A few simple habits make a big difference to getting through your work calmly.
Prioritise: urgent vs important
Sort your work into four groups:
| Urgent | Not urgent | |
|---|---|---|
| Important | Do first | Schedule a time |
| Not important | Do quickly or pass on | Drop or do last |
Start with urgent and important. Be careful that “urgent” interruptions don’t crowd out important work that has no deadline yet.
Plan your day
- List what’s due and roughly how long each will take.
- Block time for focused work, and protect it.
- Leave some buffer — things often take longer than expected.
Estimate, then check
- Give each item a rough time.
- If your estimates don’t fit the day, decide what moves — and tell your supervisor early.
Manage interruptions
- It’s fine to finish a focused piece before switching.
- For quick requests, jot them down so you don’t lose them.
- Use a quiet spot or a “focusing” status when you need to concentrate.
Review at the end of the day
- Tick off what’s done.
- Carry over what isn’t, and note anything that got in the way.
- A two-minute review sets up tomorrow.
Speak up early
If you can’t fit everything in, that’s normal — raise it before it’s overdue. See managing your workload and try the work-plan, priority-matrix and end-of-day-review templates.