Time is probably the most valuable abundant resource available freely to mankind. You will get to hear this from some of the most successful people across all walks of life around you. Success is largely drawn through effort and time. One often hears the saying “time waits for no man” and “ time is precious”. One can either make use of it into something fruitful or put it away to waste. It can either make you, shape you or break you!
We all have been through such a phase where one probably juggles with the idea of managing time across work or just your usual chores in a day or perhaps on the lookout to find better ways to master the skill of time management to live a more productive and quality life ahead. Have you ever wondered how good are you at your time management? Are you aware of some of the best proven valuable time management techniques? Let take a look!
Eisenhower Matrix
It talks about how the actionable items(To-do list) are broken into 4 quadrants based on priority and urgency.
Do First-> Do Next-> Do Later -> Don't Do
Identification of tasks based on priority and urgency and categorizing them into different buckets is highly efficient.
Pomodoro Technique
Here you identify the tasks and estimate the time to complete it and set timers with intervals to accomplish the same.
Start -> Pause-> Resume-> Pause> Repeat cycle->Stop
Breaking the work into intervals and focusing on a task consecutively for a fixed period of time without distractions is highly productive.
Pareto Principle(80/20 Rule)
The idea here is 80% of results are believed to come from 20% of causes.
Timeboxing
The reason its called time boxing because you box your time again tasks.
In this method you schedule your calender and reserve a fixed amount of time for a task.
By doing this you avoid procastination and at the same time you dont go overboard in terms of processing tasks. This incorporates self descipline and organizing. You tend to force yourself to work on tasks allocated accordingly for that blocked amount of time. Hence you have good control on your schedule.
Identifying those most important goals that can factor such theory and focusing on them is proven effective.
Now let's take a look at some of the pointers that people believe have really made a difference.
1. Understand yourself. Every person has a different way to manage time. Some feel morning is their most productive while some are night owl lovers. Figure out which time of the day are you productive to make the most of it. You need to understand what works for you. Suit yourself best accordingly.
2. Plan and schedule your day ahead.
A very important aspect is to always do your homework, and that being said try to understand what do you want out of your day. Plan it. This really helps. Although not everything goes as per the plan, a lot of it surely does.
3. Set daily goals.
It is very important to set goals for the day. Try to aim for it and finish as much as you can. And see to it you follow up any unfinished tasks the next day. Drive it to closure as soon as you can. Don’t pile it up!
4. Organize and prioritize tasks.
You need to segregate which goals are of high priority and need your ASAP attention and address them first putting the lesser ones in the queue. This helps you keep a tab on your checklist so you don’t miss out on things.
5. Allocation of time.
Schedule and set time slots for every actionable item. See where you can crunch time and where you can flex. This helps you save and manage time wisely.
6. Take intermittent breaks.
Humans are not designed to stay attentive beyond a point. You do get distracted. Taking regular breaks helps you refresh your mind and body. You can also make use of this break to do another task to break the monotony and then resume back your original task.
7. Set Reminders.
We are after all but humans and humans are prone to error. Reminders go a long way in helping you overcome forgetfulness amidst your busy chaos. Make use of them.
8. Track productivity.
Start logging your time to track productivity may be daily, weekly, monthly. This will surely help you gauge your performance over the period and help you boost your productivity.
9. Avoid multitasking.
Doing multiple things simultaneously is quite a distraction and reduces focus on productivity. It is wiser to give your 100% focus to a single task at any point in time.
10. Delegate tasks.
Asking for help can be quite a handy thing. Accept tasks as per your capacity. Do not burden yourself. if you are in a team or managing one delegate things.
11. Learn to say a No.
Stop being a people pleaser. Overloading yourself with the additional tasks will only lead to piling up work and pushing tasks to queues. Accept work only as per your capacity. It is perfectly ok to say a No.
12. Stay disciplined and focused.
Being mindful and cultivating a routine really goes a long way to train yourself for better performance.
13. Have the right attitude.
Stay ambitious defines your brain performance, it’s wired to function that way. Being a self-starter can really keep you motivated to finish your tasks on time and keeping a positive and go-getter attitude can help you move forward ahead in life.
14. Stay motivated.
Practice healthy habits. Exercise, eat, sleep, pray, meditate, positivity, and mindfulness really helps your mind and body to function better.
15. Be Organised.
Having a declutter surrounding can contribute a positive and healthy effect on your mind and well-being.
16. Learn to enjoy it.
accepting that monotony, mundane, boredom are also part of life. Learn to enjoy it as well. It’s all the head. Once you embrace this and register your brain even the most complicated tasks that we all hate become easy.
17. Set realistic expectations.
Learn to accept failures and never give up. Stay patient and keep hopeful. Eventually, time management is an art that comes with practice and time.
Time management plays a very crucial role in contributing to success. Start practicing these habits like a ritual as part of your daily routine and the magic unfolds. It's worth a life skill to invest in. Master this art like a pro and work your way towards success.