Do you have a particularly long list of things you need to get done tonight? You may wonder how you’ll ever get it all done with the limited time you have. Use these tips to help yourself power through your to-do list.
Prioritize
Of course, the goal is to get all of your to-do list done, but realistically, you might simply have more tasks on your list than you can complete in one night. Order your tasks according to how important they are to complete. This way, you’ll know what needs to get done right away and what can wait until tomorrow, if it has to.
Enlist Help
If you have a spouse or kids, enlist their help. Depending on how old they are, you can have your kids fold laundry, sweep or mop the floor, vacuum, dust, pick up their toys, or take the dog for a walk. You can split your to-do list with your spouse, or you can do tasks together to speed up the process.
Make Dinner Easy
Making dinner can be time-consuming. Even a simple dinner can eat up valuable time you need to complete your to-do list. Pizza delivery saves you valuable time and energy. If you have them, use paper plates for dinner so that you won’t have to spend time washing dishes.
Focus
Focus on one task at a time. It can be easy to start a job on your to-do list and get distracted by another task. For instance, you might be picking your kid’s toys up off the floor in order to vacuum, but when you go into your child’s room to put the toys away, you might get distracted by how dirty it is and begin cleaning it. Stick to one job at a time so that you can successfully make it through your to-do list.
As difficult as it might be, it’s also important to put down your cell phone or tablet as well. It’s tempting to check a text message or email as soon as you hear it come in, but these distractions will prevent you from finishing your list.
Set Time Limits
Go through each task, and estimate how long it will actually take you to complete it. As you start each task on your to-do list, set a kitchen timer for the amount of time you estimate it’ll take you to complete it. Giving yourself a time limit will help you stay focused and complete each task more quickly.
Your to-do list might seem overwhelming. However, if you take the time to prioritize, focus on one task at a time, and set yourself a time limit for each job, you’ll be able to successfully complete it. Enlisting help from your family and making dinner easy will also help you accomplish everything you need to do.