Are you a busy person seeking tools for accomplishing more? We live in a busy world full of distractions. We tend to have too much on our minds and our plates, which can make us frazzled, in turn making it harder to stay on course. Try simplifying and focusing your habits to cut out of your life anything that’s not worth your time, and focus your energy on high-yield activities and tools.
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Here are a few simple techniques to help streamline and organize your day.
Pre-Plan Your Day
Spend a few minutes before you go to bed at night mentally laying out what you need to accomplish tomorrow. Be specific. What tools do you need? What obstacles might arise and how will you deal with those? When you get up in the morning, get started right away. You might be able to check off several boxes before lunch.
Meditation
Find some time to meditate in your day. Many highly successful people, including Oprah Winfrey, meditate daily and refer to it as one of the keys to their success. This practice has helped keep people even-keeled for centuries. Borrow a technique from the ancients that is as relevant as ever in the modern era. If you are new to meditation and need some tips for getting started, you should consider reading this guide. Also, the are a lot of apps that can help your meditation process. Headspace is one of the most popular and it helps you track your performances among other features.
Simplify Your “Work Space”
Find a few organizational tools that work for you, and use them well. You might be inclined to buy a variety of organizers hoping these will do the work of coordinating your life for you. Instead, put some research into what tools work best for the way you think and do things. Then learn how to master these. For example, syncing up all your online gadgets so your calendar and to-do list are available whether you are at work, at home, or out with your smartphone.
Good ol’ pen and paper also work well for some. Placing post-it notes with hand-written reminders in useful places, like one near the front door that reminds you to grab your wallet, keys, and lunch on your way out, can be helpful. To coordinate schedules with family, it can be nice to have a large shared calendar to refer to. For example, you can print a calendar template on a large piece of paper to post on a wall that you can write everyone’s events on.
Cut Out Distractions
Trim moments of waste here and there. Start to pay attention to little things that you do that eat up tiny chunks of time throughout the day. You might habitually check your email as soon as you sit down at a computer, even when you know it’s not necessary. Or you tell yourself you’ll look at Facebook very briefly before starting a task. While these individual moments are brief, they add up in your day and life. By starting to notice these and setting boundaries around when these ‘leisure activities’ are allowed, you will create a little more productive time in your day. It’s a healthy habit to focus on work during work time and allow yourself to relax fully during designated downtime.
Practice Caution with Stimulants
If you are tempted to consume stimulants, like coffee, be careful not to overdo. Consuming too much caffeine or sugar can lead to a crash and disrupt sleep. If you are seeking a boost, try alternatives like green tea or mate to boost energy with less of the associated jitters and anxiety. Experiment with small amounts to avoid overdoing and potentially disrupting a busy day.
Maintain Balanced Health
Taking care of your general health will help keep your brain sharp and allow you to accomplish more. Common sense healthcare tips like getting enough sleep, eating a balanced diet, and exercising regularly will help you stay productive. You might be tempted to skip some of these or cut corners, but don’t get caught in this trap.
Skipping precious hours of sleep, for example, might help you accomplish a task short-term, but the side effects of reduced sleep, including poor judgment, forgetfulness, and irritability, will start to appear over time. Also, don’t overlook the importance of downtime. Our brains need fun and rest to stay sharp.
We are busy people living in a busy world. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the number of tasks needing to get done. Try adding a few of these techniques to enhance your ability to stay cool while accomplishing a lot. Being efficient with your time will offer you headspace to appreciate your achievements at the end of a full day.
https://www.thedailymind.com/how-to/ways-to-improve-self-discipline/
This post was written by Harper Brenning, a Project Manager with a vast expertise in business administration, organizational change, and team management. She writes for CloseOpenHours – a website that provides time schedules of different businesses and aims to help people organize their time better.
Originally posted on December 26, 2017 @ 10:00 am
