Time Management Courses or workshops show you how to prioritize your tasks and stop working in a crisis mode all the time. There's never enough time. Time management is one of those areas that many of us struggle with. I can show you a very simple way to improve your time management. What about this time next year, or even 10 years from now? Having good time management skills helps you find that time.
Much of time management comes down to effective scheduling of your time. There are successful time management habits and there are unsuccessful time management habits. Time management is one of those skills no one teaches you in school but you have to learn.
Time management can be tough. Although time management, motivation, and consistency all fall under the same branch of fitness struggles, we'll start with time management because it's often the biggest hurdle of the three. Nothing wrong with these tips, but I think that time management tips are only so useful, and without the fundamentals of time management (the meat and potatoes,) a professional will struggle with just tips.
These time management tips sharpen your time management skills quickly so that you can get more done with less stress. This is why time management is important - not so you can cram 10 pounds of stuff into a 5-pound bag. We must train ourselves to realize that the future will work out much better for us if we prepare for it instead of wing it. Here are 10 tips I've used over the years to do just that.
Aim to do the important things first. Remember the 80-20 rule: 80 percent of reward comes from 20 percent of effort. One of the aims of time management tips is to help you refocus your mind to give more attention and time to those most important 20 percent.
Your concentration can be easily lost in the sea of many boring or less important things waiting to be done in your head. Undone things circulating in your mind are also a big drain of your mental energy. Most often, there is no way to get those things out of your mind except of either doing them or scheduling them in a trustable system, convincing your mind that they will be done in due time.
What is the point of time management tips? Changing time management habits takes time and effort, and it is always much easier when you have a simple system of practical rules and hints that are easy to keep in mind. That is exactly what the tips below are for.
Expect problems. Let's face it, life can throw you a curve ball. You'll get a cold or you'll get stuck at work or (heavens forbid) your hard drive will die. We're not saying that you should live in fear. Just be ready to be flexible when there's a problem that just can't wait. Because it's not a matter of if but when.
Schedule in some time for yourself. Everybody deserves some downtime. So while you do have to prioritize, make sure you plan something fun and relaxing just for yourself. It could be watching a movie, seeing friends or — if you're crazy busy — scheduling in ten minutes to sit down with a magazine. You'll be surprised at how much easier it is to focus when you allow yourself to relax.
Take care of yourself. Eat right. Exercise. Get enough sleep. Once in a while every student has to make a pot of coffee, microwave a burrito and pull an all-nighter (see #5). But everything about college — and your day-to-day life — will go better if you stay healthy.
You should also talk to your employer. Assess when busy periods are likely to be, and try to avoid big assignments at the same time. Show commitment and consideration, and you are more likely to get your boss's support. If you can, look for assignments where you can exploit your professional experience - it's a more efficient use of your time.
One strategy is to write everything you have to do down into the 4th quadrant in order to clear your mind. Then move the most critical things to the top left. So the number of high priority tasks you have should always be much much less than the total number of tasks.
If you work in a team, share a matrix with one another. This allows everyone to be aligned in their priorities. Additionally (or alternatively), use the email reporting feature to send updates to your teammates. Also, use it as a repository for information that's categorized and organized.
Bonus Tip: It's never easy to balance the work-at-home lifestyle, but it's doable. For me, what works is training myself to work during my productive times, and sometimes, hiring help for the house. It's an investment that's worth it, especially since the cleaning lady can get all the general cleaning of the house done while I work.