Time Management Tactics
The Baby-due-date countdown continues. There are ten weeks left in my wife’s pregnancy, and that’s only if our little bundle of joy is born on his due date. Honestly, I think he’s going to be a little early, which means we have less than ten weeks to get ourselves prepared, and we have yet to do the following:
- Empty the room that will become his of all the unpacked boxes remaining from our move.
- Prime and paint the room
- Assemble the crib and dresses
- Pre-register with the hospital, so time isn’t wasted filling out forms when it comes time for Owen’s arrival
- Sign up for and take various courses at the hospital, such as birthing, infant CPR, etc.
- Acquire all the other various items we have been instructed the we “MUST HAVE” for his arrival by numerous not-to-be named parties.
- Install the car seat in at least one of our two vehicles.
And I’m sure that more items will have to be added to this list as time progresses.
At first glance, ten weeks seems like plenty of time to get all these things done, but when you add to that list all of the current tasks and responsibilities we have right now it has gotten to be pretty overwhelming. We both work 40 hour weeks, and on top of that I put in an extra 25-40 hours a week freelancing, no to mention the fact that we’re still in the process of trying to get situated in our new house, a task much more tedious than I ever anticipated.
All this has made me look at ways to better manage our time. How can we maximize the productivity during the time we have available during our coming days in order to ensure that all of the tasks we need to complete get finished?
I’ve put together a list of strategies and ideas for helping do just this. Some of these are tactics I already put to use in my professional life, some are suggestions from friends and coworkers, and others are ideas I found while researching the topic.
- Lists – I felt it important to place this one first. I am a huge fan of lists and make them for everything. Lists are especially helpful at times when there is so much going on you might forget about one task while doing another. And lists a re easy to make and manage. You don’t need anything special like an electronic organizer or PDA, just a writing and something to write on. Make a list of everything you can think of that needs to get done. When you finish a task, cross it off, when you remember or think of a new task, add it to the list. It’s as simple as that.
- A little at a time – The second strategy on my list s to break tasks down into smaller more manageable pieces. In other words, do a little bit at a time when you can and eventually you’ll complete the whole task. You don’t have to move through every task from start to finish all at once. So don’t try to. This strategy works great when you find yourself with little bits of free time in which you would normally not be able to finish a whole task, but not doing anything with the time would be a waste. I’ve been using this tactic for about as long as I can remember. It’s great at work when I need to balance getting multiple projects done all in the same basic timeframe.
Recently 43 Folders covered this strategy as a method for fighting procrastination. In the article they call it “dashes” but basically it is the process of breaking a task down into smaller units, whether it be smaller tasks or units of time.
- Prioritize – If you’ve made a list of tasks, or even if you just have a list in your mind. Take a minute to analyze it, are there items there that are more important than others. Do some tasks need to be completed sooner than others, or maybe some tasks need to be finished before others can even begin. Organizing your list even a little bit can save you time in decided what to do when, and can even help you avoid wasting time on a task that should be done later.
- Find Your “Free” Time – If you’re anything like my wife and I, there is a good amount of time throughout the week spent wondering what to do, or even doing nothing at all. For me, most of this time ends up being filled by watching TV or movies. There is no reason this time needs to be spent in such an unproductive manner. If you’re sitting there in front of the “boob-tube” chose a task that you can work on at the same time. This could be paying bills, filling out forms, folding laundry, etc. It doesn’t have to be anything super involved, but you can whittle away at your task list little by little if you optimize the time you have.
- Give Yourself a Break – Like anything long and laborious, getting run-down is always a possibility. If you find yourself getting in this situation, stop. Continuing to work can be unproductive and at times even counterproductive. We all need time to rest, relax, and re-energize, so do it if you need to. Just make sure you come back and complete the task you started at some point.
- Repeat After Me, “No.” – If you are already overwhelmed with tasks and projects, why would you want to add to that stress. Saying “No,” can be difficult for a lot of people, but if you are constantly adding to the mass of tasks you need to complete you are setting yourself up for a very possible failure somewhere in the future.
I’m sure after reading this list there a couple people saying to themselves “Well Duh,” (I hate that word by the way, if you can call it a word) all these things seem like common sense. And it’s true, they are. They are so common in fact that many of us forget all about them when push comes to shove. It’s learning to consciously employee these methods that will help you better use your time and complete the tasks at hand.