“If only I have an extra hour everyday!” You lamented at the tons of job waiting to be done. Your time management is a mess and you think time is not on your side. But yet you are not prepared to complain about being overloaded to your superior and you think your colleagues would think low of you if you do so.
In addition, you have this fear of loosing your chance of getting promoted and even worst, your job. As such, you continue to bite the bullet and try in vain to complete those uncompleted projects even at the expense of your family and health. Now, is that what you want in life? Is that all about life? Is it worthwhile?
No, no and no! You are suffering because your beliefs are not appropriate. There is absolutely nothing wrong about having a job to feed your family or for yourself. And there is nothing wrong about your worry of loosing the sense of security. But you are wrong about biting off more than you can chew which in a way ruin your time management.
When you spend too much of your time in work, the time allocated for the rest like your family, health, hobby, friends, to mention just a few will naturally be lesser. What is unhealthy about spending less time on them is the high tendency of problems arising. Your spouse or kids may get distanced from you, your health may be affected, and your life may become dull without any hobby and friend.
So what can you do? Below are some simple tips to help you manage your time better.
1. Talk to your superior
You may not be aware but most likely your superior won’t know your problems. Being at a higher post, your superior has more responsibilities and job scope to manage, so he is not likely to take notice of what is happening to you. If your superior has a busy schedule, book an appointment with him or her to discuss about your work.
Never air your problems to your superior like a complaint. Emotions like frustration and anguish should not be brought into your discussion. Lay out your problems clearly so as to let him or her have a clearer picture. Make sure you put across to him or her that the overloaded works hinder your progression. If possible, suggest some solutions to your problems and make it clear that it will definitely raise your productivity if more breathing space is given.
2. The Power of Focus
Focus includes planning out your daily schedule. Work out what you have to be completed by the end of the day. Your schedule has to be realistic so that you can finishes your work of the day with quality and not haphazardly.
When focusing, try cutting out all interruption. I do understand that answering phone calls and emails are routine works and have to be done. Being routine works, these jobs can wait till you’ve completed the more important works on hand. When the focus is there, jobs can be completeled very easily. Just make use of your power of mind to stay on task!
3. Life is not all about security
Not all bosses are angels. What if your superior isn’t doing anything to help you? Are you going to continue biting the bullet? Why not take this period to contemplate about who you want to be in the future? Isn’t it a dream comes true if you could earn your living by working on something you love? May it be starting your own business, working from home or any other jobs which you’ve great interest in; you should take this golden opportunity to fulfill your dream. set your goals to make that dream come true.
Time management works well only when you have proper planning and good focus. And proper planning and good focus are possible only when you are not overloaded with too many projects on hand. Although multi-tasking is necessary in the modern world of business, to take on too many projects at a time can only lower your productivity.