We seek work-life balance but it seems there’s never enough time to get it all done.
And yet we all know there are people who accomplish a lot more than we do in a day — and they don’t have magic powers.
We all have the same number of hours. It’s what you choose to do with those hours that will shape your entire life.
Here’s how you can get tons of stuff accomplished during the week, feel less stressed and even have more fun on the weekend.
* Time Log:
The first question you need to ask is 'Where is my time actually going?' Not where you think it’s going, where is it actually going.
This does not involve leaning back in your chair and kinda sorta guessing about what you vaguely remember doing.
Write down what you do for every hour of the day.
Let’s just say seeing clearly in black and white how you spend your time can be sobering. Or, in some cases, downright depressing. But it works.
You can’t trust your head when it comes to time. You need to be accountable.
There are other benefits to doing a time log. It helps you figure out how long things really take versus your optimistic underestimates.
* Plan the weekdays
How do you create your plan? Think about two things: What are you good at and what makes you happy?
Successful people spend as much time as possible on their 'core competency' and ignore, minimise or outsource everything else.
They spend time on that thing they’re best at which produces meaningful results.
Writers need to be writing. Accountants need to be working with numbers. And everything else (like email and meetings) just gets in the way.
3) Morning rituals
Morning rituals are for those things that are important but not urgent. Long term planning. Exercise.
The stuff we know we should do… but perpetually put off. These things don’t have a hard deadline and nobody will shout at us if they don’t happen.
Research shows we have more willpower in the morning.
Mornings are the time to make progress on those vital long term goals.
4) Plan the weekend
Here’s where people freak out. They don’t want to plan their free time. But if you’re serious about your leisure time, then take it seriously.
How many weekends have blown by where you didn’t get off the couch and, frankly, it wasn’t all that memorable? Exactly.
Research shows we’re happier when we plan our free time and that 'doing nothing' doesn’t make us happy.
More importantly, studies have shown that you often don’t do what makes you happiest — you do what is easy. So you need to plan if you want to have fun.
* Conquer the Sunday night blues
You know the weekend is over and tomorrow it’s back to work. Instead of being filled with dread, plan something awesome for Sunday night.
Research shows Sunday is the saddest day of the week. Plan something fun ahead of time and that doesn’t have to be the case.
Courtesy: www.thriveglobal.com
