The art of time management

Needing more time: All about time management

They say time heals all, but where do we find enough?

In this day and age, time is limited. Our lives have become one huge rat race from one responsibility to the next. In fact, it’s gotten so bad that we barely have time to sit back and self-reflect on our own lives. We all crave more time; we don’t feel like 24 hours in a day is quite enough to get everything done.

What can we do to make our use of time more efficient? The answer to that burning question is time management.

What is time management?

Simply put, time management is a series of strategies that are used to organize your daily routine in such a way that you get the most done within the time you have available. Sometimes, it can be as simple as re-ordering your daily to-do list. Other times, you’ll have to devise a whole new way of planning your daily tasks.

Time management itself is important, as it will help you increase daily productivity, lessen stress, improve morale, and improve your overall planning skills, all of which will help you obtain more bang for your buck when it comes to productivity.

10 Time-management techniques that should boost your productivity

• Plan your whole week on a Sunday, even if it means drawing a rough mind-map. This will help you allocate the correct amounts of time to each activity you need to complete.
• Keep a record of how you’re using your time. After you’ve completed a task, write down how much time you’ve spent on it. This will give you a better understanding of where most of your time is actually going.
• Prioritize your daily tasks. Try to rank your daily activities from most important to least important and ensure to start with the most important or urgent ones.
• Complement your to-do list with a ‘done’ list.
• Divide your day up into time slots (at least 3–4). Pick which activities need to be done in which slot. This will prevent you from neglecting any important activities.
• Make sure you make use of a calendar. To some, it may be just a decorative piece, but it’s a valuable planning tool. Use different colors to highlight important dates.
• Minimize any unnecessary distractions. You can, for example, place your found on airplane mode whilst busy with an important task.
• Complete one task at a time. Simply put, DO NOT MULTITASK.
• Rest. You can be at your most productive when you’re spending all of your energy trying to keep your eyes open.
• Don’t put too much on your plate. If something is not urgent, don’t feel guilty about postponing it. Rather focus all of your attention on urgent matters.

Final thoughts

The tips I’ve given above are only some of the basic strategies that I follow to manage my time more effectively. The methods you use will depend on the nature of the tasks you need to complete, your career, and even your household circumstances.

One thing that we all need to realize, is that our time is VALUABLE. How we use it dictates how successful we will be at whatever it is that we are looking to accomplish. It goes without saying that the more time you spend on something, the better you’ll become at it. Just make sure you’re spending that time on the right things!

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