Some things require our compulsory attention, like work. It’s often during work time that we dream about what we’d like to do in our leisure time.  Maybe it’s doing finer things in life,  participating more in a sporting activity, or thinking of ways to relax and unwind.

If you manage your time and life well, you can squeeze other fun things in between and not use your weekend to bring work at home.

Let’s take a look at ways to manage your time and make room for things you want to do.

5 Ways To Manage Time, Wants And Realities

1. Do One Thing At A Time & Prioritise

• Say goodbye to multitasking. Often multitasking leads us to manage many things, and not one of them well.
• Rank tasks by importance and by the need. Once you are done with the “need to do”, you can proceed to the “want to do”.
• Try using a weekly calendar. Plan out your week based on your ranked tasks and assign them to a particular day. This will help you find gaps in your schedule that will allow you to visit the “want to do” items on your list.
• Work through your tasks systematically. This will give you a clearer picture of where your time goes and where you can invest time in things that matter more to you.

2. Choose Importance Over Urgency

• This strategy is based on Eisenhower’s Principle, which identifies which tasks and activities you should focus on and which you should delegate or ignore.
• To use this principle effectively, you need to understand the difference between what’s important and what’s urgent. Then you can overcome the natural tendency to focus on unimportant urgent tasks and concentrate on tasks that are more beneficial to our health, wellbeing, career or business.

• View this free (less than 3 minutes long), YouTube video tutorial on Understanding the Eisenhower Matrix.

3. Align Efforts and Purpose

• Your purpose will drive you to your goals. If you align the intensity of your efforts with your purpose, you’ll find that you do things more easily.
• For example, knowing that an extra shift each month will mean you can buy that handbag/car/furniture you really want will be more motivating than just saying “I should do an extra shift to earn more money”.
• Using SMART goals can be helpful. Use our FREE SMART goals template to get your goals in order.

4. Play to Your Strengths

• It”s better to work smarter than to work harder.
• Remember that your physical body can only do so much before it can be beaten down by fatigue.
• If a task can be delegated, then pass it to someone who can do it better and focus on things that need more of your attention or where you can apply yourself more productively.

5. Socialise and Share

• Don’t underestimate the power of networking. Your peers can share best practices, what works best for them, their daily dealings or how they handle processes.  Learn from their success and adapt your methods.
• Give what you can. If you want to be heard, listen. If you want to be understood, listen. Take the good days with the bad and learn from them.
• Leave the past behind and plan ahead. Happy people know what to prioritise, what makes them happy and what they want to make an impression in their lives. They plan ahead, they schedule, they make it happen.
• Always have self respect. Have the courage to walk your talk. Keep promises you make to yourself. There is nothing more important than maintaining that self respect. It also radiates outside. It enhances your self view and creates confidence. Confidence in work often increases productivity.
• And don’t forget to breathe! Working too much can cloud your judgement and hamper productivity. Take a break from work. Re-energize your soul, relax your mind and prepare yourself for upcoming challenges.

Feel free to share your strategies!  What helped you break unproductive habits?