The untold secrets to effective time management that will save you hours every day

As a high achiever, or someone constantly striving for more, you may be used to completing tasks at a certain level, a certain speed. Because of your performance level, you’re often called on to produce more, and as somewhat of a perfectionist you say, “yes” because saying, “no” is not on your CV.  So, where does the cycle end? How can you be productive and effective in your results without letting your team down, or your wellbeing? Is it a matter of your time management, or your boss’ management of your time?

And, how do you start saying, “no”?

Here, we break down the ways to effectively manage your time, whilst upholding your high achieving reputations. These are the strategies that no one is talking about.

Firstly, you must acknowledge you’re not perfect.

And not only is that ok, but that’s human.I was the youngest head of department in our media division, something I was super proud to achieve. But I was simultaneously incredibly stressed about it. I’d gone from working autonomously with high quality output, to managing a team and working alongside other department leaders. I realized very quickly there were little systems in place and a lot of reaction - instead of proaction!

It was around this time that I felt the pressure to say, “yes” and prove to everyone I was the right person for the job. The last thing I wanted was for anyone to second-guess their decision. Work was piling up, and I was leaving the office later and later. One evening, after grinding my way through the day, my boss emailed me to add another task to my current workload. Uh-uh.

This time, I decided to reply: “I can definitely start that right away, can you help me prioritize my other tasks at hand so I know where to dedicate myself and my resources?”

This was a game changer.

My boss was able to see what I was working on, and how stretched I was. I was able to take direct action and triage time sensitive work with the support of my boss. 

Secondly, forget what you know about time management.

Conventional time management often is ineffective in combating overload and reducing stress. Focussing on working more efficiently in terms of speed of completion, only leads us to take on even more tasks, because guess what - you’ve now got more time.

Try this approach:

• Reduce the number of tasks we take on in the first place

• Institute concrete principles for deciding what categories of things you won’t do

• Create structures such as instituting a day when no meetings will be held

Next, unlearn Parkinson’s Law.

This refers to the amount of work expanded to fill the time available for its completion. Deadlines can cause procrastination or even prompt people to fill their time with trivial matters. For example, if you give yourself a week to complete a two-hour task, then (psychologically speaking) the task will increase in complexity and become more daunting and will inevitably fill that week.

It may not even fill the extra time with more work, but just stress and tension about having to get it done. Suddenly any more work that gets thrown at you, is a much bigger stress trigger than it ought to be.

To help overcome Parkinson’s Law:

• Putting projects into the context of larger goals

• Create timelines in days rather than weeks are two strategies

Lastly, start to prioritize properly

Prioritization means sticking to 3 main tasks to complete in a day; any more than this and you’re likely to be overwhelmed and not start in the first place.

Along with your planning session for the 3 daily tasks, you should identify the priorities for upcoming days, weeks, and even months. Keeping tabs on future tasks will allow you to disperse your workload in a way that avoids making you lose the plot when it comes to what’s needed vs. what’s nice to have. You’ll be able to establish a more structured routine for your daily goals and remain productive throughout the week.

Here’s how you can start making tracks:

• Make a long list of every single task or duty you have in your job

• Break these down into daily, weekly, and monthly tasks

• Once you know these details, you’ll be able to stay focused and complete every you set out to

Achievher Takeaways

Your daily, weekly, and monthly tasks should not daunt you. You’ve been assigned them due to your known brilliance and skills for the task at hand! It’s time you rewire how you look at your time management, so you upkeep that high level of performance you’ve carved out so beautifully. Your body and mind will thank you.

Remember:

• Be proactive in managing your time and energy. Nobody will do it for you.

• Schedule in time for your life every day: That means time to decompress, commuting time, time to cook food, time to check in on your loved ones, and other admin tasks you normally leave until the last minute (whether that’s invoicing, or health appointments!).

• Audit where your time is going on your devices - and use this data to make informed decisions about how you break up your day.

• Don't compare your time or schedule to anyone else, we all work and operate differently.