time management

Whether you supplement your full-time salary with a part-time position or you rely on multiple part-time positions for your income, juggling more than one job is challenging. Managing your time, stress, and energy levels effectively for success takes conscientious lifestyle changes.

From maintaining your physical and emotional health to balancing your personal life with your professional goals, working two jobs can take a toll on your financial and mental stability.

Finance experts, lifestyle bloggers, employers, and even college students agree that enhancing your organizational and planning skills can help you keep a healthy perspective while also staying on task. Here are the top recommended principles to help you work two jobs:

1.Make a Daily To-Do List

Aside from keeping you organized, the advantage of list-making is learning how to prioritize the importance of each item. In as little as 15 minutes at the beginning or end of each day, you can stay task-oriented and focused. "I've worked a full-time job while maintaining several freelance contracts on the side, and the critical advice I can give is to stay organized," said Glenn Carter, author of the personal finance blog The Casual Capitalist.

2. Begin Each Day with One Easy Task

The first action you take in the morning sets the tone of the day, so an easy micro-habit of accomplishing one easy task, such as taking a walk or watering the plants, can set your mind in a "proactive" mode rather than a "reactive" mode, according to Nick Loper, founder of the Side Hustle Nation.

3. Communicate Well with All Your Employers

After assessing the time and energy commitments each job requires of you, divide your availability responsibly between employers. Clearly communicate to your bosses when you are available in order to avoid conflicts of interest that would cause your performance to suffer. Generally, the highest-paying or most stable job should take precedence, so be realistic about your motivations for working for each employer. At BalanceCareers, they urge, "Do not let the second job encroach on the quality of your work performance of your first job," because ideally you've picked your second job carefully in order to best suit your availability and skill sets.

4. Have Clear End Goals

Ultimately, working more than one job is rarely tenable. Stay reflective and self-aware about your reasons for balancing two separate work schedules. Bobbi Rebell, financial expert and author of How to Be a Financial Grownup, urges people who work multiple jobs to have a strategy for accomplishing their final goal. "For example, to earn money to pay down a debt," she says. "Or to save for a vacation. Or to acquire a new skill that can expand your professional options. Or to explore whether a business is financially viable. You have to be careful not to just work two jobs for the sake of it, because that can be exhausting,"

5. Do NOT Neglect Yourself

Sleep needs to remain a priority, even if it seems counterintuitive to optimizing your productivity. Jeff Proctor, finance expert, reminds his clients, "Missing sleep can quickly compound into less focus and decreased productivity at work, which can actually lead to depression. Moral of the story: get your sleep." Eating well and exercising are equally important in order to ward off avoidable illnesses and physical burnout.

No one makes perfect plans the first time around. Balancing your personal and professional well-being is an ongoing process for every adult. When you're working two jobs, the challenges can seem overwhelming, but these small, daily lifestyle changes can add a sense of structure and stability to otherwise chaotic schedules.

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The business landscape of 2019 is changing with the turbulent times, and to succeed will require high emotional intelligence as well as mental acuity.

According to business strategists and high-powered employers, the most valuable skills an employee can have are a mix of in-demand "hard," or technical and knowledge-based, skills and "soft," or behavioral and attitudinal, strengths. Here are the top 10 skills to help you succeed in 2019:

1.Problem solving

It takes holistic thinking to be able to grasp a problem quickly and produces viable plan. But strong problem-solving skills also require a continual process of absorbing information and taking multiple factors into consideration.

2. Critical thinking

Delving into a problem beyond the surface is the extra step it takes to be the most productive. Furthermore, in the trial and error process that can occur when plans go wrong, looking at a problem from multiple angles becomes vital.

3. Creativity

Be a unique contribution to your workplace. According to Marty Neumeier, "It is important to keep learning. Others cannot duplicate or reproduce your original work. If you want to be original, you have to become an inventor and build the foundation to the structure of your invention from scratch."

4. Communication

In a media-laden world of constant information, the ability to not only retain but transmit information is highly valued. Both written and oral communication build the connections that keep teams together and tasks goal-oriented.

5. Empathy

Whether working with co-workers or clients, the ability to recognize and respect others' emotions and sensibilities and respond accordingly is an irreplaceable skill.

6. Time Management

This straightforward skill has clear advantages of keeping yourself and your team on-task and productive in the most efficient use of time.

7. Collaboration

The ability to be a team player is crucial in a workplace. Working well with others enhances productivity and morale, even during times of high stress.

