A big presentation on Monday, a deadline on Tuesday, and back-to-back meetings from 9 til 5 every day of the week…sounds like a dream week, right? Being busy (sometimes to the point where you can’t spare five minutes for lunch) is not on anyone’s agenda for an enjoyable week, but there’s no denying that sometimes it’s unavoidable.
Luckily, there are a few things you can do. The next time you have more appointments in your diary than Perez Hilton has gossip posts on his blog, try out these four tips to survive your busy week with your sanity still (relatively) intact.
Plan, plan, plan
The most important tool of successful people is a plan, and being prepared is a key way to minimise your stress. Take some time at the beginning of the week to write down everything that you need to do, and try to allocate your tasks to different days according to deadlines. At the start of every working day, write a list of your top five priorities that need to be completed. Cross them off as you go along – not only while your brain thank you for writing things down, but you’ll feel a sense of relief every time you cross another task off your list.
Remember to eat
While foregoing that lunch in favour of replying to emails is a common bad habit amongst workers, you have to remember that not eating actually hinders your productivity instead of helping it. Food provides vital fuel for our brains and bodies to function – without food, you’ll soon find that your ability to think has decreased and you aren’t as efficient as you were before.
Get as much sleep every night as you can
Similar to fuelling our bodies with food, sleep is also an essential key to ensuring that you’re working to the best of your body and mind’s ability. No matter how busy you are, you should always find time to sleep; otherwise, you’re just wasting time every day microsleeping while checking your emails. If you can’t squeeze in 8 hours in one night, try to nap if possible: on public transport, or on your lunch break. Just make sure you set an alarm so you don’t sleep through your entire day!
Sometimes, you need to stop…and just breathe
Yes, you’re busy, and yes, you have a lot of things to do – but no matter how busy you are, you can always step away for one minute, close your eyes, and just breathe. Your brain functions best when it’s relaxed, so taking one minute to calm down and enjoy some peace and quiet will do wonders for your productivity and creativity in the long run.
Hannah Kim is a busy, busy, busy account manager who daydreams of getting away from it all. In her spare time, she browses the internet looking for land for sale. Aberglasslyn is her dream escape from her hectic lifestyle.