4 Benefits to Being the Pilot of Your Day

I always start with a why and I definitely needed to be sold on why managing my time was important!

1. Reduced stress - it’s wonderful to feel prepared and organised and know 'what needs doing' on any given day. Overwhelm often comes when we have that sense of ‘so much to do and where do I begin?’ When we can confidently focus on the next most important thing to do the overwhelm dissipates. And who does not love striking items off your to-do list??!!

2. More time - when we are clear on and then do 'what need’s doing’ we have more time for the things we love to do and can do without feeling guilty!

3. More opportunities - because we are spending less time ruminating on ‘all that needs to be done’ and are actually doing the important stuff - we can be open to the good things awaiting us.

4. The delightful sense of achieving our goals - woo-hoo, isn’t that wonderful?!

Time Management Tips  

For fun I consulted Chat AI to see what artificial intelligence might recommend! I’ve adapted them here as they are good and match what I would offer in my training programs. NB: there is a lot of understandable concern about AI but my brief foray into it was fun!

1. Set realistic goals: Set achievable goals for the day, week, or month. Make sure the goals are clear enough, stated in the positive, dependent only on you to achieve and clearly phrased so you’ll know when you’ve attained them.

2. Prioritise your tasks: Start your day (or even better do it the night before) by making a to-do list and prioritise your tasks based on their urgency and importance. This will help you to focus on the most important tasks and avoid wasting time on less important ones. Pareto’s 80-20 rule connects with this - we accomplish 80% of our best ‘work’ in 20% of our time. Hence the value of clear priorities.

3. Eliminate distractions: Identify and eliminate anything that distracts you from your work, such as social media notifications, emails, and phone calls. Try to work in a quiet and distraction-free environment. So true but a hard one for me - I seem to love those shiny objects that come my way to distract me!!

4. Take breaks: Take short breaks every hour or so to help you recharge and stay focused. Use these breaks to stretch, walk around, or do something that relaxes your mind. NB: Such wise advice as sitting is now described the way smoking used to be!

5. Learn to say no: Don't take on more than you can handle. Learn to say no to requests that don't align with your goals or that you don't have the time for. This is a biggie!!

6. Review and adjust: At the end of each day, review your progress and adjust your plan for the next day accordingly. This will help you stay on track and be more productive over time.

And, Chat.ai finishes nicely!! "I hope these tips help your readers manage their time more effectively!"