Alveena Ahmad
When you spend eight or more hours at your desk and still have work, you feel like you have accomplished basically nothing on your to-do list. Maybe you have not even goofed off on social media platforms but still made no progress on the day’s goals. The lack of conscientiousness and lost sight of your top priorities can make you feel unproductive and can bring your mind under pressure.
There are so many people who fail to complete their work on time and when they look back, there is nothing else than frustration and anxiety. It is because you stay unaware of the factors that stop you from being productive and progressing forward. The following are the facts you need to keep in mind for getting things done at the right time.
Not planning ahead:
One of the biggest reasons for not getting things done at the right time is that you do not plan ahead. Every week you need to plan things out by looking at your projects on the calendar. It makes you pick out the most important tasks for Monday and the rest to fit in the other days of the week. But make sure to leave 10% of your time free as some of the tasks might take longer. Also, revisit the tasks that you have planned a day before. It is because the revision will make you focus exactly on those tasks and you won’t be able to waste your time aimlessly searching for what to do next.
Terrible distractions:
The world is full of distractions and you naturally respond to emails, Twitter, and Facebook accounts after every few minutes. But in between all these distractions, you are to complete your work. If you restrict yourself to checking social media accounts one to two times instead of all day, it will save you a lot of time that you can dedicate to completing your tasks.
Not using the word “No”:
Saying “yes” to things instead of “no” causes burnout. Just not feeling guilty for not responding to the request of other people forces you to say yes to most things. These are the things that do not fit into your schedule and give you nothing more than frustration. But in all such scenarios, opting out is the best option. You fear saying no because of the fear of rejection as it would disappoint someone, make them angry, or hurt their feelings. But saying no does not mean you are being rude. It means that you are capable of making your own choices and choosing your own opinion about yourself over others. You need to learn to say no to problems that are not yours to solve. It makes you decide to work on something important rather than wasting time with colleagues in the coffee shop.
Therefore, when you feel yourself not being able to move forward, step back, and think. Plan your week every Friday and look through all your projects, revisit all the plans, and cut back on distractions to focus on your work more attentively.
Via: Motivation Grid
