Are you overwhelmed by all of the things you feel like you need to get done? Do you feel like you are running out of time every day? Are you jealous of people who seem to strike the balance between achieving their goals and staying stress-free? If yes, then it’s time to look at your time management skills. Continue on for helpful time management techniques that anyone can use.
Do not waste your time during the day. Determine how much time a given task takes, and give yourself enough time to complete it. This will allow you to manage your time properly, which will improve your life. When you have a few minutes to spare, do a task or simply take a break.
When planning your day’s schedule, ensure that you are prepared for any distractions that might occur. If you have certain tasks that need to be accomplished back to back, pay attention to the amount of traffic, or unexpected distraction that may pop up. When you allow for these interruptions, you are more likely to be close to your schedule.
If you struggle with time management, then planning out your day in advance is a great idea. A written to-do list before retiring for the night could help create the plan of action for the next day. This will allow you to remain stress free.
Make some priorities in your tasks. Often, we waste time performing tasks of little consequence. By ranking each task in terms of importance, it gives you an idea of where to focus a great deal of energy, and lets you complete the most important tasks. Consider keeping a list of every task you hope to get done, and then organize them by level of importance.
If you are having time management issues, review the way you are currently spending your time. You want to use your time efficiently. For instance, set aside specific times of the day for reading emails. This will cost you precious time during the day.
Learn how to say no to things. If you do not, you will face many stressful situations. If you’ve taken on too much, take a gander at your schedule. Look for items that can be delegated. If so, ask for help from friends and family.
Unless it’s crucial that you do so, do not answer your phone or read texts when you’re in the middle of something else. When you allow yourself to become distracted, it will be that much harder to focus on completing your first task. Just let things go to voicemail, and return calls or take care of texts once you have a free moment.
Stay on task at all times. Don’t let yourself become distracted by all things shiny. You can easily find that others will try to manage your time by asking you to complete things when you are in the middle of working on other important things. You should not let this happen. Get the first task done, and then move on to the next.
Do the hardest tasks first. The more complex projects that require more time should be started earlier in the day. This makes you feel less stressed when you do less urgent tasks. If the most stressful items are completed early, the rest of your day should go by smoothly.
Take a class on time management. There, you’re going to learn how to deal with time in a better way. Some employers will offer this type of class to their employees, feeling that it will improve their on the job success. If your company does not have these courses, check your local higher education institutions to see if they offer them.
Try to assess the effort level of each task on your list. If a task is unimportant, don’t devote too much time to it. Just devote enough attention to the task to get it done and move on. It is a smarter use of your precious time to spend the greatest effort on the tasks that are the most important.
Organize your space if you seem to never have the time. If it takes you five minutes to find something, you are wasting time. Put organization to all the things that you use every day. This can save a lot of time.
When you have completed a task in a given period of time, give yourself a reward. This can even be small things, like not answering a text message until your homework is done. Don’t reward yourself until you are continually managing your time.
Group errands together. Run errands every time you have to leave the house. If you must pick up your kid from their after school program, try going early and doing another small errand.
When you know how to manage your time, you can add time to your day. Use what you learned and you’ll find some extra time in your life. Your life will improve if you use your time better.