A Brief Guide To Time Management
Want to make better use of time? Let’s get started with this brief guide. It will give you a quick idea of time management basics, tips, techniques, and tools. Also, a pathway to delve deeper into this life skill.
Time Management Basics
What is time management?
Time management is the art of using time to get more things done and the right things done in a specific period of time. The process involves planning time and organizing activities efficiently to complete more tasks using the available hours.
However, it is often misunderstood that the time management term is related to managing time. Practically, with time, we have no control. We cannot stretch hours and even stop a moment. Therefore, it is about managing activities by allocating time for different tasks based on priority. It is about creating more space for the things that matter to us.
Why is time management important
Time is a precious resource in the world. We cannot get back the time that has gone. We can not even buy it or hold it. Therefore, we should use time wisely for the betterment of our life.
With good time management, you can do more things in a given period of time. Also, live a happy, productive, and successful life. By mastering this life skill, you can reap numerous benefits.
Some of the advantages are:
- Get more done in less time
- Complete the most essential tasks first
- Boosts efficiency and productivity
- Improve performance at work
- Improve self-discipline and other qualities
- Boosts focus and confidence
- Be prepared and unlock more opportunities
- Experience less procrastination, stress, and anxiety
- Spend less time worrying and more time doing
- Have a better work-life balance
Further Reading: Benefits of Time Management in Daily Life
Time Management Principles
On the internet, numerous time management tips and techniques can be found. However, all of them are surrounded by the seven fundamentals. Therefore, it is essential to understand these time management principles first in order to manage time successfully.
- Be goal-oriented: This principle indicates that firstly you have to decide what you want to do with your time. A goal will push you forward to take action and give direction on which tasks to prioritize.
- Have a plan: Once you have a goal, you can plan how to achieve it. Break tasks into manageable steps. Then set deadlines and track your progress.
- Be organized: It starts from scheduling to email inbox and decluttering to managing finances. Your organizational skills will reduce the chance of being overwhelmed by tasks and help you achieve your goal effortlessly.
- Practice single-tasking: By embracing single-tasking, you are giving your focus, time, energy, and brain power to the task at hand. This principle aids you in saving time from task-switching and refocusing. By applying this principle, you can be more productive and efficient in every aspect of life.
- Develop good habits: No tips and techniques will work unless you develop habits to discipline yourself for better time management. By having good habits, you can manage time successfully and increase productivity and efficiency.
- Manage distractions: Distractions often result in procrastination. And it’s difficult to concentrate when there are distractions around you. To manage time better, you have to manage distractions.
- Stop wasting time: Some time wasters are instant messaging, social networking, daily news, meetings, and conferences. You must train yourself to stop wasting time. To do this, begin with identifying the time-wasting activities you are doing in your daily life. Then find ways to limit those activities.
All the time management tips, techniques, methods, and skills available are based on these fundamentals. Therefore, if these principles are followed correctly, your ability to manage time will be better.
Further Reading: The Basic Principles of Time Management You Need to Know
Time Management Skills
In order to manage time efficiently in your daily life and at work, you need to be good at some skills. With the right set of skills, you can become one of the time management heroes. Here are seven core time management skills you can develop, regardless of your profession.
- Goal-setting: The first step to being good at time management is honing goal-setting skills. When you know your SMART goals and how to set short-term and long-term goals, you’ll have clear directions for planning and scheduling tasks around the goal.
- Planning: Planning prevents procrastination. It also prevents you from wasting time deciding what you want to do now and how to do a task. When you know the sequences of your work, you can start doing work and move to the next one smoothly.
- Prioritizing: The key to better time management is to identify the most essential tasks and work hard to get them done before you do anything else. The prioritization skill allows you to identify and allocate your time and energy to focus on the tasks that matter most.
