Feeling unproductive can be annoying, but there are a few things we can do to make ourselves feel like less of a waste through managing your time properly.
“I think it’s good to learn the basic rules of time management,” says Lee Silber, author of Time Management For The Creative Person.
The first one is ‘The one minute rule.’ “If you can do something in under a minute, do it,” suggests Silber, adding if we don’t those little tasks pile up.
Next, do things when other people aren’t. For example, try taking your lunch early or later than everyone else. “That same trip to the sandwich store will be a lot faster and more relaxing at 11:00 a.m. than it is at noon,” he says.
Before starting any long, tedious task, Silber recommends stopping and asking “Is there a faster way to do this?” Also Silber suggests frequently asking yourself if what you are doing is the best use of your time.
Once you’ve assessed your tasks and found the fastest way to do them, try to do your most important jobs during prime time. If you are most productive in the morning save this time for your important projects.
If you are given an enormous project that seems like it will take forever Silber suggests using the five in five rule.
“Break it down into smaller pieces that you can start in five seconds and finish in five minutes,” he says.”When you get a giant project broken down into these tiny micromovements, how can you not do them?”
Finally, at the end of the day the most important thing to do is learn to let it all go. According to Silber, we waste a lot of time worrying about things that may or may not happen in the future.
“The Midnight Rule is, no matter what happened, let it go at midnight and start with a clean slate the next day. Don’t let fear, worry and guilt bleed into the following day.”
Kavita Gosyne, 26, is a vibrant young journalist. She writes about her transition from student to employee and the issues she faces such as office politics.
