Prioritizing Time to Manage StressFinding time to get all the things done that you want or need to do often leads to stress . You may be able to relieve some of this stress by prioritizing your time according to what is urgent and important. Use the following steps to prioritize your time. 1. Put your activities into categoriesMake a list of all the things you need or want to accomplish (tasks or activities) in a given day, week, or month. Look at the list and decide if an activity is important, urgent, or both important and urgent. All your activities are likely to be somewhat important and somewhat urgent, so rank them as more or less important or urgent compared with others on your list.
2. Sort your activities
3. Evaluate your prioritiesWhere do you spend most of your time? Is this in line with your priorities and goals? Many people find that they are putting most of their activities in category III (not important but urgent). If this is the case, you may be spending most of your time doing things that mean little to you. This often results in stress. Category I can't be ignored but should eventually shrink with attention to category II. For example, if you pay your bills when you get them, you won't have to juggle your finances and hurriedly write checks on their due date. This will also free up time to do things that are more important to you. Most experts say that you should spend:
The goal of this system is not merely to get more things done or to be more efficient but to clarify the way you set your priorities and how you choose to spend your time. Current as of: November 20, 2015 Author: Healthwise Staff Medical Review: Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine & Steven Locke, MD - Psychiatry |
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