We are too busy. Americans work 40 to 60 hours a week (or more) and try to fit taking care of a family and themselves around it. The severe lack of time to ourselves leads to less sleep, poor health and low levels of creative power, because really, how can your mind be open to creativity and new possibilities when you’re running on empty?
[See: 14 Best Jobs for Work-Life Balance.]
If this sounds like you, it’s time to take that chunk of work time that you probably don’t have much control over, and manage it wherever you can. How can you minimize your professional clutter (and procrastination) to help you focus and feel more energized for everything else you do, or want to do? These time management suggestions will help you maximize your productivity and work time — possibly reducing your hours in the office — and hopefully give you the mental capacity to do what you want before or after work or on the weekends.
Schedule in chunks. Most of us spend an inordinate amount of time reacting to emails and other distractions during the day. This is eating into your time to get your work done and possibly extending your days unnecessarily. While you probably have set meetings that you can’t miss, schedule chunks of time — think two to three hours worth — in your online calendar for different tasks. If your work requires creativity, try to do those tasks early in the day when you have more brainpower. You can be as specific or general in your labels as you want. For example, yours may be: Top Priority Work, Review Emails, Top Priority Calls and Plan for Meetings. Modify them according to the type of work you do and schedule the following week on Fridays before you leave the office. To be most productive, stick as closely to what you have planned out as possible, which leads to the next point.
Say no. All too often we think that we must say “yes” to everything. This is just going to burn you out. “Yes, I can help you with that!” or “Yes, I can go to that meeting!” Pause. Give yourself time to stop and think about how important it is that you are involved, whether it’s the best use of your time and how it will affect your day or week (positively or negatively). In many cases, “no” is not going to hurt you or your career, but saying “no” in a professional manner is a skill. While you don’t have to come right out and say “no!” you can say, “My plate is full and I can’t right now. Can you please keep me up to date?”
[See: 10 Ways to Perfect Your Personal Brand.]
Delay. In some instances, you may not be ready to just say “no” outright. If that’s uncomfortable for you or you’re just not sure what the right response is, give yourself space and time to think. Tell the person you will get back to them in a day. When you consider the “ask” over the next day, think about what it will mean for you personally and how it will impact managing your set daily schedule.
The same can be said for email. Most emails do not require an immediate response. Answer the high-priority emails, say from clients or your boss, and ignore any that don’t need a response until tomorrow’s email slot on your schedule.
Turn off the tech. Pings and notifications are the norm these days, from iPhones to BlackBerrys to email inboxes. When you’re working on a chunk in your schedule, if you can, put your devices in airplane mode, suggests Marie Forleo, entrepreneur, writer and philanthropist. If you have kids or a situation where you need to be available for an emergency call, ensure they have your work phone number. Forleo also recommends creating a “onesie.” Write the one task you’re working on at a given time on a blank sheet of paper to stay focused. You may want to consider removing distractions from your phone, such as Facebook or Twitter, or even your personal email.
[See: 25 Best Jobs That Don’t Require a College Degree.]
Plan ahead. Create a 15-minute block on your schedule at the end of every day. Write a realistic to-do list with only a few major tasks that must be done the next day to keep moving forward with the things that are most important. Then, when you’re ready to leave the office at the end of the day, book it out of there.
While these initiatives may not give you back hours outside the office as often as you’d like, they will help you minimize distractions and stay focused to allow you to accomplish what needs to be done each day (and they’ll prevent you from having to bring work home with you). Hopefully the feeling of accomplishment each day will lead to a more positive experience that will infuse you with energy for all the things you want to have time for outside the office.
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How to Feel Less Busy at Work originally appeared on usnews.com