In a world where technology, competition and goals are constantly advancing to the next level, maintaining that vital balance between meetings and outings, commitments and celebrations or basically, work and life, is becoming a harder challenge. The truth is, restoring this long lost balance is not as hard as one imagines. In fact, rediscovering the joy of personal or family time is not only possible but sustainable even if one learns the art of business time management. Here’s a blog that throws a few interesting approaches at you, that will help you balance both spheres of your world without really breaking into a sweat.
1. Have a plan for each new day
It’s fairly common to hear people around you say “Today’s going to be super hectic! I doubt I’ll even have time to eat, with all my meetings and deadlines.” Whether your day stays in control or spirals out of it, will depend on your time management skills in the workplace. Squeeze more things than you can humanly handle or need to handle, into your calendar, and you obviously will end up running from task to task, well past your work hours.
So, begin each day with a plan (or plan for each day the night before). Include tasks or to-dos that are absolutely necessary and cannot be shifted to an alternate day. Screen out things that are not urgent, and won’t immediately impact your performance, if pushed to a later date. A day that’s structured minimizes the chances of chaos and unpredictability.
2. Once you form a list, close it
Think of the aircraft that you board, to get to a destination. After the designated number of passengers get on board, the flight attendants close the doors. No one else gets in. It’s a rule that keeps overbooked passengers from overloading the aircraft and endangering the safety of everyone on board. Unfortunately, when it comes to most daily agendas, we allow ‘tasks’ to continue ‘boarding’ our already filled up lists, which is why an otherwise manageable day runs into rough weather.
So, once you make a list for a day, make sure to close it. This means, no responsibility, task or goal gets onto this, unless absolutely necessary or unavoidable. Hire an entrepreneur business coach who will help you stay on a strict to-do list, which will enable you to implement your daily tasks and also pursue priorities outside of your work sphere.
3. Keep from getting distracted
You’re right in the middle of crafting an important sales report when you get a phone call. Or, you hear the familiar intimation sound of an email. Chances are you’ll pause your work to tend to the call, or check the content of the email. When you do this, you will not only require more time to complete what you were doing, you’ll also need to get your mind back to its focused state. This will create a domino effect and push other priorities past their timelines on your daily agenda. If you were hoping to leave work by 8 pm to catch a 9 pm dinner engagement, chances are you’ll end up sending a ‘Sorry, I’m running late because of something urgent!’ message to your family or friends.
So, stay focused when you initiate and dive into any of the tasks on your to-do list, and if you really need to address an email, call or anything else that’s outside of your work agenda, do it once you’ve completed a task.
4. Minimize your work socializing
While the workplace is a great place to get to know new people and form lifelong associations, there is a flip side. When not kept in check, the chats, meet-ups and general ‘grapevine’ sessions can steal significant chunks of time from your valuable schedule. Of course, the challenge is to maintain great relationships at work or business, without letting personal interactions hamper the timely completion or accomplishment of tasks
So, stay social and congenial in your productive environment but draw a firm line when it comes to being accountable for your daily tasks and goals. Remember, very few people will actually mind it if you say “Hey! There’s something that I really need to deal with right now; how about if we catch up later today?” Honestly, it’ll be even more rewarding to mingle with a task off your list, and mind.
5. Use organizing tools
If you have a natural inclination or ability to keep your daily agenda organized, you have nothing to worry about. However, if you’re not particularly great at structuring your day optimally, you could avoid your routine from getting chaotic by turning to technology. If you have difficulty streamlining, prioritizing or ordering your daily to-dos, let an app do it for you.
So, try installing apps like Evernote, Todoist, Trello etc. to not only schedule your day for you, but also help you track the status of each task on a daily basis. With a task organizer and tracker working for you – like a personal assistant, you can virtually eliminate the chances of your work life spilling over into your personal or family time.
6. Don’t do everything yourself
It’s understandable if you’re a perfectionist who wants to do everything personally, to ensure the outcome turns out exactly the way you want it to be. However, you could spread yourself too thin when applying your talent, energy and focus to more tasks than you can normally do justice to, in a single day or within a particular time frame. This is where having more minds and hands at the table will help make a difference.
So, be open to delegating work tasks, even those that matter, instead of attempting to manage the ship all by yourself. Delegating responsibilities will also enable your colleagues, subordinates or employees to hone essential skills, which will work in the favor of your organization or business. The net result, work gets done quicker, days get over earlier, you go home happier.
Master the process of Time Management with expert coaching from Polaris One
Effective management of daily time will be a critical factor when it comes to having a life beyond the domains of work or business. Imagine not having to miss important moments, holidays or celebrations with your family and friends on account of meetings, launches or deliveries. If you need professional assistance in gaining better control over your day-to-day schedule, visit polarisone.com to book an appointment. Founded by Bob Arzt – a seasoned expert with 35+ years of experience in coaching business professionals from wide ranging areas, we’re a coaching services establishment with proven expertise in areas including Goal Achievement, Success Principles, Sales Management, Practice Management and of course, Time Management. Begin your coaching experience with Polaris One and learn how to create and follow a schedule that helps your work and life stay perfectly balanced.
