Having a job can sometimes feel like a never-ending struggle to keep up with everything you have to do. Between work, family, hobbies, and other commitments staying organized and on top of your schedule is difficult at times.

In fact, it’s so hard that many people give up and wait until tomorrow to take care of things.

But this doesn’t set a good example for yourself or others. You are leaving money on the table, and wasting the energy you spent planning and organizing your downtime.

You deserve better than that!

There’s no reason why you should feel overwhelmed by all of the tasks that need to be done. With some simple changes, you will be able to organize and prioritize more effectively. You will also learn how to manage your time more efficiently.

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Here are some tips to help you become a master organizer and timer.

Make plans and schedule downtime

A lot of people get so focused on getting everything done that they forget to take breaks. You should make sure you have enough downtime in your day, but making plans for what you will do during these times is important as well.

Plan lunch with friends or family members outside of work so that you don’t go home straight after work. If you normally eat dinner at 6 p.m., try going out for drinks later instead so that you can enjoy yourself more.

If possible, find ways to shift workers’ routines. For example, if you are a night person, ask your colleagues if it’s okay if you start working earlier next week. Or, if you are a morning person, see if there’s anything you can do to get up early the next day.

It may also be helpful to consider availing of some form of a workplace wellness program. These typically offer health checks such as blood tests and weight measurements, as well as advice and recommendations for healthier living.

Finish what you start

‘Finishing’ something means putting away your work as soon as you have finished it, which is one of the biggest time wasters we can eliminate from our lives.

When you begin doing things, you may not feel like completing them immediately so you keep postponing the task until you do. This doesn’t make sense though because the more you put off what you need to do, the more out-of-control life becomes.

You get distracted by everything around you and never seem to find yourself with enough time to really focus on anything. It’s also hard to know when to stop working since there seems to be no clear deadline or signal that says it’s done.

By creating an internal clock that tells us when we should stop working, we can prevent this idle spending of energy. By knowing how much time we have left before we must move on to the next thing, we are more conscious about how we use our time.

Take breaks

A few years ago, I read an article about how most people are within their average time of finishing tasks because they never take a break!

They start work early in the morning and then stay up late at night, leaving no time for sleep or rest. They keep working throughout the day, without any down time where they can relax or think about something else.

This makes it hard for them to switch off and put aside things they have been thinking about earlier. It also creates a lot of stress due to all the rushing around and having less time to unwind.

By giving yourself regular breaks, you will feel more relaxed and able to focus again later. You can do this every hour as a minimum or longer if you need it.

This will depend on your job and what kind of workload you have, so try to find one that works for you. Some good tips are to go through a short process before getting into bed, such as doing dishes or washing up.

You could also make use of the bathroom or walk around the house for some minutes.

Work on your personal life

It is important to not let your work commitments take over you, nor can you allow them to interfere with other parts of your life. This could be anything from going out with friends after work to staying in later to watch TV, to leaving early for the next day’s schedule.

It is easy to get distracted by all these things when they are part of your routine, but should something come up, you need to make time for it. You cannot expect perfection every minute of every day, so try to prioritize and allocate appropriate amounts of time for each task.

Also, keep yourself organized. Use an app like Google Calendar to track what you have planned for the week and know at a glance where you stand on time.

This way you will also notice any changes that may occur and you can fix them before they become bigger problems.

Do things you enjoy

When you are in control of your time, you can spend it doing what you love. If you have to do something that you hate, how will you feel later?

When you have a job or career you love, you keep going because it gives you a feeling of satisfaction. You get paid for it, so others reward you for it.

You may be able to find another position in the same field that doesn’t require as much time spent away from family, but staying in this one is dependent upon you finding the balance between work and life.

If you want to remain in this position, you need to learn how to manage your time. Find ways to enjoy what you are doing and stick to them!

Start by making changes to activities that you already enjoy and then move on to more creative ones. For example, instead of watching television, reading a book, or surfing the net. Instead of playing computer games, go out with friends or take a walk.

This article has discussed some strategies that can help you achieve this.

Make it a point to say yes to things

Even if you are already very busy, you can manage your time more effectively by making it a point to agree to do things. You will have to make some changes to deal with this, but you must get into the habit of agreeing to do as many things as possible!

It’s easy to spend hours every week putting off doing things that need to be done. It could be going up the stairs at work or taking a trip somewhere, both of which require energy.

By the end of the day, you might find yourself stuck because there is nothing left for you to do. If this happens often, then your efficiency as a person is being questioned. As hard as it may be, try to identify what activities truly matter most to you and give more attention to them.

If something doesn’t feel important, drop it from your schedule. This way, you will have more room in your life for the things that do. Don’t let bad timing be an excuse for avoiding responsibilities; instead, use it to motivate you to keep moving forward.

Stay positive

A lot of people get distracted by the things they have to do every day, which is natural as we all have jobs and commitments.

But staying focused takes more than just being able to control your schedule; it also requires you to be aware of what you are doing with your time so that you don’t waste it.

It can be hard when you feel like you’re running around all morning trying to find time to start your work before the kids wake up, or you’ve got to pick up something from somewhere else so that you don’t lose part of the day.

However, you need to make sure that you don’t let these negative thoughts stop you from living your life.

Think about how much energy you spend each day wishing you had more time, and why. Is it because you don’t want to leave the house? Or maybe you fear that you won’t achieve your goals because you don’t have enough time to sleep and eat.

Whatever the reason, there will always be another hour in the day, and I recommend using those hours to focus on having fun, planning trips, reading good books, and experimenting with new hobbies.

If you're already involved in some of these activities, great! Keep doing them, but if not try to add one or two more per week.

Journal more

A journal is a good way to keep track of your daily activities, thoughts, and anything else you want to note or remember. When it comes time to make changes to how you manage your time, you can use your notes as proof that you tried doing something before giving up.

By taking some time every day to write down what you were doing and why you gave up, you’ll be able to pick up right where you left off without too much struggle.

You can also organize your notes by topic and category to get even more detail. For example, you could do “Work out today” and then under that, you could list all of the exercises you did, and next to each one, you could describe what muscles they targeted. This will help you in the future when you plan to work out those muscles.

Keeping a diary is a great way to note important things about your life, and yourself.