Time Management

by LHM
(Texas, USA)

I have difficulty managing my time effectively. I tend to get distracted easily and often stray off of my original task. I have tried writing down "to-do" lists but even then I get side-tracked. Seems that some new idea keeps popping up in my head before I finish the last task. What can I do differently?

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Shelly's Response: Great Question! You are probably a very creative person! Creative people tend have this difficulty.

It's easy to get distracted with little things that pop up every day. A "to-do" list is great, but you might try assigning priorities to them. Label them 1, 2, 3, etc. Take care of the #1's first, then the #2's, etc.

Make sure you don't lose all those great ideas that pop up. Hang a bulletin board and divide it into areas with names meaningful to you, such as "Home & Garden," "Maintenance," "Hobbies & Interests, "Family," "Work," etc. When a thought pops into your head, write it on a Post-It, assign it a priority, then place it on the bulletin board in the appropriate category.

The next morning, pull off all the #1's and put them on your "to-do" list for that day. When they are complete, move to the #2's, etc. If however, you find that all the #3's and #4's are not accomplished, figure out if they are really necessary or attainable. Consider moving those that are to a higher priority. You can also set aside one weekend regularly to take care of those "little things" that need to get done that keep piling up. Hope this was helpful!