Sometimes, it feels like 24 hours a day is not enough to do everything we want or have to do. There are also times when we have so much on our plate that we do not know how to start or which task has the most importance. Read this blog post for useful techniques to improve your time management skills and make the best out of every day!
It is no secret that managing your time well can help you catapult your life to a whole new level. Time efficient people can handle various projects simultaneously, go to work, do exercise, and still manage to get their full 7-8 hours of sleep while maintaining their social/family life in a healthy standard. How do they do it? It is very surprising (and sometimes intimidating) when there are people in life who cannot accomplish half of the things they proposed themselves to achieve in their to-do lists!
We have some news for you: time management is no superpower! It is actually the most valuable trait any person can learn. A lot of practice and commitment to your schedule will help you go a long way, as you will learn through this guide.
Here are our favorite ways to manage our time:
1. Make a list of all of your tasks and add two columns corresponding to “Importance” & “Urgent.” This will help you identify which tasks to tackle first.
2. Mark the tasks if they are important and/or urgent.
3. Make a matrix with four quadrants and distribute accordingly (like the picture we have above).
– For the unpredicted tasks, always try to have some extra time in your schedule that is left free just in case unexpected issues arise during the day. If a major crisis occurs, opt for rescheduling any other task that does not fall in this category.
Either way, these are the tasks that need your attention and it is critical that you are part of them.
These are possible obstacles that impede you from your goal. These activities usually come in through people on your teams who will ask you for support. Here are some alternatives you can approach with:
– Reschedule with the person
– Delegate the task to someone else
– Respectfully say no; encourage them and guide them to solve their own issues.
These are tasks that help you achieve your personal or professional goals. If you are effectively managing your time, most of your tasks should be here. Let these tasks have generous slots of time so they do not become urgent.
These activities are distractions, do not do them. You can ignore these or cancel them politely and explain why you cannot do it.
4. Act on your planned distribution.
With these great techniques in mind, here are two helpful tips to compliment your new efficient-time-manager lifestyle!
To avoid multitasking, you can:
– Minimize your distractions (turn off your notifications, work in a quiet place, close unused tabs/apps, and focus).
– Do not be afraid to say no (respectfully).
Sometimes tedious, but in the long run, very helpful. Think about it… If you tend to wake up at 7:00am and you decide to start your day at 5:00am, you will have 2 more hours of the day to do more tasks; which leads to 14 hours a week, up to 62 more hours (a little more than two full days and a half), and 728 hours a year (a month worth of work)!
In these additional hours you have, you can:
– Take more time to prioritize and plan your day
– Enjoy your breakfast in the tranquility of a quiet space
It is time to start practicing time management! Do you have other techniques that have worked for you? Feel free to share them in our comment section below.
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