Do you sometimes wonder where all your time has gone in a day?

You find that at the end of your work day you haven’t accomplished the important tasks you set out to do but ended up wasting time on trivial or non-important matters?

Deadlines at work come knocking and you are in a panic state wondering where all the time went.

If this is you, read more on this article to find out how to make the most of your work day.

Use a To Do List

Note down your tasks for the day by writing it out. Writing out a to do list makes your tasks appear less daunting and helps you determine clearly what needs working on in order of priority. Click the link to know how to create a proper to do list.

Know Your Most Productive Hours

Determine when you are most productive in a day and then maximise it doing your most important tasks for the day.

At my day job before my maternity leave started, my most productive hours were between 9a.m – 11a.m. At this time, I made sure I worked on my key tasks for that day. I avoided distractions such as checking my emails to focus on my work.

By 12 noon I start to feel hungry and my mental energy levels drop. After lunch I am usually sluggish and heavy from lunch to do any major mental work. I use this time to work on less daunting tasks.

Let us apply pareto’s law, which is also known as the 80 20 rule to this scenario. 20% of your efforts will produce 80% of the results. Therefore find your productive hours in the day, make the best use of it, and you will see that you will achieve much more that day than when you work during your less productive hours.

Morning person or Night owl?

Are you a morning person or a night owl? Do you know there are various times of the day where you are more productive based on what type of person you are?

Time magazine published a guide, way back in 2006 on paying attention to our mental clock. Click the link for more details. It also outlined how morning people and night owls can make the most of their day. This guide may seem old and there are probably newer studies or guides out there however this guide gives a good idea of the point I am trying to make.

The table* below also breaks down Time’s analysis to make it clearer.

The table shows the best time for creativity and problem solving depending on whether you are a morning person or night owl. Have you noticed any pattern with how your day goes as a morning person or a night owl? From today observe and note when you are most creativity or productive and maximize those periods.

Focus on one task at a time

As mums we pride ourselves in multitasking, but when it comes to work, you are better off focusing on one task at a time. That is how the brain was designed to work. Set a timer for 10 mins and focus SOLELY on that task before moving on to the next one. By doing this you will achieve much more during your work day.

Connect with God

Whether you are a night person or morning person, it is crucial you start your day right in reading the bible, meditation and prayer. When you wake up it is usually with a clear mind and depending on when you wake up it would be quiet. That is the best time to hear from God with no distractions. When you start your day with God, he speaks to you and gives you direction for the day.  You will see that you work at your optimal.

Rest

One other way to help you make best use of your time- whether you are a morning person or a night owl is to rest. I once read somewhere that the body was designed to rejuvenate two times in a day- one short sleep session during the day and one long sleep session at night. By resting you revitalise your energy and you will be more productive during your work day.

I believe organisations should provide rest areas for their employees to have short naps at work. If you don’t have a rest area at work, then I suggest you create one for yourself! If you drive to work you can take a power nap in your car. Find time to rest today, it does sound counterintuitive but by resting you create more energy for yourself to get the most out of your work day.

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There are other key factors to help you make the most of your work day but I wanted to highlight the above points as these are the common points working mothers tend to over look.

Do the best you can each day and leave the rest to God. Yes we are super but doesn’t mean we can do it all.

How do you make the most of your work day? Please share.

* table- source

If you want to know more about managing your time, being productive and taking back control of your time check this out