Focusing on the next action in every project you have at hand can greatly simplify your life. Ask yourself, “What’s the next action?”
The “Getting Things Done” method tells us to write all our tasks down – so you can use your mental space to take action on the tasks rather than try to remember them.
Organise your tasks in order of priority and the amount of time required to accomplish them: things that can be done quickly should be done sooner; aim for most important and fastest to do, combined.
Don’t let your big projects overwhelm you: break them out into bite-sized pieces, where you define each smaller task clearly enough for you to start on.
You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.
Making changes to your life can seem daunting, especially when trying to do it all at once. Breaking things down, into smaller, more manageable chunks can really help.
If one or both parents are leaning too heavily on you for support, discuss with them who else they can turn to. You will have limits, bearing in mind all the other things you have to do.
The Pomodoro Technique: you work/study in 25-minute bursts alternating with 5 minutes of break time. Each of these work sessions is called a “pomodoro”, Italian for tomato (the shape of the 25-minute Pomodoro timers.) After every 4 pomodoros, you get a longer 15 minute break to decompress, check Facebook, step outside for a bit, grab a snack, or anything else you can fit into 15 minutes.
Some things need to be perfect, some things just need to be ‘good enough’. Knowing the difference can save vast amounts of time and effort.
How can you battle the urge to put things off? Start with trying to recognise that a little voice lives inside every one of us. It tells us it would be more fun to play a game or watch TV when we know better. Don’t fall for it!