How To Get More Done in a Day

How To Get More Done in a Day

The last couple of weeks haven’t been particularly easy as my husband’s mother has been in hospital. Thankfully, she’s now much better and is back home. But it got me thinking and I realised I hadn’t coped particularly well.

I felt as though I was dashing around all the time and was permanently tired (and, I must admit, grumpy). When I final sat down and analysed what had happened I realised I could have made it much easier for myself if I’d done a bit more planning and used my time more effectively.

There are times when all of us get into such situations and you might find it helpful to sit down and look at all the aspects of your life to see if you can actually make better use of your time – with the result that you’ll feel less stressed. First decide which area of your life is causing problems, sit down and analyse it and then be firm with yourself about making changes for the better.

If work is the area where you’re feeling overwhelmed, then look at ways in which you can find more time to be productive:

Could you spend a little less time chatting with colleagues?

Could you start work 15 minutes earlier each day?

Could you let phone calls go to voicemail and only return the important ones?

Could you stop yourself being disturbed by each email that comes into your box? (Decide on a set time to answer everything that has come in, instead of doing them piecemeal.)

Could you concentrate a little harder and stop yourself day-dreaming (or feeling sorry for yourself)?

These are just a few suggestions – why not put your thinking cap on a come up with your own list that might help to give you more productive time?

On the home front:

Could you watch a little less TV or spend less time on social media? Consider these things a treat, rather than something you expect.

Could you trade jobs? If your kids expect you to run them places in the car or pick them up – ask them to do a job in return. Wash up? Do the ironing?

Could you be more organised with the shopping and cooking? Perhaps you could plan meals for a week and do all the shopping you need in one go rather than having to keep going to the shops?

Could you set up a ‘home office’ system where you keep all the bills and things that need renewing, like insurance? If you’re organised, everything will get done on time and prevent that last-minute scramble that can be so stressful.

I know none of these suggestions will change your life overnight, but with a bit of planning and perseverance, effective time management really can lower your stress levels and make you feel you’ve got more time to do the things you enjoy!