FEBRUARY 3, 2022
The one thing we all struggle with is time management.
We start our workday around 10 AM, and before we know it, the whole day has passed by. We don’t get anything impactful and productive done in the entire day. We get into meetings, get distracted, and jump between tasks, all for nothing!
So, how can we get better at time management and make the best of the 24 hours?
Here are 8 Time Management Tips that will help you be more productive and get more out of the same amount of time you have!
Time Management Tip 1: Action Creates Motivation
The main reason we aren’t able to manage our time well is that we procrastinate. We don’t take action, get distracted, and thus, we don’t get anything done.
But if we can create the motivation to do something, we’ll work on it with excitement and not procrastinate.
How do we create motivation? Through Action. We think that motivation creates action when it is the opposite in reality. When you say, “I’ll hit the gym at 6 PM,” and you do that, you feel good. You think that you’ve maintained your promise to yourself, and thus, you feel more motivated to show up the next day.
The key to maintaining motivation is to take small actions that don’t burn you out, and thus, you keep going and stop procrastinating, which improves your time management.
Time Management Tip 2: Understand how you are spending your time.
Awareness is the key to change. If you’re not aware of how you are wasting away your time right now, there is no way you will be able to improve your time management.
For a week, track how you are spending your time very meticulously. From the time you wake up to when you go to bed, see where your time is going.
During work-related tasks, you can use a tool like Toggle that allows you to track in real-time. Otherwise, you can use a pen and paper and write all of it down after each task.
Within a week, you will start realizing where you are wasting your time. Why is it important to know that? Because a survey by salary.com found that 89% of people have admitted to wasting time at work. You might or might not acknowledge that you’re wasting time, but when you track it, you’ll understand what the truth is, allowing you to make your time management better.
Time Management Tip-3 Know Your Priorities
Time management is not about doing the easiest or the hardest thing first. It is about getting the most important and impactful things done first.
Make a list of important things in your personal life and your professional life. And then sort out those priorities through this simple Eisenhower Matrix.
Put all your priorities in these four quadrants and do things accordingly, and you will start managing your time way better!
Time Management Tip 4: Find Your Super Power Zone
When you track how you’re spending your time, you will find interesting observations and patterns.
One of them would be that you feel more productive at certain times of the day than at other times. And that’s because productivity is like a wave. It ebbs and flows. There are times when you’ll feel naturally productive, while there will be times when it slumps down.
Those high times are your Super Power Zone. Put your most important priorities in that time, and you’ll get the most done in much less time than before!
Time Management Tip 5: Create a Daily Highlight
Yesterday we had 24 hours. Today, we have 24 hours. And tomorrow also we will have 24 hours. We don’t have to change time. We have to change our behaviors and how we utilize this resource, and a critical step towards that is having a Daily Highlight.
Have one main priority for the day that you will get done despite all odds. Put this in your superpower zone and block out this time. And even if you get this one thing done, you can consider your day successful.
This helps us deal with some situations or uneventful things that might come up and destroy our productivity. If we’ve gotten this main highlight done, then we have made the best out of the day despite everything else that happens.
Also, having a main daily highlight aligns your focus much better and helps you get things done as fast as possible, thus improving your time management.
Time Management Tip 6: Start your day with the right mindset.
The first 2 hours of your day might just change how you spend the other 22 hours of your day.
Craft your morning routine in a way that makes you happy. Do things that make you feel energized and ready to glide through the day. Read. Exercise. Meditate. Take a long bath. Play your favorite musical instrument. Practice Affirmations. Do Journaling. There are so many things that you can do!
When you start with positive energy, it completely redefines how you manage your time and your work!
Time Management Tip 7: Adopt the 80/20 Principle
As we discussed, prioritization is the key to good time management. Thus, you must understand and adopt the 80/20 principle.
80% of your results will mainly come from the top 20% of your activities. Track your time well. And maintain your Eisenhower Matrix in which you will discover what the top 20% of your actions are, and then you double down on them.
That way, you’ll spend the same amount of time at work, but your results will go through the roof and grow exponentially!
Time Management Tip 8: Be Flexible.
You cannot control everything. There will be times when something will go wrong, and you will not stick to your schedule.
You might fall sick. Something might go wrong at work. There might be an emergency in your family. There are so many things that can happen.
In those situations, don’t pressure yourself with guilt and negativity of not managing your time and sticking to your priorities. Let go of that guilt and be flexible for the time being.
Then when everything is sorted out, get back and get moving.
Conclusion
Time management is that simple! Follow these eight tips, and your time management will drastically improve, allowing you to grow and succeed in life while making the best out of every single hour of yours.
Time is our most valuable resource. Once it is spent, it will not come back. That’s why managing and investing it effectively is critical. And that’s what you’ve learned in this blog post!
Share your thoughts and questions in the comments below! Let’s stay connected!
Partnering in your success, happiness, and growth,
Prabhsimrat