Tips For Getting Everything Done

Have you ever experienced that overwhelming feeling of not having enough time to accomplish everything on your to-do list? Perhaps you've sat down at the end of a long day and wondered where the time went, realising that you didn't make progress on the things that truly mattered to you. Situation sounds familiar? Don't worry, you're not alone. Many of us face these challenges, and I'm here to share my ways to overcome them.

Here are some tips that you can try to transform your approach to time management and reach a point where you confidently say, "Yes, I accomplished what I set out to do today!" These psychology based strategies have been tried and tested by many people, and I'm confident they will make a positive impact in your life too.

Where do I start? - Be Realistic and Plan

Let's be real there will always be more tasks than you can do in a day.?

Ask Yourself:

• Are there tasks I must do today?
• Can I carry out the tasks that I have set myself?
• Do I need to ask for help get things done?

How to fit everything in? - Prioritise Daily Goals

Sit down every evening and think?

• What you have achieved today and what you have to do tomorrow.
• Write out a “To Do” list (post-it, diary, mobile, anything that works for you) and mark out the most important ones - to reduce cognitive load
• Add some fun activities as well, which will help you stay on track while keeping the ‘blues’ away - light weight excitement
• Re-write the important ones on a new list and plan your day around them - to seperate out the substance from noise
• Strike them off as you complete one, sense of achievement is motivating - dopamine effect
• For each of the tasks you have completed, identify whether it was a pleasurable activity or just a task - know your drivers?
• Now, start to plan tomorrow and the next day, and so on - make it a habit
• Remember to include some exercise on your ‘to-do’ to be active. It could be as simple as a 15 minutes walk around the block (if you are comfortable doing so)

Saying No is okay

Important part of taking care of your day is to be able to say “I am unable to help you with this task”. Often we feel the burden of letting others or ourself down by saying No to some tasks. But saying No is okay! Remember, you are in charge of setting your priorities.

Other things to think about

Sometimes it is a good thing to push yourself a little bit and take on a challenging task or something you have never done before. However, you need to think through:

• Your reasons for wanting to do it
• What you can learn from it
• What the cost may be

It’s good to weight up the benefits against the cost, If it looks okay then do it and enjoy the experience. Make it a habit and put at least one challenging task in your week. This will improve your confidence.

I still can’t do anything

Okay, you have sat down every evening, looked at your planned tasks and found that you have not been able to do any of them. Everything you tried turned out to be difficult to do or every time something went wrong and you could not complete the tasks due to something or other. Don’t worry, take some time in the evening to reflect upon what actually happened and plan to overcome the hurdles either by yourself or through some one else’s help. Keep trying every day and you will be able to overcome the barriers.

All the best! ??