Many people could benefit from learning time management skills. When you are organized, you become more efficient. Procrastination is holding people back from their potential, so change is in order. This article can help you achieve this.
Make use of a timer. If you find it difficult to focus on the task at hand, set a timer for the time period that you have available to work on the task. Make sure that you incorporate breaks for your tasks.
Calendars can be a great tool to help you with your time management skills. Some people prefer physical paper calendars they can mark up. Other people enjoy using an electronic calendar that they can use with a computer or their phones. Whatever version you choose, you need a type of calendar to keep track of your tasks and to manage your time better.
If time management really isn’t your “thing,” pay attention to just one task at a time. Multitasking leaves you with too many loose ends. Your work quality will suffer when you are overwhelmed. Take a breath, stay calm, and remain focused on a single task through to completion, and then tackle the next one.
If you are not so great with time management, think about the ways you’re using your time. Use your time wisely. Only look at emails or text messages at certain times. Always paying attention to them can be distracting, and ends up diverting your attention away from more important things.
Just say no. Many people suffer from too much stress because they simply do not know when to say no to a request. If you have too much to do, see what all is on your list. Can you assign others to do some of the things on your list? If so, enlist the help of family and friends.
Plan your day each morning. Put it down on paper, including the time you expect each action to take. If you write everything down, you are much more likely to stick to a schedule. That will help you to get more accomplished.
Unless it is an emergency, when you are occupied with a task, you should ignore your phone, text messages or instant messages. It can be hard to find your focus if you allow yourself to be interrupted. Leave those distractions for when your task is complete.
Examine out your schedule. Are there activities you can delete from your schedule? Can you free up some time by giving tasks to others? A great skill to learn for time management is delegation. Remember that it is important to let the task go once you have assigned it to another.
Stay focused on what you are doing until it’s done. Don’t let yourself become distracted by all things shiny. There may be times when other people give your something else to do before you even finish with what you are working on. Do not allow them to interfere with your work. Always complete your current task before you take on any additional work.
Perform the difficult tasks first. Doing difficult or time-consuming tasks in the beginning will reduce stress. This alleviates some of the pressure as you proceed to task which are more mundane. The remainder of the day will feel very easy.
Each day, make a list of things to get done and prioritize this list from most important to least important. Then start at the very top of this list, and work on down it. Keep a copy handy so you don’t forget anything.
Try keeping a simple diary to help your time management. For a few days, record everything you do and the length of time it takes. Look at the diary to find out where you can better manage your time.
By determining how much effort you will need to put into a task, you can plan your time more wisely. Do not waste time performing non essential tasks. You should only devote enough effort to each job in your schedule to reach your immediate goals and move on to the next step. Save your time for the big jobs.
Save rewards for after you’ve met your accomplishments in a given time. A small example of this is delaying your desire for a cup of coffee or tea until you have completed the task at hand. Give yourself a reward once you get into a routine with your time management skills.
Save money, gas and time by doing several errands at once. Do not make trips to the market for one or two items without scheduling another errand, such as a trip to the post office. If picking your kids up at school is on the agenda, head out early and get another errand done too.
Turn your to-do list from a single list into four squares. Label vertical columns as not important and important. Make horizontal rows not urgent and urgent. Avoid spending more than 5-10% of time in the quandrant that is both not important/not urgent. Spend the majority of your time on the important tasks. Be sure to remember those items in the non-important, non-urgent quadrants, too!
Deadlines are vital to meet when managing your time. When you know that a task has to be done by a certain date, you are more likely to do whatever is necessary to get it done in time. So, it may be helpful to set a deadline for projects that are currently open-ended. Committing to a completion date will motivate you to be more productive.
It’s not easy to learn time management especially if you aren’t used to schedules. But, managing your time well is one key to success and a more fruitful life. Those who spend their time wisely are one step ahead of the crowd. Remember what you have learned here and utilize your time more wisely!