Times of stress can be great catalysts in helping us develop better time management skills. We learn to prioritize what is really necessary, what can wait and what would just be nice to check off the list.
Prioritize
I’m one that is easily overwhelmed with things that need to be done, whether it’s chores or business-related projects. Often, it takes extreme stress for me to break down and do the following:
- Identify necessary and/or immediate tasks
- Identify “Priority Two” tasks
- Identify more long-term tasks
- See what I can delegate to others
- Prioritize what is left that only I can do or that I’ve agreed to do
Necessary or immediate tasks are only things that must be done today in order to survive until tomorrow. Examples of these things would be cooking dinner, paying bills, sleeping (yes!! Very important!) and spending time with family. No, no, instant messaging, checking emails and website stats are not necessary tasks! Shut these things off until you have spare time for them.
Priority Two responsibilities are still important, but perhaps they can be done within a week. These are things like freelance work, packing boxes for moving, cleaning the house, or working on a blog. I space out these tasks and do one or two a day, depending on how long they take. Jobs identified as long term can be put off until things quite down a bit.
Delegating is probably the most difficult tasks for me to do because I like things done the way I want and no one can do it that way except me. Letting some control go will help you manage your life and your stress so much better (ah, preaching just as much to myself here!).
Other Quick Tips
These are just a few other things I’ve learned to do when times are busy:
- I use 40 minutes of my one hour lunch to write blog posts and
- I make a list of topics and outline the basic points before writing
- I listen to audio books during my commute
- Learn to say no. You can’t really say yes, unless you’re free to say no
And most importantly, I take time to breathe and realize what is truly important in life.
This post is a contribution to the Time Management group writing project on Inspiration Bit. Check out the other entries on the official list of Time Managers
The above photo is courtesy of Dave F and used under the Creative Commons license.
Great post, Lauren
I just happened to look on my blog’s incoming links and saw this post
For me the two hardest things are to delegate the tasks (same reasons as yours) and saying “no”. I definitely need to work on those.
I too find working under stress being more prolific, no time for procrastination.
Thanks so much for this excellent entry!
Oops! I did forget to email you like you requested *blush* I’m glad you found it anyway and thanks for another great group writing project! I’m looking forward to reading the other entries.
Love that photo; an instant stress-reliever.
)
I share the “saying no” problem with Vivien. I’m starting to improve.
I guess there’s good and bad stress. Or, perhaps whether stress is good or bad is defined by oneself and our attitude towards deadlines and challenges and obstacles. For example, I think that being busy is not in itself stressful (if I had a family, I’d no doubt have a different view
Sometimes (perhaps not often enough), at my busiest time, I will simply drop everything, press the power button on my PC or, close the lid of my MacBook, and just leave the office/apartment, go into town to a cafe with my trusty notepad, and there — in a different environment — I’m better able to prioritise my tasks.
Delegating is also a difficult one. Boy, that one I really need some help with! Part 2 please, Lauren.
ps: I also enjoyed this (perhaps related,) recent article by Andy Rutledge, The Tao of Deadlines.
Don’t you ever feel like that chicken in the picture, though? Hehe. Actually, in psychology, there is eustress and distress (remember the degree I was originally going for!). Eustress is the good stress, the feeling of pressure that makes you get things done. Distress is the kind of stress we normally think of, it is negative stress that can even be physically bad for your body, not to mention the mind! But I think you’re also right, John, our attitudes are a huge factor in how we feel and deal with stress.
Going to the cafe sounds like a great way to distance yourself so you can see what you need to do. We all need that perspective sometimes. Heh, I’ll think about what I can write for part two. I’ve heard that The4 Hour Work Week is all about delegating. I’ll head over and take a look at Andy’s article, too. Thanks for sharing!
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