If you do not prioritize the things that you need to do in your work and your personal life then you will never achieve the right work life balance. You will think that everything is a priority and that you cannot say “no” to anything. This will usually result in stress and overwhelm.
Believe that not everything is Important
You need to believe that not everything is important. There are always going to be some things in your work or your personal life that are more important than others. This does not mean that you will never do the less important things. You will just tackle these after you have finished the important things.
What are your Priorities?
If you have a long to do list at work then go through this to identify which tasks are the most important. One way to do this is to identify those tasks which will give you the most problems if you do not get them done quickly. These do not always have to be difficult tasks.
You need to identify the most important tasks and do these first. We recommend that you begin with the easiest of these tasks as it will help you to build momentum to get all of the important things done. Others will tell you that you need to tackle the most difficult things first. The problem with this is that difficult tasks can overwhelm you.
Create a Schedule and stick to it
It is always a good idea to have a schedule for the tasks that you need to complete. This can be in the form of a simple to do list or you can use technology to help you with this. Whatever system you decide to use it is important that you stick to your schedule.
Of course, there will be times when you need to get something new done urgently and this will mess up your schedule somewhat. But having the schedule in the first place will help others to see just what an impact taking on this new work will have.
Track your Time to Identify Time Stealers
A good exercise to undertake is to track how you spend your time for at least a week. You need to be honest here so that the data you have at the end of the tracking exercise is meaningful for you. It may well surprise you how much time you are spending on things that are not that important.
These days, people spend too much time on social media. They also tend to be slaves to their email accounts. It is not the end of the world if you do not respond to a notification or an email immediately. Minimize the time that you spend on social media and schedule to read and respond to your emails at certain times during the day.
You may find that you are spending too much time with idle conversation with your colleagues for example. If this is the case, you need to reduce this as much as possible. We are not saying that you should never chat to your colleagues but keep this to a minimum.
Prioritize your Self-Care
If you neglect self-care then this can be big trouble for you. Not taking care of yourself emotionally and physically is likely to catch up with you in the long run. Always prioritize self-care and ensure that you do things that are good for your mind and body.
Stay Safe and Be Well
The Positive Professional 🙂
The Positive Professional 