So much to do, so little time?
Planning for the day, the week or possibly the coming months might seem like an impossibility - but with many of us now splitting our work time between the office and home, it's never been more important to plan properly. This might sound like a huge task, but in reality just by following a few simple tips you can easily get on top of it all, plan ahead, clear the clutter and feel GREAT about your work - giving you more time to enjoy the important part - the time when you're not at work!
Try a few of these work tweaks, and be amazed at how insanely simple life can be!
The 1-3-5 method
This excellent approach is for those who dislike 'to-do' lists, as they usually end up being - 'not done' lists.
Basically you create a job list with 1 BIG task, 3 medium sized tasks and 5 little tasks. Crossing off those 9 jobs each day is a fab way of hitting targets and keeping projects on track - winner! A things to do today notebook is perfect for jotting down and prioritsing your daily tasks.
Milestones instead of millstones
Be realistic about tasks. We've all got notes for jobs that we never get round to doing for many reasons. These can be real millstones, and seriously affect your ability with other jobs. If that 'vital' task has been in your 'to-do' list for months - get realistic and scratch it off.
Your weekly power hour
Having multiple tasks big and small can take a lot of effort to manage, and requires 'head space' to deal with efficiently. Allocate a 60 minute slot at a set time each week, and go where you can't be disturbed. Now work through your tasks, reschedule and reprioritise if needed. You'll find it so much easier to juggle things efficiently when you have this freedom of mind.
Tidy desk, tidy mind
You'll find that work is easier to do if you are free from clutter. It's an obvious one, but making a bit of effort to declutter that stack of paperwork and filing, binning or shredding it really will improve your outlook! Personal shredders are an ideal solution to keep on top of things for the home office. Store and sort necessary paperwork in letter trays and declutter your stationery with desk tidies.
Notifications are a no-no
Whether it's your smartphone buzzing or your PC giving you red flashes to notify you of something (usually nothing important) those notifications are not only distracting, they can seriously affect your nerves! Except for certain jobs (emergency service personnel, for instance) that email, tweet or even phone call is unlikely to be as important as the job you were working on. Get into the habit of dealing with notifications nonsense at a set time and period each day - you'll be glad of the peace and quiet!
