Hurry is the most acceptable reason for being inefficient – take control over stress with intelligent time management

Head explodes! Chest feels tight! Can’t sleep!

Do these feelings seem familiar? Often the reason behind these feelings is stress. Stress and hurry are familiar to many of us working class people. Stress can lead into exhaustion and eventually to a burn out.

When you are in a stressful stage first the negative feelings take over your body and later appear the physical problems. When you are not in control over your own life, there are countless things on your mind related to both work and free time. The constant feeling of being insufficient only adds to the anxiety.

You shouldn’t delay the beginning of the change. The best tool for overcoming stress is time management.

1. Let’s begin by making two lists.

The first list will be of recurring tasks and the other one of changing tasks.

Recurring tasks are tasks that you do every day, every week, every month, etc. For an example, for an CEO these tasks might include such as following up on strategy, working with the management team, planning marketing, economic monitoring, and a bunch of other development tasks.

On the list of changing tasks will go all the tasks you have ever thought about completing. You make a list out of everything you have been thinking about, what you have been sketching on post its, or on your notebooks, on the edges of your calendar and so on.

Some of the tasks can be the types that have already been marked in the calendar.

Managing Director’s changing tasks may include, for example, 1 on 1 meetings with partners and customers, writing blog articles, purchase transactions, job interviews, and voice and training gigs.

In addition to these you will also add to the same list things that you wish you had done, or what you should have been doing. For example ”call a person for a job interview” or ”buy a new couch”. 

2. Examine the lists and resource time for the tasks in hand

Are the tasks on the list relevant to your work and your life? Are there maybe tasks on the list, that don’t in fact belong to you?
Could some of the tasks be delegated to another person? Are there tasks on the changing task list, that could be transferred to the recurring task list? 

Should time be reserved repeatedly for some tasks? Would transferring one task from the changing task list to the recurring task list, add to the effectiveness of your work?

After this review, we will start resourcing time for each of the tasks. 

You start by marking next to each recurring task, how much time they need to put into them on a weekly, monthly or on a yearly basis.
For example, sales development 1 h per week, planning management team work 2 h per month, marketing development 2 h a week. 

Next, you mark next to each variable task, how long it takes to do it. Buy a new couch 3h, invite a person to a job interview 30 minutes, a holiday to Italy 7 days, etc.

After resourcing, you go over the lists one more time. You start by thinking, will the working hours be enough for all the tasks listed. Are there more weekly recurring tasks, than there is time available? Where can you pinch in a little? What could you give up?

3. Put the tasks on the calendar

Eventually the tasks are put on the calendar. First, mark the recurring tasks in the appropriate places in the calendar and the amount of time required for each task. 

After that, the tasks from the changing task list are added on the open spots on the calendar, priority in order.

Every task that requires more than 15 minutes are added on the calendar. If there are many tasks on the list that require less than 15 minutes, it is wise to book some time for them repeatedly on the calendar.

For example, one hour per week is reserved for things to be done from to-do -list, where small tasks are performed in order of priority. 

Don’t forget to reserve enough time for sleeping and resting too.

After all of this, you will be looking at a calendar holding the information of all the tasks relevant to your work, the time required for finishing them, and the times they are completed.

Now you don’t need to lose another nights sleep worrying about work needed to be done, because you know they will eventually come up on the calendar. Now all you need to do, is start following the tasks and schedules marked on the calendar. 

Commit yourself to follow the calendar determinedly, to reduce your stress and add to the effectiveness of your work. If one schedule fails, don’t let the tasks stay on your mind, but instead move them on to the next available openings on the calendar.

The calendar must also be kept up to date all the time, so that each task gets the time it requires.