Many people are often seen , struggling to keep up with their work or tend to procrastinate them. Do you burn all your midnight candles to complete all your deadlines in the nick of time? Or maybe you’re a morning person who manages to put everything off until you’re working way past bedtime. In either ways, Time management is very beneficial and endless, its positive effects will always help you to stay on the top of your daily duties and get more done within your working role.
There are lots of different ways to tackle the issue of time management — you can download apps, adjust your sleep time, create lists, etc. But if you don’t fully understand why it’s important for you to better manage your time, those apps and lists aren’t going to help you. If you don’t have the motivation to use them, you won’t.
Before jumping into anything its important to learn about it. So here the question comes –
WHAT IS TIME MANAGEMENT?
Time management is the strategy of planning out your available time and controlling the amount of time you spend on specific tasks in order to work more efficiently.Proper time management entails a conscious control of time to enable less complicated and smarter work within less time. Failing to manage time would increase the pressure on jobs or projects, which would damage effectiveness and cause stress.
Time management is always discussed concerning work activities or just businesses, but the term comprises of other personal activities.
WHERE THINGS WENT WRONG?
In this modern era , we kill our time in many different ways which include the following:-
• Aimlessly browsing of internet during our short breaks , then spend hours, by time pass with it.
• Chatting with friends on social media.
• Binge Watching
• If you have an important work which you are not interested in, you procrastinate.
• Gossiping, Snacking
• Office hour distraction
• Repeated non - conductive meetings
• Online games and Mobile phones.
Today, I present you some practical tips on Time Management in a creative process:-
1. ORGANIZING YOUR THOUGHTS:-
Before beginning any work , it's very important for you to organizing your thoughts. Try to Categorize and prioritize your thoughts into musts, should and coulds.
2. PREPARING SCHEDULES OR TO-DO LISTS (AND STICKING TO IT) :-
Carry a planner or notebook with you and list all the tasks that come to your mind. Make a simple ‘To Do’ list before the start of the day, prioritize the tasks and focus on the essentials. Make sure that these tasks are attainable too.To better manage your time management skills, you may think of making 3 lists: work/ school , home and personal.
3. PRIORITIZE:
Obviously, there will be many activities for you to do throughout the day. You need to prioritize and set your mind on what is to be done immediately, what can be scheduled, and what can be delegated. Time wasting activities such as gaming or ogling your mobile phone screens should be completely eliminated from your schedule.
4. SET UP DEADLINES:-
When you have a task at hand, set a realistic deadline and stick to it.Try to set a deadline few days before the task so that you can complete all those tasks that may get in the way. Challenge yourself and meet the deadline; reward yourself for meeting a difficult challenge.
5. DON'T MISUSE TIME:-
Do not kill time by loitering or gossiping around. Concentrate on your work and finish assignments on time. Remember your organization is not paying you for playing games on computer or peeping into other’s cubicles. First complete your work and then do whatever you feel like doing. Don’t wait till the last moment.
6. REMOVING DISTRACTIONS:-
Here are a few things you could do :-
• Turn off notifications on your phone or simply switch Airplane mode on.
• Leave your phone out of reach
• Don’t look at social media.
• Use the ‘do not disturb’ functions on your chat apps.
• Set specific times to check your email.
• Forward your calls to voicemail and listen to them at certain times.
7. AVOID MULTITASKING:-
If there is a good side to distractions, there is also a bad side. If a distraction takes up too much of your time, you will find yourself greatly behind on work. So, get to know which distractions tend to drain too much of your time – and then make every effort to avoid these distractions.
8. START EARLY:-
Most of the successful men and women have one thing in common — they start their day early as it gives them time to sit, think and plan their day. Here’s the reason why productive people always wake up early.
When you get up early, you are more calm, creative and clear-headed. As the day progresses, your energy levels starts going down which affects your productivity and you may not perform as well.
To stop dragging from bed and start waking up energeticlly, it’s actually easier than you thought, take a look at this guide
9. TAKE REGULAR BREAKS :-
Whenever you find yourself for 10-15 minutes, take a break. Too much stress can take a toll on your body and affect your productivity.Even better, schedule your break times. It helps you to relax and gets back to work with energy again later.
Take a walk, listen to some music or do some quick stretches. The best idea is to take off from work and spend time with your friends and family.
10. AVOID PROCRASTINATION :-
Procrastination is one of the things that badly affect productivity. It can result in wasting essential time and energy. It could be a major problem in both your career and your personal life.
Avoid procrastination at all cost, learn from this step-by-step guide
11. POLITE REFUSALS:-
Politely refuse to accept additional tasks if you think that you’re already overloaded with work. Take a look at your ‘To Do’ list before agreeing to take on extra work.
12. CONSISTENCY IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS :-
Making a time table and sticking to it for 2 or 3 days is well and good, but the benefit in the long term? Zero. Consistency is what separates the winners from the quitters, because winners never quit, and quitters never win. Stay on track, because this is key to achieving anything in life.
13. STAY FOCUSED:-
One needs to be focused for effective time management. Develop the habit of using planners, organizers, table top calendars for better time management. Set reminders on clocks which will help.in tracking time and keeping with your schedule.
14. GETTING TIRED ??? TRY THE POMODORO TECHNIQUE:-
Basically, you work for 25 minutes, and then take a break for 5 minutes. Repeat as per necessity, instead of working for a full two hours straight. It keeps the mind fresh, helps you to get more stuff done within the same time frame, and retains focus and concentration.
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We can’t control time moving forward, but we can try and find ways to control how we spend and how to spend our time in a judicious way. With these time management tips and strategies, you should be ready to delegate, prioritize, and schedule your time properly.
Hope this article helps you understand why time management is important in our lives.
What works for you? Let us know your own time management tips in the comments...
Have a nice day ahead!
~~pen needs soul
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