Time management is one of those skills no one teaches you in school but you have to learn. It doesn’t matter how smart you are if you can’t organize information well enough to take it in. And it doesn’t matter how skilled you are if procrastination keeps you from getting your work done.

By on 11-12-2018

Time management is one of those skills no one teaches you in school but you have to learn. It doesn’t matter how smart you are if you can’t organize information well enough to take it in. And it doesn’t matter how skilled you are if procrastination keeps you from getting your work done.

How we use our limited focus and energy has always been a huge workplace issue. But we get better and better at knowing how to optimize as we get better technology to help monitor time allocation.

So here are some tips to make you better at managing your work:

 RELAX, ORGANIZE AND PRIORITIZE

 What's the first thing you're supposed to do when faced with a stressful situation, such as a fire within your building? Stay calm. When you're in a heightened state of anxiety and stress, staying calm and composed helps you think clearly and remain cool. As a result, one of the most important things you can do when juggling multiple activities and deadlines is to take a deep breath and re-calibrate.

The next step is to organize and prioritize your work. This requires you to be proactive rather than reactive by making you think "big picture" so that you become aware of all the tasks and deadlines you're in charge of. The important thing is that you set all the projects on the table and note the crunch times -- or the periods of high demand and pressure and deliverables.

STAY FOCUSED

Each approaching task should earn your undivided attention. Although multitasking might seem useful, resist the urge to work on different projects simultaneously or to leave a task unfinished before moving on to the next task. Research shows that attention residue -- or thoughts of a previous project or task you plan on resuming in the future -- saps attention and reduces performance. If you have a tight turnaround and you have no choice but to multitask, ask if team members or colleagues can join in. Above all, make sure to focus your energy on one task at a time.