Time Management: Doing Less Achieves More

One of the biggest mistakes that people make when it comes to managing their time effectively is trying to pack too much into each day.

This can cause problems on a number of levels. First, it will leave you feeling like you are always under pressure to get things done. Second, there is a strong possibility that you will not complete everything that you set out to achieve. This can leave you feeling deflated and disappointed at the end of a day of hard work, which can be extremely counter-productive.

As well as this, by trying to rush things you may be causing yourself to leave some tasks unfinished or doing them poorly, which is never a good thing.

So, I encourage you to take a step back and pick out the most important things that need to be done in any day. Settle on a manageable number that you know you can complete, say three to begin with. You may be able to complete more at a comfortable pace but better to start low and work your way up.

Once you have chosen the three most important tasks for the day you need to focus yourself on these entirely, everything else is secondary until these tasks are complete. Very often you will find that you may get more than this done and feel like you have achieved a lot in the day. This can lead to increased productivity as time goes on.

The other advantage to this exercise is that it teaches you to focus on the things that are really important to you. Instead of cramming everything into a day, focusing on what is most important to you will actually help you to achieve more.