Taking on too many tasks at work can lead to stress, burnout, less time with family and friends, and an inability to meet core job responsibilities. Effective time management includes setting SMART goals, planning your time, prioritizing tasks, and establishing time frames for tasks. Prioritizing ensures focusing on urgent and important tasks first.

1. Zahid Akhtar
Soft Skill Expert

2. Taking on too much at work can have several
negative consequences in both your professional and
personal life, such as:
 It can cause a high degree of stress and eventually
lead you to “burn out”
 Overtime can eat into your time spent with family
and friends, relaxing or exercising, and
 It can result in a failure to meet your core work
responsibilities because you are too busy with other
tasks
When you are trying to balance too many things at
once you are more prone to making mistakes, which
can be frustrating for anyone involved.

3.  Feeling like you don’t have
enough time in the day to get
things done can be very stressful.
Since there are only so many
hours in the day – hours that
cannot be reclaimed – it is
essential that you learn how to
effectively manage your time.
 Time management is about making
the most of your time and making
sure that the time you do have is
used in the most productive way.
 Time management starts with
identifying your goals. During the
course of your day, you need to
manage your tasks in relation to
time available to you. The way
you schedule most of your tasks
will center around their deadlines
and completion dates.

4. Effective goals can be categorized by
SMART:
 Specific
 Measurable
 Attainable
 Realistic, and
 Time-related
Strategy #1
Know Your Job Responsibilities & Goals – it is important to know what your core job
responsibilities and goals are, so that you can prioritize meeting these over taking on new or
other assignments. Goals are specific outcomes you have identified to assist you in
determining what it is you need to do and when. Without goals, it is easy to spend time on
tasks that have no clearly defined purpose.
When setting SMART goals you need to answer several questions, such
as who, what, where, when, which, and why. It is easier to attain your
goals when you plan your steps wisely and establish a time frame that
allows you to carry out those steps.

5.  Strategy #4
Establish Time Frames – To manage your time well, you should
know not only what tasks you need to accomplish, but also when
those tasks must be completed and how long they will take. If you
estimate timeframes accurately, you will be able to schedule work
efficiently and meet deadlines on time.
Strategy #2
Plan Your Time – planning your day can help you
accomplish more and feel more in control of your life.
Keep a schedule of your daily activities to minimize
conflicts and last-minute deadlines.
Strategy #3
Prioritize Tasks – When you are faced with an overwhelming workload,
the best option is to prioritize. Prioritizing tasks will ensure that you
spend your time and energy on those that are truly important. By giving
each task a priority, you are distinguishing between tasks that are:
urgent and important
important but not urgent
urgent but not important
not urgent and not important

6.  Strategy #4
Establish Time Frames – To manage your time well, you should
know not only what tasks you need to accomplish, but also when
those tasks must be completed and how long they will take. If you
estimate timeframes accurately, you will be able to schedule work
efficiently and meet deadlines on time.
Strategy #2
Plan Your Time – planning your day can help you
accomplish more and feel more in control of your life.
Keep a schedule of your daily activities to minimize
conflicts and last-minute deadlines.
Strategy #3
Prioritize Tasks – When you are faced with an overwhelming workload,
the best option is to prioritize. Prioritizing tasks will ensure that you
spend your time and energy on those that are truly important. By giving
each task a priority, you are distinguishing between tasks that are:
urgent and important
important but not urgent
urgent but not important
not urgent and not important