Feeling swamped, feeling overwhelmed, or simply feeling like last minute rushes are the cornerstone of our lives are anxieties so common, that our modern age coined a catch-all term to describe the manic feeling of facing shrinking deadlines: burnout.
Whether you are a seasoned team leader, a new team member, a student, a working professional, or just a very busy person, burnout is one of the most significant challenges people face in their evermore packed day-to-day lives. In the workplace, a large workload, tight deadlines, and a culture that often correlates productivity and progress with endless working hours can easily lead to burnout.
This problem is more common than you may think. According to a recent report by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, over 52% of American working professionals polled stated that they experienced burnout within the past year at work.
Burnout can sometimes seem inevitable, but I'm not here today to talk about how serious a problem burnout itself can be; I want to focus on actionable solutions.
In my many years of trying and testing different methods for managing burnout, I've discovered that strategic time management can enable workers to prioritize tasks effectively, take initiative in their goal setting, and establish healthy habits that enable them to stay focused and feel empowered when tackling complex tasks.
Understanding the Importance of Time Management
Effective time management can often lead to improved efficiency and happiness, but I like to think of it more as a tool for establishing balance. Time blocking for our weekly tasks with intention can help us in setting boundaries and lay a foundation for a healthy work life balance that makes room for both productivity and rest.
When we don't approach a to do list with an action plan, we risk getting stuck in the cycle of overwork and quickly exhausting our minds and spirits. Time blocking is a powerful tool because it helps you take control of your day, set smart goals that are realistic, and ensure that you are giving yourself a reasonable workload where both actual work and much-needed leisure have their place.
Setting Goals for Effective Time Management
Goal setting is where we should always start when we want to prevent burnout. We set ourselves up for failure if we approach each day without clear goals, or a solidified idea of how we intend to handle all the tasks on the to do list. In my last blog post on the subject, I tried to highlight how crucial it is to have a solid goal setting process from the beginning, and I want to reiterate it here.
Your daily, weekly, and monthly goals may look different, but all goals should have some element of:
- Collaboration: Set your goals by identifying and involving team members that could potentially help your progress, and whether or not your progress hinges on their work output.
- Emotion: Consider your emotional state and habits; what tasks tend to stress you out the most despite being necessary to achieve a goal? Using techniques like the “eat the frog” method where you tackle your least preferred task first can often set you up with a more positive attitude to accomplish the subsequent tasks throughout the rest of the day.
- Adaptability: Goals should allow for adaptability and flexibility, as things rarely ever go exactly as planned. Take into consideration any changes in your environment, workload, or duties, and be open to adjusting your approaches as needed.
Prioritizing Tasks Effectively
Once you have concrete goals established, move towards getting their relative importance ironed out. Some tasks may appear like they do not require our immediate attention, but it's easy to forget them as we potentially waste time on smaller objectives that are not time bound.
The Eisenhower Matrix is a helpful tool to determine how urgent and important tasks are in relationship to one another using four quadrants:
- Important and Urgent: Do these tasks as soon as possible. They should be the first things you tackle each day and should be high on your priority list.
- Important but Not Urgent: Schedule these tasks for later when you have more time, but keep track of them as they are still important tasks.
- Urgent but Not Important: Delegate these tasks if possible to free up your time to complete bigger tasks that may take more of your time.
- Neither Urgent nor Important: Eliminate or postpone these tasks, as they are not critical for you to achieve your specific goal.
Creating a Daily Time Blocking Schedule
1. Start by defining focused blocks for your most urgent tasks.
Once you know your key priorities, the next step is to designate blocks of time for focused, deep work—time where you need to work without distractions on your highest priority tasks. This might be an hour or two in the morning when most people are energized, but you might also find the afternoon works better for you. Whatever block of time you decide on, remember that it is the dedicated "get work done" block.
Time blocks in general help to not only improve productivity but also help to prevent burnout by ensuring that your efforts are concentrated and effective. This way, you’re making tangible progress during the day, rather than spreading yourself thin across multiple tasks without a clear headspace.
- Example: Block off 9 AM to 11 AM as “focus time” for working on presentations, reports, or any task requiring concentration. This leaves you feeling accomplished and clears up mental space for other responsibilities.
2. Allow for time blocks that enable healthy work-life balance.
Remember that you are human and need time to rest and recharge; one of the quickest ways to get massive burnout is to neglect your need for a break. Learning to say "no," is crucial here, and even if you do have time to spare, that time may be more effective as downtime.
Scheduling short breaks during the day is essential for mental recharge, even when it feels like there’s no time for them. Setting boundaries may seem like we are being selfish, but prioritizing your self-care allows you to stay focused on completing your remaining tasks.
- Example: Block off small 10 minute breaks each hour that allow you to walk, stretch, or just rest without thinking about work. These small pauses may seem insignificant, but taking short breaks can prevent burnout, and help your brain and body recover throughout the day.
3. Anticipate and plan for distractions and interruptions.
Distractions happen easily; while writing this very blog post, I got distracted checking emails for 5 minutes! But rather than accept distractions as obstacles towards our focused work, we instead want to make them work for us.
Plan for them.
If you already know that some colleagues and clients are especially talkative or seek to communicate during your designated productivity blocks, set boundaries by establishing clear expectations and communication channels. This can be as simple as sharing your calendar with them, or stating that certain times are better than others to talk during the week.
If your regular distraction is digital such as browsing social media or your emails, use technology to block distracting websites and apps, minimizing digital distractions -- these often come with a time limit, and enable you to set boundaries with yourself and keep control of your focus throughout your day.
- Example: You know that you are prone to scrolling through your emails despite already answering important ones. You set the email application to only alert you for priority communications, and to be silent until the end of your workday.
4. Review and adjust the time block schedule, as needed.
It's almost expected that the first time you try time blocking, you'll need to adjust certain aspects. This is usually because most people find that their idea of a productive day doesn't mesh well with the reality of their day-to-day. It's easy to dedicate large amounts of time to certain tasks when in reality, they take only a fraction of the time. It's all part of the process, I promise.
At the end of the week, regularly review schedule and task progress, evaluating effectiveness and efficiency by seeing what you accomplished on time, and identifying areas where you finished things ahead of schedule. Adjust the schedule as needed to stay on track, making adjustments to prioritize tasks and goals.
- Example: You find that last week, you were ahead of schedule on the same daily tasks, while you were rushing to complete another. Try and modify the amount of time you place on the tasks you complete relatively quickly, and decide if that time is better used for the more difficult priority.
Time management is for everyone.
No matter what job you work at, managing time through dedicated blocks can help you accomplish more without feeling rushed or overwhelmed. A clearly defined schedule helps us maintain proper priorities, keep our focus on the success down the road, and advocate for a healthy work life balance.
Above all, time blocking provides structure, but it also brings balance, ensuring that productivity doesn’t come at the expense of your well-being. Completing urgent tasks effectively should never be more important than keeping yourself healthy and balanced.
A time-blocked schedule allows you to work with intention and provides space for breaks, creativity, and self-care. Over time, this balance becomes the key to sustained productivity and long-term success, keeping burnout at bay while helping you feel in control of your day.
