We wear many different hats during the day and keeping track of it all can be insane. Give your brain computer a backup drive by doing these three things.

1. Make it a routine

Routines are an essential part of any time management plan because when something is routine you don’t have to think about it. Even if life and work throws huge curve balls at you, keeping at least some small part the same each day helps you feel more in control. If at all possible, try to make these routines in the morning. Get up at the same time. Exercise, eat breakfast, whatever it is you do in the morning, make it a habit. When you start the day in control it’s easier to keep that feeling of control longer.

2. Do small pieces of a large task every day

I have an author friend who says she writes 5 pages a day no matter what. Writing a book is a huge task. But 5 pages a day? That’s not too bad. Stop thinking about your huge task, and break it up into smaller bits. Worrying and procrastinating take up a lot of brain hard drive space you could use for other things.

3. Use external cues and reminders

Some people don’t write things down because they’ll “just remember.” Everybody remembers until they forget! Even if you could somehow remember everything you need to do, that processing power is far better used on other things. Don’t waste memory space on reminders. Set an alarm. Write it in your calendar. Leave a note on a white board. Wherever you choose to keep track of deadlines and to-dos, make sure it’s in one location. If you have to use mental capacity remembering WHERE you wrote your reminder, it defeats the purpose of using reminders.

We can’t trade our brain computer in for a bigger more powerful model, so we need to work hard with our time management skills to keep the one we have in good shape.

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The coveted RSVP…When we’re the event organizer, we can’t believe people won’t take 5 seconds to give us an answer. When we’re the event attendee we let that invitation sit on our counter for weeks until we have “time” to think about it. I am a huge fan of taking care of small tasks right away, but I’m a pretty bad example of the prompt RSVP. Here are four ways we can help improve the way we respond to events.

 1. Use Parkinson’s Law

Parkinson’s law says that work expands to fill the time that we give it. When you, the event organizer, give us 3 weeks to give you an answer, that’s how long it’s going to take. We let that small task expand to fill the time available. If you’re organizing a social event like a wedding, or birthday party, give us plenty of notice, but a smaller window to respond.

 2. Use the 5-Minute Rule

When you receive that event invitation, apply the 5 minute rule: if it takes less than 5 minutes, do it now. You’re never going to feel any more like finding a stamp and mailing in that piece of paper than you do right now, so you might as well just get it over with.

 3. Define What You’re Waiting For

Maybe you can’t RSVP right now because you’re waiting on something. Perhaps you need to check with your spouse, or check your work schedule. In that case, add that quick task to your calendar so you define when it will happen rather than allow it to be relegated to the infinite “later.” If, for example, you’re waiting on your work schedule, let the organizer know that so they aren’t left to just wonder about you. “Put me down as a Yes, but I’ll need to confirm on ____ when I find out for sure that I’ll be in town.”

4. Remember the Other Perspective

If you’re tempted to let that RSVP slide, consider the other perspective. Consider how frustrating it is to put off grocery shopping for a big event because you have no clue how much food to buy. Consider how frustrating it is to think your friends aren’t responding because they’re holding out for a better offer. As an organizer, make sure you remember your friends, just like you, have busy lives and things slip so don’t take it personally. Your party is great, but it’s not the most important thing on their minds right now.

Finally, if I have ever been late RSVPing to your baby shower/wedding/party/Bar Mitzvah, etc… I’m sorry. I offer this blog as my apology.

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Check out How to Speak so People Will Buy and other publications by Emily Schwartz

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