Even if you have multiple similar tasks to do, only do one thing at a time and don’t jump back and forth between them. For example, work on only sending emails or finishing a report. Don’t finish a page of the report and then send a few emails before working on the report again.
For instance, if you have to look up the phone number for a few local businesses and buy something online, you can use your phone to look up the contact information, and then place the order through an app. Then, you can put your phone away and focus on completing other tasks. If you have a few phone calls to make, make them consecutively, and then take a break from using your phone while you finish other tasks.
For instance, if you have a term paper to finish and a few calls to make, you should plan to finish the paper in the morning, and make the phone calls in the afternoon. That way, the paper will be completed and you can knock out the smaller tasks quickly.
This is especially helpful if you’re working around other people who are talking or generally being loud.
Even if you don’t feel like you need a break, take a short one anyway. Stand up and stretch, or take some time to drink some water. Your body will thank you!
When you use an item, remember to put it back in the bucket or replace it with a new one for the next time you clean.
If your house or apartment has multiple floors, consider having a bucket for each floor to avoid having to carry all of your products up and down the stairs.
For instance, in your bedrooms, focus on gathering dirty clothes, putting away clean clothes, making the bed, dusting, and vacuuming. Once you finish the bedroom, move to the bathroom to spray down the surfaces, clean the toilet, clean the mirror, scrub the sink and shower, wipe down the surfaces, and mop the floor. In the kitchen, do the dishes, load the dishwasher, clean the counters, wipe down appliances, and mop the floor. Save the living room for the last part, and remember to clean up clutter, dust the room, wipe down surfaces, and vacuum the entire room.
Once you’re done mopping or vacuuming, you can pull the vacuum or mop out of the doorway and move on to the next room.
For some people, having a written list is more helpful because they can cross of each task as they finish it. If you won’t get distracted by your phone, you can use a reminder or to-do list app to make a virtual list. Then, you can remove each task as you finish it, and you don’t have to worry about losing your list.
For example, vacuuming the house might take 15 minutes, depending on how many rooms you have to vacuum. Writing a business report might take longer, like 60 minutes, because it requires research and writing.
For example, if you have a lot of phone calls and emails to send, devote 10 minutes to making as many phone calls as possible, focusing on the most important calls first. If you have a lot of emails to reply to, set aside 10 minutes to respond to the most pressing emails, and then leave the rest for a day when you have more free time.
If you’re less than 3/4 of the way finished with the task, consult your schedule to see which tasks can be put off so that you can finish. Alternatively, you can stop working on the task if it doesn’t need to be completed that day.
If you need to ask for an extension on the deadline for an assignment, be sure to explain the situation. Don’t expect to be granted an extension, and don’t use the extension to procrastinate until the new deadline!
If your deadline is far away, you can split up your work over many days. However, if it’s closer, you may need to devote a few days just to working on completing the project.
