Are you always running behind and overwhelmed? Does your working day end long before you’ve attended to all the work you have to do? Are you in awe of other people that seem to have all the time at their fingertips? If so, you may just need to make better use of your time. Here are some tips you can use to make that happen.
Calendars can be a great tool to help you with your time management skills. Some prefer to use the standard paper calendar for writing on. Others prefer to use an electronic calendar that they can access on their phone or computer. Whatever version you choose, you need a type of calendar to keep track of your tasks and to manage your time better.
If you’re trying to rush to get places, you need to start worrying more about deadlines. When you let a deadline creep up on you, everything else can get put behind, and that leads to a lot of needless frustration. If you are on top of deadlines, you don’t need to neglect anything or rush to finish other things.
When planning your day’s schedule, ensure that you are prepared for any distractions that might occur. You should always build in wiggle room for traffic jams or unannounced visitors. You can remain focused if you know ahead of time there will be distractions.
If you’re finding time management difficult, plan your days in advance. At the finish of your work day, make yourself a schedule for the following day. You will be able to relax and face the next day.
Consider the way you currently use time. Consider the wisest use of your time. Do not look at emails outside of a few designated times each day. If you switch over to them every time you get a new one, you will constantly be interrupted from the task you are doing.
Learn how to say no. Lots of folks feel stressed because they feel unable to say no to others. When you have too much to do, check your schedule. Can you delegate a few tasks to someone else? If there are, talk to family and friends to help.
When you wake each morning, spend a bit time to plan out your day ahead. Put it down on paper, including the time you expect each action to take. Keeping a daily plan keeps you on an efficient path.
When busy with a task, avoid allowing other things to interrupt you. This can cause you to lose your focus. Respond to your messages after you have finished your task at hand.
Always work on the difficult projects early. Any task that takes up a lot of time should be done as soon as possible. This loosens some pressure as you get to unimportant tasks. If you finish with stressful tasks, your day will be more at ease.
Keep a journal or diary if you really want to find out how to manage time. Each day, for about three days, document each task you’ve done and the amount of time it took to do it. Then read your diary to get a better idea of where you should improve.
Make a schedule based on the importance of tasks you need to complete. This is a good way to get organized. Identify the most important tasks you need to complete that day. Those tasks should take priority over others. This will let you work down your priority list to the least important.
You’ll get things more done if the area around you is well organized. You can waste a lot of time looking for things that you need. Organize all your stuff that you need every day, and put it where you can easily find it. It will save time and stress.
Be sure to keep your list of chores in your pocket to refer to throughout the day. In this way, you can remind yourself of what you need to do. Some tasks may be emotional or stressful. It may lead to you forgetting what you next need to do. Keeping the list with you can help you begin the next task in spite of the circumstance.
Wait until you have completed your task in the time allowed and then give yourself a reward. Make sure this is done after you finish though, so it does not interrupt your task. Make sure that you give yourself ample rewards upon accomplishment.
Put your most important tasks at the top of your to-do list. When you attempt to accomplish too many things at the same time, your quality of work will suffer. You will end up not completing anything. Each task will be done efficiently by doing one at a time.
Bundle your errands to save money on transport and to save time. Don’t go grocery shopping for a few items, and stop on the way to pick up dry-cleaning or go to the post office. If you have a child you have to pick up from school, leave early and accomplish an errand.
Your to-do list should be divided into four parts. Put less important tasks on bottom and more important on top. Your horizontal columns can be labeled based on urgency. Aim to not devote more than ten or even five percent of your work time to tasks in the not important and not urgent quadrants. Your time should be spent primarily on the urgent and important quadrants. Still, you do need to allocate a little time towards the important/not urgent section. If not, you could quickly become overwhelmed with those tasks as they move into the urgent area.
You will find much more free time if you plan a schedule. After looking at the tips this article gives, you will begin to understand how much good time management can improve your life. It is literally life-changing when you start to see the difference that excellent time management skills can bring!