How to Manage Work and Life…While Keeping Your Sanity

As business professionals, we have a lot on our plates. There are project deadlines, daily tasks, meetings, strategic thinking, problems that need to be resolved, interns to manage, etc. When we leave the office, we have appointments, children to care for, dinner to cook and lunches to make, household tasks, bills to pay, phone calls to make, and sometimes even school work and projects to finish. If we’re lucky, we may even have a social life to maintain. Before we know it, the day is over and we still have work to do. With a million things to get done in a single day, how do we fit it all in? It all comes down to time management. Like Zig Ziglar once said, “Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days.” Here are some tips to get your day organized so you can keep your sanity.

1. Make A To-Do List: It’s hard to remember all of the things that you need to get done, and what day and time they need to be done by, if you don’t write it down. There’s a lot floating around in your head, and it helps to flush it out onto paper. If paper lists aren’t your thing, there are tons of helpful apps out there like Astrid, Remember the Milk, and Toodledo. 
2. Prioritize Tasks: When you write out everything that needs to get done, it may seem daunting. Figure out which tasks need to be finished today (like projects with approaching deadlines or meetings/appointments), and make them your number one priority. By knocking off your top priorities, you won’t feel the pressure of getting time-sensitive tasks completed on time, and won’t have to rush through your tasks. 
3. Assign Time Values: Give each task on your list a time value. By writing out how much time each task will take, you can get a visual to what your day will look like so you can see if you are able to spend more or less time on a given task. 
4. Keep Track: Checking off the tasks that you complete can give you a sense of accomplishment, and allows you to visualize how your day is coming along. 
5. Seek Help When Needed: Like I mentioned in my blog post “How to Handle Negative Comments on Social Media“, you are just one person. If you have too much on your plate, speak up and seek help.

Managing work, school, kids, and everyday life doesn’t have to be stressful. These simple tips, along with giving yourself a little time to be alone and do something you enjoy, can help make life simpler and more enjoyable. Do you have any other helpful tips to share?