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How to organize your schedule so that excess tasks do not overwhelm you
Psychology
The problem we often find is that the schedule we set does not meet certain basic necessary characteristics that make it effective and causes us stress and anxiety
It will certainly be very exciting not knowing what a working day is going to bring you, but nothing comparable to storing a gazillion ‘post it’ on the table, next to the computer, in the fridge and anywhere you know you are going to look at them and They will remind you of that task that you hope you will not forget. Likewise, all those who love to plan their day to day have an agenda in which they write down absolutely everything, not for fear of not remembering a meeting or a call but to better organize the 24 hours they have each day.
«From that hour to that hour I have a meeting, then I have half an hour left over which is the one that I am going to use to check the mail, then an interview, later I elaborate such a matter …», thus a long etcetera of «plans» mainly work that many People structure in such a way that they expect to comply with everything. Far from stressing us out, it will help us organize ourselves better.
Following a schedule is a very good tool for achieve the goals we set for ourselves, whether at work, at home or in our free time. The problem we often find is that the scheduled schedule does not meet certain basic characteristics necessary to make it effective, and in these cases, Elena Capelo Montalvo, general health psychologist at the Cepsim psychological center, warns, the schedule ends up being «a source of stress and frustration»Since we are not fulfilling what we have set ourselves.
To fulfill it
In order to make a useful schedule adapted to our objectives, the expert indicates that she has to take into account, first of all, our ability to work: «Not everyone is equally productive and we do not work the same at all hours of the day. It requires us to be aware of how our performance is to be able to take advantage of the moments in which our attention and concentration is most optimal.
Being realistic with the time we allocate to each task is also essential to “not fail” since if we underestimate it we can delay the rest of the tasks, causing a lot of frustration, anger and stress. “It is also essential to take into account the breaks and not saturate all our time with work tasks, but also structure in the schedule time for breaks and leisure necessary to improve productivity,” he concludes.
But these expert advice to be able to comply with what we propose on a day-to-day basis has an incentive: we must be realistic with what we intend to achieve because the day only has 24 hours and, taking into account that some of them must go Aimed at our rest, we must know how to organize or delegate some tasks to other days of the week when there is more free time.
The main and most important benefit to comply with is the structure that sets a schedule for us, which leaves less room for improvisation and procrastination and takes away the time we need to decide what the next task to be done will be.
“We must bear in mind that people are animals of habit and when we do not have them, our performance decreases since the uncertainty is much greater. A schedule also allows us to focus our attention on a single task while when there is none we usually keep in mind all the tasks that we have to perform and this, apart from causing more stress, decreases our attention and, therefore, our capacity. work ”, warns Elena Capelo.
And one of the fundamental things in order not to fail in the accomplishment of our tasks is to set a flexible schedule so that it is more effective. An excessively rigid schedule will be a burden when problems and unforeseen events arise at work, as the psychologist says, so we have to be able to restructure it if tasks are added at the last minute or if we are not able to carry it out. In these cases it is essential that we be compassionate and reasonable with ourselves and not self-apply disproportionate punishments, but focus on solve the setback and learn from it, “he concludes.
Since we live in a world in which the hours of the clock mark our rhythm and instead of trying to enjoy the time we try to make the minutes hours (so that the day will spread more), if we are kind with the times established for each task, we would not have to cause harmful stress. Of course, remember that mild and moderate levels of stress not held in excess they are good and necessary to work.
In summary, the ideal would be to allocate realistic times, even with a small margin to save the unforeseen events that we may encounter. “Forgetting the time may be more appropriate in leisure time or recreational activities, it will help us to connect with what is happening at that time and to enjoy that time,” says Elena Capelo.