10 Tips that Help Multi-Tasking Modern Women Become More Productive

Working women have a lot more on their plates than their male contemporaries, or even their own husbands. Most modern women take on an exceptional amount of work and then attempt to juggle family obligations on top of that. It’s no wonder we’re all feeling a bit burnt out. 

That’s why it’s even more important for you to be more productive. After all, you can’t make more hours in a day, and you are only going to deplete yourself if you push yourself too much. So, what’s the solution? Read on and you’ll find these 10 tips to help you become more productive today!

1. Craft a strategy

There is always more than one way to get something done. The trick is figuring out which way works best for you. When something affects your productivity, you must make a strategy that works around it so you can get to the tasks that need to be done first and prevent falling behind.   

2. Do the most important items before lunch

Prioritize everything that needs to be done for the day and tackle top priority items first. Once you do, you’ll instantly feel more productive and you’ll feel less stress knowing you’ve tackled the most critical things and accomplished them.

3. Make time to care for your health

We have this tendency to put everyone before ourselves until we’ve completely lost our sparkle. In addition to saying ‘no’ when applicable, say ‘yes’ to yourself and take care of your health. You won’t be any good to anyone if you don’t work in time to get exercise, eat healthy, get enough sleep, or clear your mind. It’s a basic right you deserve. Take it and use it to replenish yourself. With a clear mind and healthy body, you’ll be able to accomplish so much more!

4. Make family time have a purpose

Family is so important too, but the trouble is when work is chaotic, you simply want to mellow out rather than expend more energy running around with your family. Instead, make the time you have together useful and fun. You can schedule yourself around field trips to be the chaperone, pack a picnic to enjoy with the rest of your family while one of your kids has a soccer game, and many other opportunities. Even when life is crazy, your kids will remember these precious moments with happiness, and so will you the next time you’re stuck in another boring meeting. 

5. Use the power of delegation in the office and at home

If you find you’re doing everything, stop and take stock of your resources. Have your assistant look up that information you need to present to a client later in the week. Delegating to others makes the entire workplace more productive. The same is true at home. Have the kids do chores so you’re not spending all your free time at home cleaning and you’ll have more time for doing the things you love, like spending time with them. 

6. Stop saying ‘yes’ to everything

We all have the same amount of hours in a day. Why do some women seem more productive? It’s because they delegate and they know how to say ‘no’ to something. Manage your timetable wisely by declining from time to time. No one can do it all and you won’t be able to do anything if you’re too burnt out and ill to carry on. 

7. Set an email time and stick to it

One major time suck we all endure is email. Surely, you have to respond to important messages and to your clients in a timely fashion. In the morning, set aside a brief window of time to respond to your inbox. Then ignore incoming messages (unless it pertains to anything on your important items you’re completing) and respond at another set time in the afternoon. Whatever you do, don’t stop what you’re doing every time someone emails. 

8. Let technology lead the way

While it’s never a good idea to get sucked into social media feeds where you can easily waste time, technology does have some perks. Those perks include apps that can help you stay on task and organize your life. Use them wisely and they’ll be like having a personal assistant around the clock to help you keep track of everything. 

9. Only multi-task on complementary items

Some say multi-tasking can only slow you down, but anyone who has ever made dinner for their family knows multi-tasking in the right situations can save you time. Dinner would take hours if you only focused on one part of the meal at a time, wouldn’t it? While you won’t always be able to multi-task with everything, for those moments it makes sense, go for it and kill two birds with one stone!

10. Make mini goals that take you to your big goals

It’s so hard to see the light at the tunnel sometimes that getting something done feels more frustrating than ever. Instead of looking at a big client pitch from the bigger picture view only, make mini goals you can check off that help you get there. You’ll feel much less overwhelmed when you can track what you’ve accomplished toward that big goal. 

It isn’t always easy to be productive. If you’ve ever felt like everything you do seems to take up more time, take a step back and work these tips in. You’ll find you have time for what’s important in your life when you set boundaries and goals, and when you delegate to the right people. Managing your time will make you feel like you’ve suddenly gained an hour back in your life. How you choose to use it is entirely up to you!