Time Management Part 4. Focus on Tasks

You are not alone! As our society progresses and the pace of life quickens, time is the most precious and scarce commodity. Whether it is things from work or personal stuffs that needs to be done, all you need is to know how to prioritise and organise yourself to get things done right.

You would be surprised that a few simple tips wll provide you with the tools necessary to accomplish more in less time and of course reduce your stress level at the same time!

In the fourth part of this series, we will take a look at the Value of time.

1) Be wary of those unimportant activities that gobbles up your time. Engaging yourself in less than productive activities can present a problem even if they do not take much time when considered separately, but total them up and you can see that they could really add up to be a lot.

2) When you start on a particular task, do not be sidelined or distracted into doing other activities that do not contribute to the end result. When you find your mind wandering off, redirect it back to the task. Focus and focus until the task is done.

3) For every task done, note the time spent on the actual task. Also note down other unplanned activities you have spent time on. Sit down and analyse how much of the time for the day is actually spent on productive activity.

4) Be flexible. If you are stuck at a task, do not try to get it done by all means. You could skip to another task and come back to it when conditions allow. With this approach, you do not waste time on non productive work.

5) If a task is not working out as expected, stop, regroup and think of changing your approach to the task. Maybe you could try out a different strategy or approach. Don't waste time banging your head against the wall.

6) Do not waste your official office time on time consuming activities. It is common for people to waste time reading and forwarding unofficial email like jokes, cartoons etc. The next time you come across such emails, just delete it without reading, and also inform your friends not to forward such email to your official email address. If they want to, they could send it to your private email. You would be surprised that your productivity will soar by just observing this simple rule.

In the coming issues, I will be discussing other critical areas that you can consider to adopt into your life for more productivity and less stress.