Realistic Time Management Tips

How to get the most out of your day and enjoy being productive again.

Figure Out Your Energy Peaks

Are you a morning person? A night owl? Maybe you rock it from 10 am- 2 pm. Either way, pay attention to when you have the most energy and use that time to complete the most mundane or enjoyable tasks done. It will be easier to power through and check them off your list when you are the most alert.

Schedule Your Week

Spend a half hour every Friday looking at your calendar for the next week and fill it in as much as possible with things you know you must do. Before you know it, you have a game plan and will start each day knowing exactly what needs to get done. Now you can move from task to task, making it harder to procrastinate and attempting to multi-task (which never really works anyway).

Keep Half a Day Open

When at all possible, I always try to keep my Friday afternoon open. Not because I skip out early (tempting) but because inevitably, something I wanted to work on earlier in the week didn’t get finished. Give yourself a few hours on Friday to wrap up anything that just didn’t get completed without taking over your time the following week.

Work Ahead

When you are ahead of schedule, it gives you wiggle room for when issues come up. And they always come up, don’t they? To start, give yourself two hours every week to work ahead on a specific project or task that you would normally wait an extra week to do. Eventually, you’ll be able to navigate between which items you can work ahead on and make that apart of your daily routine.

Take a Break

Give yourself frequent breaks throughout the day. Five to ten minutes to grab coffee or check Facebook can be very refreshing. This helps avoid burn out and gives you a mental break. When you return to your project, you will be fully focused.