How to manage your work and a personal tasks side-by-side
It’s easy to get caught up in all the tasks you have to perform in a day, without distinguishing between the purposes of those tasks. It’s, after all, a wonder how humans are getting anything done when our work pile is growing at a speed at which it is hard for us to even comprehend our tasks.
To get a hold of this never-ending to-do list, it becomes imperative to categorize our tasks and give them a loose structure to maintain our sanity. Your work tasks should always be separated from your personal tasks, and we have a guide for how to manage your work and personal journal without imploding your head. (This blog post has been written assuming that you have separate journals for your work and personal tasks. If you don’t you can always segment your journal into two halves.)
1. Brain dump a list of tasks: The list of work swarming in your head is not doing you any favors. To plan those tasks and get them done, it is necessary to write them all down first. Brain dump all your personal, social, and work-related obligations. Something that helps me is to have a ‘never-ending list of tasks’. I keep on adding any tasks that float through my head into this list, and review it biweekly to sort out the new tasks into ‘work’ and ‘personal.’
2. Set a schedule: The main reason for you to separate your tasks is that you need clear priorities. You shouldn’t be participating in personal tasks during work hours and your me-time should never get flooded with your work. Most people working a typical 9-5 will have a clear distinction on when to work and when to play, but for the people who freelance/set their routines: A work schedule is an irritating necessity we all must endure. Set a few hours of the day that you would dedicate to ‘work’, and don’t procrastinate on it with your personal obligations.
3. Time batch: Time batching is the process where you batch together similar items of your to-do list, and finish them in one go. Suppose you have to write one article, a blog post, and a few captions. The common link in these activities is that they all require you to write. Instead of having them dispersed in your calendar, schedule them together. Block out 3 hours to get your writing done. Your focus on the task would increase exponentially, and because you would be in the ‘writing zone’, you are more likely to get your work done faster. And then, maybe your next time block could be related to some personal task, like getting your weekly errands done.
4. Have designated environments: Do you often deal with your work and personal tasks at the same location? Our brains are well-versed in making associations, and when we perform certain tasks at certain locations, our brain starts to think that there is a link between this location and the tasks. Trick your brain by getting your work done at one place and getting your personal tasks handled at another. This way, you are less likely to wander about the other while performing a certain task.
5. Don’t try to multitask: The worst thing you can do to manage your work and personal tasks side-by-side is to literally work on them side-by-side. Overloading and confusing your brain with too much at once won’t yield any results. Have clear distinctions of your tasks. Stop working on a task when you said you would and jump to the next, but do not try to do 2 or more jobs simultaneously.
Also Read:
Bored with journaling? Here is how to spruce up your practice.
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