Time is a precious resource.
If you lose money, there’s a chance you can make it back, but a wasted hour is something you’ll never get back.
Unfortunately, no matter how much you wish for more hours to be added to your day, it’s not going to happen. This is why it’s important to know the importance of time management. When you understand why maximizing the use of your time is an important key to your success, you’ll be more motivated to learn the best time management strategies.
That being said, here are 5 time management tips you can start following to help boost your productivity.
1. Find Out Where Your Time Goes
First things first, you need to track what you do for a month. You can download an app for this or you can write them down on your journal or a spreadsheet.
When the month’s over, check which tasks consumed the most time. Be objective and analyze if you’re investing your time in essential activities, if not, start making adjustments. You should continue keeping a time log until you can spend less time on routine tasks and more on important tasks.
2. Start Each Day With a Plan
Now that you know your time-wasters, the next best tip for managing your time is to start every day with a clear focus. It’s tempting to dive right into checking your emails or whatever first work-related activity you do daily. However, when you set your intentions for the day, it can save you several hours of wasted time and effort.
Bonus: This activity doesn’t have to take an hour. Even as little as five minutes can do the trick.
3. Remember Your MITs
One of the best tips for time management is to tackle your MITs, most important tasks, right after setting your intentions. This way, you’re tackling the biggest and most challenging activities when you have the most energy.
When you do your MITs after finishing several small tasks, it may leave you too tired to do even do them. If this is your daily routine, you may find that you’re always rushing when your deadlines are looming. Always get your MITs out of the way before taking on low-value activities.
4. Use the Right Time Management Tools
It’s true, there’s an app for everything. So why not make good use of them to help improve the way you manage your time, as well as those on your team?
Especially if you own a business, you’d want to use programs that can automate certain tasks. You can check out these tools for business owners, which are specifically designed to boost your company’s productivity.
5. Try Different Time Management Strategies to Find Out What Works for You
Sometimes what works for your peers may not suit your working style. For example, you may have co-workers who seem to be experts at multi-tasking, but when you try to be like them, you end up being less productive.
Instead of trying to multi-task, it’s better to try other time management techniques such as doing your best to minimize interruptions. You may also want to try experimenting with your schedule. Maybe try getting up an hour early or see if you do better by batching similar tasks and setting a time limit when working on them.
Ready to Be a Time Master?
Now that you know some effective time management strategies, do you still need more productivity tips and advice?
If yes, feel free to check out our other posts.