8. Resourcefulness

Combining creativity and problem-solving skills with heightened awareness of the work space and its resources allows optimal productivity. Employers notice workers who are able to face a challenge head on and achieve their goals despite it .

9. Adaptability

When things inevitably deviate from scheduled plans, it's crucial to have the "cognitive flexibility" to be able to improvise. As Alvin Toffler said, "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn."

10. Cultural Awareness

Similar to empathy, employers are recognizing now more than ever that in order to contribute meaningful work to the public employees must demonstrate cultural awareness. That means recognizing and appreciating diversity in terms of acknowledging the needs of disparate communities and being sensitive to ongoing issues within those groups.

In 2019, the most valuable skills an employee can have combine humanity with efficiency. Whether a company provides a product or a service, it's vital to understand how society can benefit from the fruits of its labor.

While it seems that everyone could benefit from some extra time, making the most of your time can give the illusion that you have more of it. With fixed daily tasks and spontaneous assignments, late nights can become the norm. But with knowledge about time management, you can maximize the little time you have and get more done. Here are some tips to get you there.

1. Always ask for a deadline.

The word "deadline" sends a lot of us into panic mode, making us recall sleepless nights in the library at college trying to get a paper in on time. But fear not. Much like the words "diet" or "budget," these negatively stigmatized words are actually designed to give you more freedom. A deadline will give you the opportunity to plan how long an assignment will take. If you are not given a deadline, give yourself one so that you will hold yourself accountable. But according to Ty Kiisel at Forbes, "don't make promises you can't keep." Be realistic, and get your work done on time.

2. Overestimate how long a task will take.

Playing it safe is always better than rushing to complete an assignment. Just giving yourself a buffer of five or ten minutes can help you feel more relaxed and ahead of schedule. Working with a clear head will allow you to focus more on the task at hand and less on the ticking clock.

3. Prioritize realistically.

You know this one. Not every task will be of equal importance, so be smart about prioritizing. If you can, plan for more difficult assignments in the beginning of the day when you are fresh and alert, and more rote tasks later on in the day when you'll likely need a break. Kevin Purdy of Fast Company warns against checking your email during the first hour of your day. Instead, do some heavy lifting.

4. Do less tasks per day.

When you have 100 items on your to do list, the chances will be low that you'll get anything done. Give yourself only the tasks that you know you will get done today. Keep it to 5 to 7 items, only. That's about all we can handle. Plus, a to do list that's all checked off is so much nicer than one that still has outstanding items. Here's a great resource to make your to do list!

5. Make an hour-by-hour schedule.

Think back to high school. Every hour of your day was scheduled out by classes, and it worked. Do the same in your work life, but understand that things will be variable. If you have a potential schedule to work from, though, it will be a lot easier to know what you're going to do every day. We like to write it down in a planner, old school, but feel free to use calendar apps if that floats your boat better.

6. Revel in your contingency time.

Remember all that extra time you have because you overestimated the time it takes to do your tasks? Now, use that time as contingency to take care of anything that was unexpected, or just relax!

7. Take frequent breaks to separate activities.

Your breaks are your rewards between completing tasks. Don't think that taking a break will waste time. It will actually help boost your endurance by giving you the chance to recharge and get that circulation going.

You have a lot more time than you think you do, if you use it efficiently. But we won't hold you up anymore. Get back to work!

We all want to be standouts at work from the moment we reach our desks until we shut the lights for the evening. Part of being a stellar employee is being as productive as possible. But with the wide array of distractions, disturbances, and unforeseen dilemmas that weasel their way into the everyday, productivity can unfortunately dwindle.

Don't let non-important nuisances and idiotic interruptions meddle with your mind. You can be in charge of your work day and make productivity the primary priority. When you weed out the nonsense and time-wasting capacity-crushers, your productiveness will soar and the lost opportunities will be found once again.

These 4 things that are causing you to be less productive at work must be wrangled in and repurposed in order for you to make the most of your work day. Follow these tips to achieve better concentration and control. Productivity = power!

Email Eagerness

While not many of us hear that exciting notification, "You've Got Mail!" anymore, the moment a new email arrives in the inbox is a real thrill for many. Do you check your inbox countless times throughout the day, perhaps every time a new item comes in? Not only is this slightly obsessive, it's severely sucking the time out of what's sure to be an already busy day.

