A resolution for better time management

All of us have interruptions from phone calls, e-mails, drop-ins, and text messages when we’re starting our work day. Creating plans to condense these activities into certain periods of the day can help you calm the chaos. Take a look!

Make plans for visitors. Have anyone who wants to see you, call ahead or send an e-mail to schedule time. Then, cap your appointment times to specific hours during your workweek so you can plan your days accordingly. This will help you avoid lengthy, unscheduled conversations that can derail your day.

Tie up lose ends early in the AM. For those who need a couple of hours of high concentration, coming in an hour or two early could be the answer. Even just once a week, an extra hour or two early in the morning before your work day gets going may give you the upper hand over your overflowing inbox and endless task list. Give it a try.

Stop believing you don’t have enough time. You will quite literally drive yourself into a slump if you keep believing that you don’t have enough time. Throw out those self-sabotaging thoughts of managing your day properly and just make your days manageable.

Regardless of the piles of work in front of you there are really only three things you will do today. You will think, communicate, and take action. Often, we consider ourselves superhuman and try to do all three at once. Then, reality sets in and we see that the only true way to become productive is to take a deep breath and schedule time to complete our tasks.

Keep a schedule! Carry your schedule with you in your smartphone, tablet or computer, but stick to it because keeping your schedule will help you gauge your productivity and plan your workflow. Remember to give yourself a little extra time to review information before your next activity so that you’re up to speed with the task at hand.

Happy New Year! Try to enjoy a new year of being organized. These techniques will give you the opportunity to produce a higher quality of work in a more timely fashion.