Everyone has the same 24 hours a day. However, some people can be much more productive and get much more out of their day. But how?
It’s likely to come down to a better grasp on time management and managing their workload better. It’s a tough skill to crack, but it can have massive benefits to both your work and personal life.
Give yourself time to learn about time management
Here are five of our most essential tips for taking control of your workload and getting a few hours of your week back.
Avoid focus switching
While multitasking can often be a necessary evil, it is detrimental to productivity. Continually switching your attention from one type of task to another doesn't allow your brain to focus appropriately on either. It’s always recommended to focus on completing one task at a time, then moving on to the next, for the best chance of success.
Learn to say no
It’s a natural instinct for you to want to help out your co-workers and colleagues when they ask for assistance. It’s important to help when you can, but not to the detriment of your workload. If you’re struggling, being honest at the start and saying that you’re unable to help is the best way to deal with the situation. That way, you’re setting the expectation early, not over-promising and under-delivering.
Write things down
Too many people keep their task lists in their heads, which can become overwhelming when trying to recall what is required and can even cause you to miss parts.
Making sure to write things down, whether on paper or digitally, ensures that everything is recorded and in front of you. It also helps to rationalise your workload - when trying to remember all your different tasks, the amount of work required can feel overbearing. Breaking it down into smaller tasks and writing it out can help you form a plan of action and give much-needed context.
We’d highly recommend starting every day with a written to-do list, giving yourself a set of tasks to complete by the end of that day. That way, you have a mini target to aim towards - just make sure these lists are realistic and achievable, as adding too many tasks is destined for failure, which will impact your future motivation.
Learn to delegate
When you’re asked to do something, always consider whether you’re the most appropriate person to be doing it. If someone on your team is better suited to complete it or even has more available time to do it, consider delegating it to them to ensure it doesn’t compromise your workload. It is crucial, however, to ensure that this is done in a supportive manner and in the right circumstances - too much delegation can come across as lazy.
Take Breaks
On the face of it, this may seem counterintuitive, but taking time away from your work will help you in the long run. If you spend too much time working away at a task, you’re likely to become less focused and productive as time goes on.
When you feel like this may be happening. Whether it’s just to have a walk, make a cup of tea, or speak to a colleague - taking that time to walk away from the computer and do something else will mean that by the time you’re back, you’re able to be more focused and finish that task with ease.
Within the CPD Courses Catalogue, you can find a range of certified courses aimed at improving your time management across a number of different industries. You can search by industry or by using the CPD search bar to find relevant learning for your ongoing professional development.
We hope this article was helpful. Established in 1996, The CPD Certification Service has over 27 years’ experience providing CPD accreditation. With members in over 100 countries, our CPD providers benefit from the ability to promote themselves as part of an international community where quality is both recognised and assured.
If you are interested in offering training courses, seminars, workshops, eLearning, or educational events suitable for Continuing Professional Development, please visit the Become a CPD Provider page or contact our team to discuss in more detail. Alternatively, if you are looking for a free online CPD record tool to help manage, track and log your ongoing learning, as well as store your professional training records and attendance certificates in one simple place, go to the myCPD Portal page.