As per Hubspot, "Constantly switching tasks between work and email can really hurt your productivity. To help you focus in chunks of time, turn off those pesky email alerts and limit checking your email to specified breaks."

Consider 3 checks per day – first thing in the morning, before lunch, and an hour before you plan to leave in order to give you enough time to respond to anything pressing. Believe it or not, no one is expecting you to reply to their email immediately (unless they fall into the unproductive category). If something is extremely urgent, you'll receive a phone call… remember those?

Additionally, you can set your email to automatically send certain items into pre-set folders for your perusing preferences. Check the high priority folders a bit more frequently, if necessary, when something is of top concern or you're on a tight deadline.

It may take time and a little uneasiness to make this email checking change, but over time, the increase in your productivity will become evident. Don't be held captive by your inbox! You're in charge of what gets opened and when.

Social Media Sink Hole

One of the biggest disruptions of the modern age is social media. Feeds, pages, profiles, and pics are draining the life out of a full day of work. Your Twitter page is likely opened in a tab on your computer right now. Unless you actually work for Twitter or are a social media manager or have a similar job, there's no reason that any social media site should be part of your work day. And you're only fooling yourself if you constantly check Facebook on your smart phone on the down low.

Is it really that important to "like" Betty's status update when you should be finishing that report due at 3pm? Sure, it's cool that she's having fun on her honeymoon in Barbados, but that won't impress your boss when he reads your less-than-complete review of the company's Q3 earnings.

Train yourself to only check social media during your lunch break. Or, gasp, wait until you get home. You'll be surprised how free you will start to feel. And don't forget to change your settings on your phone so you aren't interrupted by notifications and messages from your more easily-distracted (and still underproductive) friends. The posts and photos won't disappear if you didn't see them the instant they were put live. What may disappear is your focus if you choose to give in to the urge to waste time and scroll through silly pet pictures and political memes all day.

Meetings Mania

Do you find yourself responding "Yes" to every single meeting request you receive? Sure, no one wants to miss out on a good gathering, but before agreeing to attend, take a moment to assess whether or not you'll benefit from participating.

Many meeting invites are sent as a courtesy rather than a real need. Plus, any decent invitation will come with a brief synopsis of the planned agenda and what the intended goal is. Will you gain anything from spending up to an hour sitting in this meeting or is your input vital to its success? If the answer is no, then that should be your R.S.V.P. as well. You can always get a summary of the meeting after the fact or send someone else from your department who'd be a better fit for the meeting's intentions.

And don't worry about offending anyone or feeling left out. Saying yes to everything doesn't make you a better worker, it only makes you a people-pleaser. According to Under 30 CEO, "Any time you say 'yes' to something, it means less time and energy you can give to something else. Ask yourself where this fits into the importance/urgency grid." If it falls on the low end, it only makes sense to focus on the work that will move the needle.

As per Hubspot, "The average person wastes 31 hours in meetings per month." Not to mention the time it takes to get back to what you were working on before the meeting began. Hubspot notes that is takes about 25 minutes to refocus after switching tasks. And if there's more than one meeting per day, your productivity will pitfall pitifully.

Multitasking Mayhem

We've all got a lot on our plate, but trying to do everything at once is a productivity nightmare. It's difficult to get deep into the nitty gritty of any one particular task when your mind is scattered on everything you need to work on simultaneously.

Hubspot asserts that, "Research shows (multitasking) can make us less effective, increase mistakes and stress, and costs the global economy an estimated $450 billion every year. Only 2% of the population is capable of effectively multitasking. For the other 98%, all it does is cause us to be 40% less productive and make 50% more mistakes than non-multitaskers."

You must keep your focus on one item at a time. Finish the job and move on. You'll feel satisfied that a task is completed from start to end and you can move on to the next task with a fresh mindset. At first you may have trouble getting the other agenda items out of your head, but you'll need to have a clear head in order to get the best result for each project.

Under 30 CEO suggests making a "To Do" list to keep your thoughts in check. Itemize what's on your schedule and prioritize them, getting to the most urgent matters first. It's a shame to leave your office with a bunch of tasks only partially completed. It can lead to stress, frustration, and a manager that's not sufficiently satisfied with your achievements. Finishing a task is rewarding and productive and will give you the energy and drive to get to the next thing on your list.

Are you ready to be more productive tomorrow? You can drown out the noise and get to what's important. Start by asking your cousin to stop posting those irresistible photos of her new puppy on Instagram!