Make your work-life easier with these hacks

If you’re always struggling to find the right work-life balance, here are some tips to help you to make your life a whole lot easier.

Task mapping

We have our own ways of planning tasks. Some people like using physical planners, apps or writing things in the notebook. Find what works best for you and stick to it because there is no one size fits all. By mapping out your tasks you get an overview of your tasks for the day and week. It will be easier to prioritise and plan your workday and week.

Timebox your tasks

Once you have mapped out and made a list of your tasks, timebox the task in the list. Timeboxing is the act of putting strict time boundaries around an activity or task. You’re more like to complete a task by timeboxing it.

Kill the clutter

Cleaning up your workspace will increase your workflow greatly. If there is something you haven’t used in a few months, throw it away. Delete unnecessary files, folders and emails on your computer. Keep a limited number of programmes pinned to your taskbar on the desktop.

Give each day a theme

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s secret hack to time management is giving each day a theme. That way if any distractions come you know that you can just leave them for another, and if they’re urgent, deal with them quickly. For example, Monday could be about product development, so you arrange meetings and to-do lists based on the product.

Plan for Monday on a Friday

We know that Friday might be the least productive day of the week for a lot of people. And you’ll probably be thinking about your weekend plans, so Monday might seem so far away, but it is actually useful to plan your Monday in advance. Monday mornings are usually a bit slow and you’ll probably be catching up on some work and you could easily forget what you need to be doing, but if you plan it on Friday before will save you the stress on Monday.

Lunch Prep

To save you save some time during the week, prep some meals for your lunches at work. Buy a few snacks to keep in your drawers at work for those times when you’re peckish. Having some fruit or dry fruits during the day will help you stay energised.

Take your lunch break

Speaking of lunch, take your lunch break! Even if it just for 15 or 30 minutes taking a break will help to improve concentration. If you want a better afternoon at work take your lunch break.

Avoid multitasking

You may think that you’re getting more done by multitasking, but the opposite is actually happening. It actually makes your work harder than it needs to be. Try to focus on one task at a time and then move on to the next thing.

Relax on weekends

Productivity isn’t all about work. Take some time to not do anything. And the perfect time to do that is on weekends or on your days off. Make the most of that time off to rejuvenate and refresh yourself. Make sure you get enough sleep the night before you go back to work.