- Scheduling: Your goal says what you need to do, but scheduling helps you plan when you have to do the tasks. When you know how to schedule tasks efficiently, you can put activities on your calendar based on their importance and in your prime time. [NOTE]
- Organizing: Although it seems some people are born with this talent, it can be learned. By honing this skill, you will be surprised at how much time you can save in your daily work. Organizational skills can help you beat procrastination and boost your creativity and productivity.
Learn more : 27 Great Tips to Keep Your Life Organized - Delegating: It is one of the fundamental skills of better time management. Delegation skills will help you leverage other people’s time, and you can focus on high-value activities. When you know what, when, and how to delegate work, you can free up your time to get more accomplished on the tasks that matter most.
- Saying No: People often find it hard to say no to requests for unnecessary tasks. But, once you develop the skill of saying “no,” you can save time and energy for high-value work. You can improve this skill by educating yourself about when and how to say “no” without being rude and feeling guilty.
Further Readings:
Time Management Techniques
There are different methods of time management, each with its pros and cons. Here are six popular time management techniques we have discussed:
- Pomodoro technique: This popular time management technique helps us focus on one task at a time. In this technique you need to break down tasks into small chunks and work on them for 25 minutes. Take a 5-minute break after 25 minutes. Then repeat for another 25 minutes. The basic premise behind the technique is that we should pay attention to one thing at a time.
- Getting things done: GTD was developed by David Allen in his book Getting Things Done. He created this system to help people manage their day-to-day activities and achieve greater productivity. The basic premise behind the GTD method is making a list of everything that needs to be done, then prioritize those tasks based on importance and urgency.
- Eisenhower Matrix: The Eisenhower matrix serves as a prioritization tool. This simple tool helps us identify activities that need more of our time and effort. It’s a grid of four quadrants where you need to place tasks and activities from your to-do list into the four grids based on their importance and urgency.
- 80/20 Rule: The 80/20 rule is a simple concept that helps us understand how we should spend our time. Essentially, 20% of what we do should produce 80% of the results. In business, this is known as Pareto Principle. The principle states that roughly 80% of effects come from 20% of causes. If you want to get more done, focus on those things that will give you the high return.
- Time Boxing: It refers to setting aside specific blocks of time for certain tasks. It is a method of managing your time effectively. It helps you plan how much time you have each day and then how to use that time efficiently. You should set aside specific times for different activities throughout the day. By doing this, you will know what and when you need to do the tasks.
Further Reading: 5 Time Management Techniques to Be More Productive in a Day
Time Management Tips
Now you’ve learned about time management skills, techniques, and fundamentals. Here are a few tips to help you amplify your time management effort.
- Get up early: Early risers are physically and mentally healthy. You can reap the benefits of other good habits when you get up early in the morning. Also, you can start your day early and get more time in a day.
- Have a to-do list: It will help to be organized and stress-free. When you have all the tasks on the list, you can review them and prioritize them based on their importance.
- Schedule everything: By doing this, you can prevent yourself from impulsive actions. Instead of checking email and social media accounts several times a day, you can check them only at the scheduled time.
- Track time: Monitor your day by tracking or time auditing. You will get an overview of how many things you are doing and how much time you spend on each activity. The result will help you limit time-wasting activities, and you can use it in the future to plan your day ahead.
- Set time limits: By allotting time for each activity, you can remain focused on the tasks and do them quickly and efficiently. Also, prevent yourself from spending time whimsically or too much time on one work for a longer unconsciously.
- Allow breaks: After long hours of work, your body and mind need rest. Therefore, try to take a break in every two hours. This will help you avoid burnout and maintain your productivity level steady throughout the day.
- Practice focus: If you fail to focus on a task, your hours will pass, but no positive impact will happen in your life. Therefore, it is indispensable to practice focused work to get the most out of your time.
- Batching: Instead of doing tasks as the need arises, categorize similar and small works in core groups and do them at once. By doing so, you can avoid switching your focus from one task to another and give more focus on high-impact tasks.
