Taking small steps at a time when scheduling, instead of hustling through your tasks all at once.
You may have felt the frustration when rushing to complete a task, thinking,
“I can get this done in one time slot!”
But you know deep down that it’s gonna take a lot longer — I know, because this has happened to me relentlessly.
Often times, rushing through a college assignment, work-related task, or something for your solopreneur business can make you feel overwhelmed and feel the need to do it all at once!
This article will explain 3 strategies to incorporate in your routine to keep you from feeling this way any more.
Planning ahead of time
Knowing in advance what you can realistically accomplish rather than only what you want.
Sure, you might want to get a task done in order to have more free time or the etc.
But isn’t it better to do a little something now, along with some free time activities, and then do the rest later?
This way you won’t be rushed to make mistakes, which can do more harm than good.
How do we do this?
Use project tracking
Tools like Obsidian, Notion, Monday, and others can help greatly with project tracking.
Even better, they are each different ways of tracking projects! We’ll use a similar approach on how to plan in these.
- Boot up app
- Get used to basic functions
- Jot your projects and how you’d like to make note of them
- Find a way to track your time and relate it to the project
- Go along with this process and see if this tool is right for you!
Using a calendar app
This one is easy to say since nearly all of us use one, but it’s still a productivity tool to note!
Though, if you’ve used calendar apps in the past that didn’t work well with you, I’d suggest pairing it with another app. Like Notion, which has recently integrated with Google Calendar!
- Take your tasks
- Guess the amount of time they’ll take
- Do the task in that time
- Write down the amount it really took in order to know for next time!
Experimentation is key. Otherwise, planning our time won’t be worth it!
Not enough people talk about using the tools & figuring out how they’ll work for you. By doing these steps, you can figure out the best way to track your time and projects to better suit your personal needs.
Have another way that works for you? I’d love to read about it in the comments!
Using time blocks
To keep yourself aligned with your planning, time blocks can help you do more work in the time you have.
The thing is, if you get all your tasks done in a project all at once, this drains your energy a lot quicker.
Our energy works in oscillations, nonetheless if you feel focused enough to do a task or not — at some point in the next hour or two, you’ll feel drained.
Instead, you can keep yourself fresh & awake by time blocking your tasks. Helping you get more done in small periods of time!
Here’s how to do that.
1. Use an app (like the calendar app we mentioned) like Notion or Structured.
2. Look at the whole month and narrow down to week, and then by day to help you gain a vantage point.
4. Make note of the total time you have to work & how much time a project will take.
5. Jot the time frame in hour slots for each activity with rest in between (only jot what you need to so it doesn’t get tedious).
6. And experiment as you go!
Time blocking should work according to your energy levels through the day, so it’s up to you to suit your time to your schedule!
Being flexible
Things just ain’t gonna be perfect no matter how hard you try.
Someone may call us for something important, we may get an urgent email, or maybe we just get distracted… and that’s OK!
Learn to accept this, and stay to your 30 minute–1 hour or more time blocks nonetheless.
Or rather, think of these distractions as short breaks, helping you to get your mind off your task for a moment before getting back in.
Of course I’m thinking positively because distractions aren’t good. But just do what you can.
By being mindful of how we plan, time block, and be flexible with our day. We can take small steps to get our tasks & overall projects done, instead of taking leaps and bounds all at once.
Let’s keep our energy working for us, instead of having to drink endless loads of coffee to force it into submission.
That way, we can stay healthy and productive according to the natural way we get done tasks.