Time
In the modern world it is all too easy to get lost under a mountain of projects which cause untold numbers of sleepless nights and stress headaches. This means it is all the more important to structure your time to better complete tasks efficiently without losing your sanity.
On this page I would like to share my own day-to-day time-table, including any important upcoming events as and when they happen, for anyone interested. I see it as another “open-source” sharing of information – and if you can’t get hold of me, then maybe this page will tell you why.
| Time / Day | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07:00 – 08:00 | Wake up, shower, check emails. It is much easier to concentrate on getting ready for the day ahead when you are not waiting for urgent emails to come in or the phone to ring. Review your list of items from yesterday and prioritise them. Estimate each one as accurately as possible – if you aren’t going to be able to complete an item today, decide that now and inform anyone involved as soon as possible so you can get on with your planned day. | Flex day starts! A reward for the week: by making myself directly unavailable, I can concentrate harder on any items which deserve special attention now. This period is extended over the 2 hours to give a bit more breathing room here. | |||
| 08:00 – 09:00 | Get ready for the day ahead. Often a chance to sort out any issues without the worry of the phone going off, as many people do not start until 09:00. | ||||
| 09:00 – 12:00 | The morning slog. Go through your prioritised list of items, complete each one and be sure to enjoy that satisfied feeling as you tick each one off. | ||||
| 12:00 – 14:00 | That’s right – 2 hours at noon. Allow yourself plenty of time to recuperate from the morning’s events as well as eating a good amount of (brain) food. Optionally return to work after one hour if you feel comfortable doing so, but make sure you get that hour’s break in. | ||||
| 14:00 – 16:30 | Finish today’s work. Pull out all the stops – you’ll thank yourself for it tomorrow when your list isn’t growing exponentially. Remember to stop at precisely 16:30 regardless of where you get to. | ||||
| 16:30 – 17:00 | Last half hour. Relax, take a breather, make a cup of coffee, but make sure you complete your list of outstanding items & prioritise them ready for tomorrow. | ||||
Yes, I have deliberately left out Saturday & Sunday from the table above. In the past, I always completed any outstanding work from the week over the weekend, ready for the Monday. This inevitably stopped me relaxing and recovering from the stress of the week… In the same way I now force myself to stop work at 17:00pm every day, I also make sure I enjoy the weekend fully by not working over it. I can honestly say this has reduced my stress levels to a more acceptable level: hopefully others in a similar situation can benefit from the same difficult (but worthwhile) change.
