By Tessa Byham

It almost feels a little ironic for me to be writing an article about time management. For the last three months, I’ve been juggling working part-time from home with parenting full-time (and growing another human!) and to say the least, it has not been easy. But, I figured I need the refresher and I love a “listicle” as much as the next millennial so here we go:

PRIORITIZE

I just love a good list. When I go grocery shopping I make an initial list and then I make another one that’s organized by store and section (I know). Getting it all out of your head and onto paper is a great way to see what really needs to happen. Write it down, and then organize it by priority. I like to make a top 3 “must-do” list and then everything else goes below. That way, even if you only get those top 3 things done, you still feel accomplished. 

THE 45-15 RULE

Distractions are everywhere. How many of us have become avid bird-watchers since working from home? I can’t be the only one who has started googling “what kind of bird is this” rather than focusing on my work. For this and many other reasons, I’ve tried to implement the 45-15 rule. For every hour of work, 45 minutes is focused on the task at hand, and the other 15 is for a break. A bathroom, snack, Facebook, or bird-watching break—whatever you need. And if 45 minutes feels daunting, start with 15 minutes of focus to 5 minutes of break and work your way up! 

STOP MULTITASKING

You would think to get more done, you should just do it all at once, right? Nope. We actually lose productivity by switching between tasks. Pick one task from your list and don’t stop until it’s done. So many of the things on my to-do list would and should only take me about 10 minutes of focused time, but when I am checking my phone, answering emails, and flipping between tasks, they end up taking so much longer. 

Unfortunately, good time management might not be a skill we just have. Like drinking enough water or getting out of bed after that first alarm (I might need to write an article on that next), it’s a learned skill requiring practice. The benefits of honing that skill will help professionally and personally, so let’s give it a shot.

Thanks Tessa, for the tips!

Do you have tips to add? Comment below!

This article was published in the Future Leaders & Entrepreneurs Exchange’s (FLEX) June 2020 edition of the FLEX Your Ideas (FYI) Newsletter.