Time management is an important part of our lives, regardless of what we’re doing. In fact, managing time properly can help you get more work done and feel more accomplished about the things you do in general. If you don’t know how to begin or you just feel overwhelmed, keep reading for some fun and insightful tips below.
Make good use of a timer. When you aren’t able to focus, set a timer for a limited time. For example, set a timer for work time and then take a break.
Buy a small notebook or calendar that you can use to track any plans or thoughts in. If you jot down all of the tasks that you complete in a day, you will gain a better knowledge of where your time has been spent. This could help you create a plan for each day and manage your time successfully.
Plan your daily activities out. Make a schedule for your daily activities and stick to it. This will help eliminate stressful and last minute situations. You can make a daily to do list and put the most important things that you need to get done at the top of the list.
Fill the empty spaces of your schedule with productive tasks. If you have a plan and know what you are facing, you’ll be more likely to complete what you want. However, it is very important that you know what can be accomplished every day, and not put too much on your plate that it becomes difficult to get done.
Try eliminating distractions in your life if you’re always running out of time for things. For example, it’s difficult to finish a report for your boss if your email is constantly dinging and cell phone always ringing. Turn off technology and learn to tune out distractions. You should be able to focus much better!
Order your daily tasks in terms of priority. Often, we waste time performing tasks of little consequence. When ranking your tasks, you spend time effectively and using time and energy to do what is most important. Prepare a to-do list, and handle the most important tasks first.
When you can’t manage your time well, consider how you spend your time. Use your time in a smart way. Don’t check voicemails or emails unless you have time. If you read each email as it comes in, you take away time from something else you can accomplish.
Prior to calling someone on the phone at work, take a few minutes to plan out the questions that you need answered. Often a lot of time is wasted simply through the rambling that occurs on the telephone when you don’t know what you really need. Having a sense of your goals prior will help keep you on track.
Do not worry about closing your office door when you want to concentrate on work. An open door tends to invite folks in to chat. Closing your door gives you privacy. A closed door suggests very strongly to your co-workers that you’re engaged in important work, and you’ll be far more productive with fewer interruptions.
If you find time management challenging, try eliminating your time wasters! Examine what you go through in the course of a day, such as chatting at the water cooler, lingering at lunch or wandering around the Internet. Realize what is wasting your time and stop doing it, or save it for the end of the day once everything important has been accomplished.
Hopefully, this article has helped you understand a little bit more about time management. If you don’t know how to manage your time properly, you could be selling yourself short and not accomplishing enough. Use the great tips from this article to help you turn your life around and accomplish everything you can!