Does it always seem like you’re rushing to catch up or there is little time left to do what needs to be done? You’re not alone. Many people feel time management pressure. Time waits for no one. Time is precious. Time is money – so let’s find out how to properly spend it.
It’s time to focus, cross off that to-do list, and achieve those looming deadlines. Always running out of time? Don’t waste time – here are 7 easy time management tips for you.
Maximise your Mornings
Research from the Harvard Business Review suggests that the best time to work on your most urgent and important tasks is in the morning, while your energy is high. What’s more, the feeling of accomplishment you’ll get after finishing will help you get through the rest of your day. By the time the afternoon hits and you start to fatigue, you’ll thank yourself for getting the tough stuff done early.
Use To-Do Lists
Although some projects may initially seem too huge to tackle, everything you do at work can be broken up into smaller parts that need to be accomplished in order to achieve success. Create to-do lists, (or use organisation software, such as Monday or Asana, for each goal or project and write down all the achievable and measurable steps you need to follow.
By following a clear plan, you can save time on projects, keep track of the work that has been done and easily keep on top of both work and time management,
Set a Time Limit for Each Task
Setting a strict time limit for each task may help prevent you from getting distracted or procrastinating. For example, if you’re writing a report, give yourself two hours to get it done. Pushing and challenging yourself in this way turns it into a game, and you will be able to get much more stuff done at the end of the day.
Employ ‘Deep Work’ Techniques
There are a number of techniques you can use to achieve ‘deep work’, or ‘deep focus’. Things like establishing rituals, eliminating distractions, playing certain music, or using time management systems like the Pomodoro Technique (breaking work down into 25 minute intervals separated by a 5-minute break).
Using these systems, it is possible to truly focus on a piece of work or project, to give it your full attention without distraction so you can maximise the value of any time spent on it.
Give Yourself an Early Deadline
If you’re a procrastinator, you will probably put off important or overwhelming tasks to the last minute. Setting an earlier deadline for yourself allows you to still procrastinate but still results in work being done before deadline.
By tricking your brain like this you will be able to finish much earlier than you would have and leave yourself time to double check your work at the end.
Track How you Spend your Time
For proper time management, you will need to look back at your day and figure out exactly where and how you’re spending it. For example, you might only think you’re spending 30 minutes a day replying to emails when in reality it’s actually eating up an hour of your time.
By knowing what tasks are monopolising your time, you can find ways to make the process faster or easier. If emails are taking up too much of your time on a daily basis, you could set a message a few days a week saying you’re unable to reply at once, giving you a few days that can be focused entirely on the work that needs to be done.
Plan One Day Ahead
Without a plan, you have no direction and are more likely to work aimlessly instead of focusing on work that really matters. At the end of your work day write a to-do list of the most urgent and important tasks you need to get done for when you clock-in the following day.
Just make sure you don’t plan too far ahead. While planning in general is good, if your planning is too rigid you can easily stress yourself by missing an arbitrary deadline you have set, or get too focused on the plan to be able to easily deal with any complications that may arise.
