How to - prioritise your time

Know your objectives - then, says Calum Robson, systematically look for the best short, medium, and long-term strategies.

When everything seems to be getting on top of you, and there doesn’t seem enough time to get it all done, the most important thing to do is the least likely: just stop. Stop, and invest time in taking stock of all you have to achieve, then plan and organise yourself so that everything becomes much more manageable.

Get yourself organised

It helps enormously to have a ‘system’. This might simply amount to jotting things down in a calendar or a ‘to do’ book, or be as sophisticated as using tasks and reminders in MS Outlook.

You might map your work out each morning or evening, or simply keep a running list - but do have a system; keeping everything in your head is usually a recipe for organisational disaster.

Before you can plan your time, you need to itemise everything you have to do. Ideally, these need to be specific tasks (for instance, ‘complete mock paper’ or ‘call stationery supplier’, instead of ‘learn financial reporting’ or ‘look at stationery situation’). If that means building in time to plan things on a more micro scale, so be it.

When allocating your day, allow plenty of time for distractions, interruptions, and emergencies. Some people plan their work in increments of 15 or 30 minutes, which means that each task has to be split into segments - this can help avoid procrastination if you’re the sort of person who finds spending major amounts of time on the same task daunting or boring.

Know when you’re at your best

Give consideration to your optimum working conditions - do you operate better first thing in the morning, during the afternoon, or in the evening? Do you need to have a buzz about you or do you require silence? Are certain tasks (or people you have to deal with) liable to leave you feeling too frazzled to tackle anything more complex or challenging that day? Know what factors you can influence and prioritise accordingly.

If you have a lot to get through, it can occasionally be better to concentrate on getting through the sheer volume rather than spending time polishing each item individually. Remember, perfection can be the enemy of efficiency.

Keep returning to your core objectives - when faced with a choice of tasks, ask what’s urgent and what’s important, and what will really help you achieve your long-term goals. That will enable you to steel yourself against those unimportant activities that presently crowd your day - as well as making you more likely to say ‘no’ when your time is demanded by others who could actually help themselves or be persuaded to go elsewhere.