When I first started researching Time Management techniques, it was not because I loved the topic back then, it was just because my life was becoming miserable, I had so many things to do and not enough time to finish them.

Is that you?  do you feel your life is simply like a treadmill? you need to put more effort RUNNING Just to Stand still? and it’s affecting your personal life? if the answer is YES then Congratulations you’re just like the rest of us!

In my Book, I discuss 10 Unbreakable Rules of  Time management, but in this post we’ll just go through 5 steps that will help you get through your daily tasks:

1. Put all of your tasks on a piece of paper or on a computer: Take like 15 minutes everyday in the morning just to gather your thoughts together and put & review all the things you need to do on this day (Both Personal & Professional); and finally put them in front of you on a piece of paper or electronically. (It’s your TO-DO List… but for some reason, some hate this naming… so you name it whatever you want!)
2. Estimate how long each task needs to be completed: Now that step is pretty much the most likely to be SKIPPED.. Even if you don’t know how long it may take, just ESTIMATE, and if the timing bypass the 1.5 hours, just split the task into more parts… so now you will have a List with tasks and time estimates
3. Prioritize them: Prioritization is very powerful skill, and to make your life simple, just think of this… If you’re to take a Leave tomorrow for 2 months, which would be the tasks that you need to finish TODAY. So now you have a list filled with Tasks & Time Estimates prioritized by priority.
4. Place them on your Calendar: If you don’t have a calendar and it’s working for you, then you shouldn’t be reading this post in the first place :)… So for the time being, the list is only a temporary place, you need to schedule the tasks on your calendar… and when you ran out of slots on your calendar, then whatever is left on your list will moved for later.
5. STICK TO THE CALENDAR: Planning Time is OVER… You shouldn’t be wasting any time planning beyond the first 4 steps (that, again, shouldn’t take more than 15-30 minutes a day).. the rest of the day is dedicated for execution, and believe me… JUST DO THE TASK YOU PLANNED AT THE TIME YOU PLANNED AND DO NOTHING ELSE, and you’ll be more productive than you ever thought.

And finally remember, it’s not written in stone, you can always make room for something urgent that comes up, and you may get distracted during the day and some tasks will Slip… But don’t worry, it gets better with time and practice.

Whether you’re comfortable with technology or not, do explore using technology to your advantage.

Have a Nice week,
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Samer Chidiac is a Sr. Strategist, Author & an International Innovation Expert.

The Monday Tip Weekly blog is part of the “Influencing the Life of Others” project