We’ve invited guest blogger, Jessa Bright, to share her thoughts on how  to effectively juggle priorities in life and work for increased productivity. Thank you, Jessa, for your contribution. 

Life and its many demands can be more than a little overwhelming. Fulfilling each obligation – at work, at home, and in relationships – is difficult in its own right. How much more if you juggle everything at once?

This may seem insurmountable, but it’s definitely doable. With the right mindset and discipline, it’s possible to effectively juggle priorities in life without dropping the ball. Here’s how.

Get organized

Meticulous planning is important in any job and role, and it plays a huge part of doing well when wearing many hats. Fast Company explains that to-do lists are integral in juggling priorities. Writing your tasks down helps you remember everything you need to do, and it also helps your brain transform abstract goals into concrete, conquerable pieces of work.

Be sure to plan your day in a way that suits you the most. For instance, set your most challenging work at the start of the day if you’re a morning person, schedule coordination tasks or administrative duties in the afternoon when your team is most available, and so on. You can also cluster related tasks together to keep your mind in the zone.

Do things one step at a time

When you’ve got way too many tasks on your plate, it might seem like a good idea to multitask. However, MIT neuroscientist Earl Miller argues that multitasking mars productivity, causes mistakes, and hinders your mind from creative thought. No matter how good people think they are when it comes to multitasking, the fact is that human brains have limited capacity for simultaneous thought. We can only process bits of information at any given moment. Focus on one thing at a time and avoid temptations like an open e-mail inbox, phones, and extra computer screens.

Take advantage of available resources

When work, family, and relationships are all bearing down on you, it’s important to reach out and get some help. This can be in the form of extra hands such as delegating tasks to your team or enlisting the help of a loved one or friends on domestic matters during heavy work days.

In addition, support may also come from technology. There are a plethora of apps that help you limit distractions or organize to-do lists, while the internet and its ever-increasing connectivity has opened new opportunities for work-life flexibility. As an example, working students, for instance, may benefit through online education and learning, which helps them grow and become better at their job. Maryville University’s breakdown of online courses against traditional degrees, note that there are also different learning structures, one of which is asynchronous learning that allows students to complete coursework in their own time. This greater flexibility allows students to be able to manage their time and attend to their responsibilities better, especially for those with a lot of other tasks at work or at home. By leveraging available resources, you can manage your time better and do things more effectively.

Take care of yourself

Last but not least – don’t neglect your well-being. When schedules and to-do lists fill up, it’s all too common to sacrifice things like sleep. But in truth, lack of sleep can actually make it harder for you to complete tasks. The Big Think points out that sleep deprivation has severe negative implications to memory and cognitive thinking. This makes your mind sluggish the day after an all-nighter, which in turn, keeps you from fulfilling your responsibilities to the best of your ability. This doesn’t even mention the negative effects of sleep deprivation on physical and emotional health that can take their toll further down the road.

Make time to look after yourself, too. Know that you can’t do everything, which is not a bad thing. Instead, take pride in what you have finished. It helps to keep track of things that you have achieved despite your busy lifestyle for extra motivation!

Need further help to juggle your priorities or manage your time? Be sure to check out Debbie’s guide here, where she’ll get you thinking about choice as a time management and prioritization tool.

Content intended only for the use of itssimplyplaced.com  By: Jessa Bright