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Do you also find time management a difficult thing? You are working so much but without time management your work energy is just scattered.
Time management skill is just like any other skill, it takes time to master but if you get command over it, you are going to get a lot of benefits. You work smarter and produce productive results.
It’s difficult to manage all the tasks and have balance in your life. I surely struggled with that a lot.
When I started this site along with college I had a hard time managing my tasks. It got so frustrating and sometimes it seemed that I don’t have enough hours just because I was not managing my time properly.
And then I had to find a way and follow some time management tips to get more productive.
I learned and practiced these tips and today I want to help you also to get better at time management.
Related Read:
How to be productive: The ideal guide to get more work done!
12 habits that are killing your productivity
10 Tips to be Better at Time Management
1. Get Up with Clear Focus
You must start your day with a clear focus on the tasks you have to do.
Try to decide your tasks the night before and Write them down.
Prepare your mind to get ready for that task.
Wake up every morning with a focused goal that you have to accomplish that task today.
This is gonna help you a lot because every morning when you have your clear focus for the day, you start producing productive results.
For example, What I do is always decide what I have to do the next day (Write it on a daily planner or Weekly planner) and so I can just start with my day to complete that tasks instead of wasting time thinking about what to do!
2. Make daily to-do lists your best friend
I can say that I can effectively work only because of to-do lists or task lists.
And I advise you to make to-do lists every day.
Now you don’t have to make a big one because that is never gonna work.
Every day you just have to write about 3-4 tasks in your list according to your potential.
It is okay if you can do 2 tasks a day only (happens with me too sometimes) but I bet that you are going to complete that task efficiently and effectively.
Having so many tasks in a single to-do list only creates pressure to complete that tasks so we just rush to complete them and do not produce productive results!
You can decide time slots too in your to-do lists for particular tasks and check them off once you complete them.
3. Write Specific and Realistic Goals
You will make a task list and That’s great, but how you are going to write your goals?
You have to write specific goals for the day, which are measurable.
Break down your goals if you can and write them specifically.
And by realistic goals, I mean that you must know your potential, and time available for that tasks so write down tasks considering all such factors.
4. Learn to Prioritize
The fact is that you can’t accomplish everything you want to every day.
So, whenever you are writing your goals in a list or planner,
Prioritize wisely the tasks according to the urgency and time availability.
You have to prioritize which tasks you want to complete and make sure that you have time for them.
Difficult or urgent tasks should be done in the morning first.
5. Focus on one thing
Do not try to multitask.
As when we have more work to do, we tend to believe that we can multitask at the same time, but this practice is never going to have a quality result.
Our mind just can’t focus on so many things it’s that simple!
And when you firmly commit to focusing on one thing only you are giving your mind the orders to concentrate on that particular task. AND trust me you will achieve better results.
Don’t Scatter your focus!
6. Do Not Procrastinate
I know at some point we all Procrastinate. This is Human Nature but it’s not something we can’t control.
Don’t wait for deadlines to complete the tasks.
Some people just believe that they work better under pressure and they push off their work till the due date or deadlines. Don’t do this.
If you have your to-do list ready, goals ready for the day then Go Ahead accomplish that.
Sometimes in a day or a week, It’s okay to procrastinate but it should not become your habit.
7. Plan ahead a week using calendars and Planners
When you start to work and you have a side hustle too, or maybe a house to manage also and you want to give equal time to everything time management becomes difficult. ( It’s So hard at first)
This depends on your daily requirements but Try allocating time to everything with the help of a planner or calenders (schedule specific days for some particular tasks)
For example, I plan on which day I have to plan content for this site, Which days I will work for my other things(scheduling or creating something), and How many hours or on which days I will cover My extra studies.
I use a calendar or a planner.(below are my favorite planners)
I am not always accurate and sometimes plans do change.
But at least I have a clear idea for the whole week.
Flexibility is acceptable!
Some of my favorite planners, you can check out:
8. Stay organized
When you have everything organized at your workplace, work becomes easier.
Always organize your documents, files (either physical or digital) and keep everything in the same place.
This is a small tip but A Great one. I swear you are going to save so much time instead of wasting time finding things or files.
Take out few hours in a week to organize everything on your desk place and make sure you name the files, documents accurately every time you save them on computers.
Transfer them in drives or any other storage facility you use.
This will help you so much. (Saying from personal experience)
9. The difficult but Important one, Learn to Say No!
How many times it happened with you that you were working in a flow and somebody came to ask you for help or to do a task.
Now you have to learn to Give them a Firm No!
You can say that you are busy with your tasks and you will help them later.
Don’t say “yes” to everything which comes.
When you are focused on one thing do that first.
There is nothing to feel guilty about saying No if you have to manage your time and complete your tasks first.
10. Minimize Distractions for yourself
Reduce the distractions which affect your workflow.
Most of the time it’s that smartphone and Internet!
You have to identify first that what distracts you.
If the distraction is the notifications from social media, turn off notifications and if possible keep your phone in another room if you work from home.
If browsing the internet, reading articles is your problem then put on timers or website blockers such as stayfocsd (extension available for chrome to set timers for website )or forest (helps you to stay focused and encourages you to put your phone down ).
Understand what is distracting you and solve your problem in that way.
10 tips to be better at time management.
I hope you enjoyed this list and you find a new way to get better at time management. What are the ways you utilize your time? What are your time management tips?
If you have any other tips list them below in the comments!
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