your tasks. It’s totally worth it.
10. Break Down Large Tasks
It can be extremely daunting to work on a big project. I often tell my students not to freeze up and procrastinate. Break things down into microtasks. I alluded to this earlier in number 3 above.
Large projects can be overwhelming. Break them into smaller, manageable tasks, each with a deadline. This makes the project feel more achievable and prevents procrastination. Use the abovementioned Principles to help you plan your time and achieve big goals.
Conclusion
Remember: You can do difficult things. It takes hard work, grit, perseverance, discipline, and Time Management.
Mastering personal time management is a continuous journey, especially when life is lifing and things change unexpectedly. Setting clear goals, especially using the SMART criteria, prioritizing tasks, and being mindful of your time can create a more organized and EXTRAordinary life.
So take a deep breath, start small by slowly implementing 1 or 2 of these tips, then increase as time goes on, and watch how much more you can achieve while still having time for what you love!
