Time management and stress reduction

I am not the greatest manager of my time. I am easily distracted and too often ruled by the tyranny of the urgent. I let the good become the enemy of the excellent. I look at my email too often...

Here are just a few points that I do find helpful to keep in mind and act on. They not only lead to better use of time but also reduce stress. I struggle with all of them.

1. It can wait.

We live in an urgent world with many people and tasks demanding immediate attention. There are some very rigid deadlines, such as for most grant applications. However, there are many other tasks such as submitting a paper, checking an experiment, replying to an email, ... that can wait for another today. It is time to log off, literally and mentally and relax. The world will not fall apart if you wait another day, week, or even month.

2. Delegate

Do I personally need to do this task or take on this responsibility? Is there someone else who is able and available to do it instead? Might they actually do it better than me? Even if they might not do it as well, would it be better that they do it anyway and free me up to do more important things?

Having said this, I am slow learn and have become aware that there are some cautions needed in delegating. 

First, suppose I delegate to a person of lower "authority" than me, but who I have full confidence in. Others may not think they have the appropriate authority and so may be reluctant to act on or support what my delegate is.

Second, delegating tasks is no good if the person does not have the time, energy, and resources to complete the tasks. I may also need to provide the necessary resources and help them to see how they might delegate some tasks too.

3. Before embarking on a task, large or small, be clear on what your goal is.

This reduces the chance of getting distracted. Here is a concrete example. I often want to look for a paper on a specific question I have. Yet, I find that an hour later I am looking at my fourth paper because I got distracted by something I found interesting... and I have forgotten my initial question.

Some earlier thoughts on time management are here.

I welcome other suggestions.