Tips on How To Complete Tasks on Time and Not Forget Something

In any activity, we all want to be productive and efficient. This has a positive effect on our career, our reputation and even our mental health. After all, this is a very pleasant feeling of satisfaction when you have done everything planned and can relax.

Unfortunately, not everyone is able to complete tasks on time for various reasons. Because of this, there is a feeling of anxiety, self-doubt and other mood disorders. That is why it is so important to be able to not only plan your day and set tasks, but to do them competently and rationally.

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Let's take a look at the main points that can positively affect the efficiency of task completion

Priorities

Determine what is most important to you. Every day we need to do dozens of tasks, but not all of them bring us closer to our life goals. Therefore, it is important to prioritise. For example, a freelancer may prioritise tasks related to finding new clients and servicing current ones. Determine what you can put off until later. As a rule, these are not urgent and not important tasks. Write down your priorities so you can always look at them.

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Digital means of planning

Although some of us prefer the old-fashioned way of using a diary or sticking notes on a monitor, such a list is difficult to keep on hand all the time. In addition, you can accidentally leave the diary at home and forget something important.

Most task manager apps can sync across all your devices, so you’ll always have access to your to-do list, not only at work, but also while on a business trip or in a meeting.

There are many task managers in the app market with different feature sets and interfaces, so you can choose the app to your liking. There are both paid and free to do list applications among them.

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Unwanted tasks first

At this point, we would like to talk about a wonderful way to deal with procrastination. Surely this phenomenon is familiar to many. You have some very complex and voluminous tasks that you put off, do not want to do, and, as a result, do nothing. To ease your pain, many experts advise doing the most difficult or, on the contrary, tedious and unwanted tasks in the morning. Thus, after completing it, your day will go on lightly, and you will calmly finish all the less depressing tasks with a sense of calm and satisfaction.

Make a list of what not to do

If you often don’t have enough time to complete all the tasks on your to-do list, try making a not to-do list. Analyse everything you do and try to give up things that do not bring much benefit.

Ask yourself some questions about how you spend your time at work. What do you spend the most time on? How do certain things change your life? Are these things good for your career? And for personal life? Make a list of things that are not useful, not feasible, or just wasting your time.

An example of this approach is automation. After all, what is the reason to do routine tasks manually if they can be automated? This also includes the choice of font, for example. It is not so critical as to waste a colossal amount of time.

Creating such a list is a good psychological exercise that will help you get rid of things that waste your time and distract your attention. Of course, such a list does not need to be compiled regularly. It is enough to update it a couple of times a year.

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Make your to-do list accessible to others

There are several reasons for this. First, this way you will be more responsible. If you know that your co-workers or acquaintances have access to your to-do list, you are more likely to try to better prioritise and set realistic goals. It will also motivate you to complete your plans on time.

Secondly, it is necessary if you are working on the same task with your business partner or team. Some applications allow you to divide tasks into subtasks and assign each subtask to the right person. With apps like this, you can keep your colleagues updated on your progress, as well as leave comments if you need to discuss or clarify something.

Multitasking is not a plus

For the human brain, multitasking is not a normal process, because frequent switching of attention is energy-consuming, and its possibilities are not unlimited. Still, we operate more effectively when we give our full attention to the activity that is being performed at the moment. At the same time, a modern person, indeed, has a lot of daily tasks that need to be done.

The brain is designed to focus on one thing at a time, and the bombardment of information creates a dangerous feedback loop: we feel like we’re doing a ton of things, when in fact we’re doing nothing at all (or at least nothing requiring critical thinking). So in a sense, multitasking is simply impossible: our attention and consciousness can only focus on one moment, and switching between them has its price.

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Fix the time on the calendar

If you use an app that allows your co-workers or clients to access your calendar, and also allows them to add tasks to it or set appointments, you should reserve blocks of time during which you can get down to business without being distracted by anything else.

Reward yourself for completing tasks

Sure, crossing a task off your to-do list can be fun in and of itself, but sometimes we need extra motivation in order to focus on work. Especially if you’re doing something you don’t like. Then it’s time to come up with a reward system!

For example, after completing each task, you can afford to go to your favourite website, eat or drink something tasty, or watch an interesting video. You can even try paying yourself every time you complete a particularly difficult project.

Set due dates, reminders and notifications. Tasks mean little if you don’t get them done on time. The to-do list app lets you track due dates and create reminders or notifications to help you complete work on time.

Plan things in the evening

Spending ten minutes in the evening making a to-do list for the next day helps you focus on your work.

List the things that you must definitely complete tomorrow, and start checking mail and messages only after you have completed all the items on the list.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, efficiency and productivity at work and in everyday life are essential. This gives both practical tangible benefits and inner satisfaction. There are ways to increase these indicators, some of which we have discussed above. Once you start using them, you will be on time for everything and you will never forget anything. You will also unload your head from the need to remember promises and deeds that need to be fulfilled.