- Stop multitasking: Although many people take pride in multitasking, it is a sign of poor time management. It affects your cognitive energy and robs your ability for deep work. In addition, it increases burnout and decreases productivity level and quality of work.
- Forget perfectionism: Many people strive for perfectionism. But, it often results in a backlog and missed deadlines, especially if you have too many things to do at a specific time. Therefore, focus on task completion instead of doing it to a high standard. Practice Pomodoro techniques and delegate tasks. Deliver tasks when a task is completed at an acceptable level instead of spending too much time to make it at a high standard.
- Know your biorhythm: Our energy level changes throughout the day. It is because of the circadian rhythm. Not every person’s biorhythm is the same. Thus, learn the basics of circadian rhythm and biological prime time to understand your biorhythm. You can plan creative tasks when you are in the most energized state. And minor things at a less energetic time of the day.
- Establish work-life balance: No time management tips and techniques work unless you have a work-life balance. Without proper rest and sleep, your body and mind won’t work in the right way. Therefore, a good work-life balance is an integral part of time management.
Further Readings:
Resources on Time Management
FAQs on Time Management
Some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on time management.
It is a simple system to manage time and a to-do list. The 4Ds are: Do, Decide (Defer), Delegate, and Delete. Many people find it useful because it allows them to decide quickly about their to-dos – which tasks to complete now and which to do later or never. The method is, in fact, a combination of two popular productivity and time management methods: Eisenhower Matrix and Inbox-zero. The 4D’s of time management is a handy tool for beginners and people who want to avoid a complicated time management system.
Learn More: Mastering the 4Ds of Time Management
Although time management is perceived as a desirable personal skill, many people fail to adopt this skill in their life. What stops them from using time efficiently? Here are some common obstacles to time management included:
- Personal Lifestyle: Having a poor sense of time management and poor time management habits.
- Mental barrier: Many people fear they will lose spontaneity and freedom if they start practicing time management.
- Self-limiting beliefs: Negative self-concept that time management is an inborn quality, and not everyone possesses this skill.
- Emotional Disturbance: People suffering from stressful and other emotional conditions. For instance, relationship or financial problems or traumatic situations.
- Psychological problem: People with ADD or ADHD find it hard to follow time management best practices.
Doing too many things does not mean you are good at time management. If you often feel burnout, miss deadline, and make mistakes, you are likely not managing time properly. Here are seven common signs of poor time management you need to be aware of:
- Procrastination,
- Rushed work,
- Missing deadline
- Burnout,
- Poor performance,
- Multitasking,
- Perfectionism.
Learn More: How to Beat Poor Time Management Symptoms
Practically, we can’t stretch hours, but we can manage our activities by setting priorities and getting them done at a specific time. Here are a few things you can do to maximize the use time.
- Set goals and prioritize tasks
- Plan your work and day ahead,
- Use time management techniques
- Learn time management skills
- Learn ways to stop wasting time
- Be organized and Say ‘NO’ to unimportant tasks,
- Avoid distractions and procrastination.
There are numerous time management tips and techniques available on the internet. To start managing time straight away, you need to understand the time management principles. When you know the fundamentals, it will be easier for you to jump-start your time management journey. However, these fundamentals work as the key elements of time management. Here are 5 of them included.
- Set goals,
- Plan ahead,
- Be focused,
- Develop productive habits,
- Stop wasting time.
Learn more: The Basic Principles of Time Management You Need to Know
What’s Next?
This is just a quick start guide to time management to help you get started the journey. It will help you to get knowledge on some basics about managing time. The purpose of this guide is to help you navigate through the website and explore the topics.
Want to delve deeper into time management? Here are a few things you can do –
- Read articles and blogs on time management, as much as possible.
- Download the ebook “Manage Time Wisely“. You’ll be subscribed to our newsletter and get notified about latest blog post.
- Consider paid resources, where we’ve listed a collection of books, courses, tools and apps.