How to organise your daily tasks to function better

Kusum Vaidya is a doctor, has a family and has to manage a house packed with guests and relatives all the time. Her 17-year-old daughter is in college and frequently attends parties and movies, leaving Kusum anxious about her safety. Her software engineer son has his own pals and is often busy at work. Kusum’s husband is away most of the time because of his job.

Apart from the chores at home, she helps out her husband and two grown-up children and also minds her own clinic. Fatigue – worsened by a stressed out mind – is her constant companion. She doesn’t even have time for a leisurely cup of tea with her friends!

Like Kusum, many of us have learnt to take the many quandaries of daily life in the stride. Never in the history of India have all the strata of society changed at a faster speed than today, and it has all happened in the past five decades. ­Equal status, education and financial independence of women has brought them to the employment market in huge numbers. The traditional family setup is undergoing major changes, leaving women in an extremely stressful position.

However, by scheduling our tasks and completing them in the given time, just as we do at work, we can cope. Here are some ideas for organising your errands and responsibilities that will help you get your life in order.

n All tasks should be time-bound and doable in that span of time. Over-ambition about our work speed or capacity causes stress.

n A reasonable work-load is the key to success. When a task list becomes stressful, nothing gets done properly.

The most urgent or important work of the day has to get precedence and be completed as planned. Not more than one such job per day should be scheduled. In busy times, seeking help is a good idea.  A work list needs to be designed according to the health, age and abilities of the person who is to undertake each job.

n Preparation time for an important assignment should be marked in the list. Sometimes, we launch into a big job without the needed backgrounder and lose time because of our unpreparedness. Schedule an important assignment only when we can give single-minded energy to it. Once into the job, all other assignments must be locked into the strong-room of the brain for a while. Grading jobs for importance is a good idea.

n Once decided, the work should be completed on schedule. Many of us are super efficient at the workplace but leave things be in our homes because we are tired, stressed or bored.

Putting work or assignments off to another day without a very good reason is procrastination and this can become a bad habit.

n Most Indian women carry the dual responsibility of managing their career and running the home. Outsourcing minor errands is possible in most Indian cities today. Get home deliveries from the Internet or local groceries and medical shops in your area. There are also house-cleaning, laundry, car-drop services available these days. Working women can take advantage of such services after checking customer feedback, documents and licences.

n The days of the ‘homemaker’ making the home a comfort zone are now over. A family is a unit that works together for everyone’s benefit.

So it is a good idea to introduce children of the right age and the man of the house to some chores and tasks.

n A major task can be daunting. Break it into sections or steps and it can be done more easily. Put the most complicated tasks on the top of the list so you can do it when your energy is at the top level. Involve the family in the task if needed.

n Schedule a fun activity afterwards so that there is something to look forward to after the job is done.

n Allow no distractions that will disturb the flow of the job undertaken. There are softwares that you can put on your smartphone to silence all notifications.

Be aware of the time you spend on the tasks we have listed as ‘to do’ and stick to it as best as we can. The most important factor in doing any job or errand is the sense of accomplishment it brings you upon its completion to make your life better, more relaxed.

Your life is your canvas. The portrait of yourself that you paint on this canvas should be one of joy, peace, satisfaction and finally, faith in the future. This is the most important goal you can achieve.