After a weekend of lounging around on the beach and eating fruits in the sun, the first feeling that I used to experience when I thought about Monday was one of being overwhelmed, and then a feeling of stress to follow. One day I sat down and asked myself the question “What can I do to make myself excited about Mondays and reduce my stress levels?” Based on a solution I came up with, I have compiled three things that you can do to organise your workload and ultimately reduce your stress levels. All of these things should be done the night before or early in the morning before your day begins!
1. Write Everything Down
Many of us believe we have an impeccable memory, and that may be true; however, you are bound to forget some things at some points. I have found writing everything down, no matter how small or irrelevant it seems, has helped me in organising my workload and ensuring I actually get things done. I personally formulate a daily task table that includes: the task that needs to be done, how urgent it is, who I need to correspond with to complete it, and the status of completion. You can also choose the old fashioned route of a simple pen and notepad.
2. Prioritise Tasks
It is one thing to write down a list of 100 things that you need to get through, and another thing to organise those tasks according to importance. I found that when I didn’t prioritise my task list, it resulted in me doing things that could wait first and leaving urgent things to later therefore increasing pressure and my stress levels. Prioritise your tasks! It is better to get three urgent things done in one day than 10 minor things at the risk of you failing to meet important targets.
3. Follow-up
After writing a task list, do not form the habit of never looking back at your task list. As you go through the day, tick off the tasks you have completed and ensure that you are on track and completing the most important ones first.
Try implementing these three tips on Sunday night when you have that daunting “Oh no it’s Monday tomorrow” feeling, and I am sure you will wake up Monday morning ready to take over the world. There is no better antidote for relieving the stress of your workload than organising it.
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This article was first published on 22nd September 2014
Comments (1)
After a weekend of lounging around on the beach and eating fruits in the sun, the first feeling that I used to experience when I thought about Monday was one of being overwhelmed, and then a feeling of stress to follow. One day I sat down and asked myself the question “What can I do to make myself excited about Mondays and reduce my stress levels?” Based on a solution I came up with, I have compiled three things that you can do to organise your workload and ultimately reduce your stress levels. All of these things should be done the night before or early in the morning before your day begins!
1. Write Everything Down
Many of us believe we have an impeccable memory, and that may be true; however, you are bound to forget some things at some points. I have found writing everything down, no matter how small or irrelevant it seems, has helped me in organising my workload and ensuring I actually get things done. I personally formulate a daily task table that includes: the task that needs to be done, how urgent it is, who I need to correspond with to complete it, and the status of completion. You can also choose the old fashioned route of a simple pen and notepad.
2. Prioritise Tasks
It is one thing to write down a list of 100 things that you need to get through, and another thing to organise those tasks according to importance. I found that when I didn’t prioritise my task list, it resulted in me doing things that could wait first and leaving urgent things to later therefore increasing pressure and my stress levels. Prioritise your tasks! It is better to get three urgent things done in one day than 10 minor things at the risk of you failing to meet important targets.
3. Follow-up
After writing a task list, do not form the habit of never looking back at your task list. As you go through the day, tick off the tasks you have completed and ensure that you are on track and completing the most important ones first.
Try implementing these three tips on Sunday night when you have that daunting “Oh no it’s Monday tomorrow” feeling, and I am sure you will wake up Monday morning ready to take over the world. There is no better antidote for relieving the stress of your workload than organising it.
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