Learn to be productive by Improving the time management skills

Are you missing feeling of joy?

Are you unable to spend time with your family, friends, and loved ones?

If your answer is“Yes” then you are not good at managing your time!

Don’t worry! in this blog, you will learn everything about Time Management in detail.

WHAT’S IN IT

What is Time Management?

So, As the name itself suggests, managing time has become a necessary skill these days and Everybody on earth has 24 hours a day and what makes the difference the utilization and managing the time effectively

Hence, Time management is the process of planning and organizing different activities of your daily life.

But there is no guide or a teacher to teach you about time management, and Literally, no one can make you productive if you are not serious enough.

The basics that an individual follow while 

What are the basic things you remember when you hear the word “time management”?

The basic things an individual follow in time management are;

• Planning the activities to be done
• Allocating a certain time period to those activities

But if we elaborate it, then you can follow these steps;

• Efficient Planning
• Setting up goals and objectives
• Setting up deadlines
• Delegation of duties
• Prioritizing jobs as per their significance
• Using the right time on the right activity

Efficient Planning

So, This is the first step towards time management. 

Hence Plan your day and Make a To-Do List. Write down the important activities that need to be completed in a single day against the time that should be allotted to each work. 

Meanwhile High Priority job should be on top, followed by those which do not require much of your concern at that moment. 

So, Finish pending tasks one by one. Do not start new work unless you have completed your prior task. 

In conclusion, Mark the ones you have already finished and Ensure you complete the tasks within the allotted time frame.

Setting up Goals and Objectives

So, The next step is to work on goals. Working with no goal and objectives in a company would be similar to a condition where the captain of the ship loses his direction in the sea. So set objectives/targets for yourself and make sure that they are real and obtainable.

Setting up Deadlines

It is also a crucial part which most of the people miss out.

Set deadlines for yourself and attempt hard to finish tasks before the deadlines. Master to adopt ownership of work. The only person who can set the deadlines best for you is yourself. 

Question yourself how much time requires to be given to a particular job and for how many days. Use a planner to list the major dates against the fixed deadlines.

Delegation of Duties

So, Don’t do everything on your own. There are other people. One should not receive a task, which he knows is hard for him. So, the roles and duties must be assigned as per the interest and specialization of workers, for them to complete jobs within deadlines. 

A person who does not have information about something wants more time than someone who knows the work well.

Prioritizing Tasks

Meanwhile, Prioritize the jobs as per their importance and necessity. Know the variation within important and urgent work. Distinguish which jobs should be completed within a day, which should be done within a month, and etc Tasks which are most important should be done earlier.

Using the right time on the right activity

So, Cultivate the habit of performing the right thing at the right time. Job completed at the wrong time is worthless. 

Don’t ruin a total day on something which can be completed in an hour or so. Also, keep some time separate for your individual calls or checking updates on social media and news. After all, you are a human, not a machine without life which works continuously.

What are Time Management skills

Individuals should have certain skills to manage time effectively. So you should master these skills to manage time well. The skills you should master is;

To stay organized

Staying organized is nothing but being well planned as it will help you to maintain a clear view of what you have to complete and when. 

Hence, Staying well-organized might mean keeping an up-to-date calendar, being able to find certain documents easily, having a clean environment, and taking detailed, diligent notes.

Learn to Prioritize

So, Evaluate each of your duties for priority, which is fundamental in being a good time manager. There are several ways to prioritize what you need to finish. 

You might choose to complete fast, simplistic items followed by longer, more complex ones. Alternatively, So you might prioritize your jobs starting with the one most time-sensitive, or a combination of both.

Be Punctual and Disciplined

Meanwhile, Staying punctual aids you to finish tasks way ahead of the deadline.

For instance avoid taking too many leaves from work. So such an attitude is totally unprofessional.

Make sure that you are there at your desk five minutes before your actual time.

Try hard to finish tasks on time. Do not keep tasks pending & don’t wait for the last moment. 

Take responsibility for work

Do not work only when your boss is watching. Work for yourself. The commitment has to come from within.

So, Be accountable for your work and learn to accept your mistakes.

If you have admitted something, then it becomes your duty to finish it within the given time slot.

Be a little Diplomatic

Meanwhile, Do not admit everything which gets your way. 

Learn to say “NO”

A polite “NO” at the start will save your fame later.

The employees must be assigned responsibilities as per their specialization and knowledge. So this way they gain more interest and ultimately finish work on time.

More Focused

Stay focused and concentrate on work. Do not misuse time by waiting and chatting around.

Do not take lengthy personal calls at work. So finish off the job and leave for the day on time. 

You will have enough time to meet your friends or to use social media sites. Playing games at work is something that is not demanded out of an expert.

Importance of time management

Bad time management can cause you a lack of sleep, unhappiness, and even health issues such as stress. So the thought of having less time to accomplish work is sufficient to make most people feel stressed!

Hence managing your time became essential for people. And now we will look some more reasons why Time management is practised or Why it is important to manage time?\

Improves the quality of your work

It helps you to manage your work while maintaining your normal sleeping routine. You need good sleep in the night if you want to be more productive; good time management will help you.

It reduces stress

Take a few minutes to think on your day:

• Do you feel as though you are always working, but perform little?
• Is there something that’s been holding you up at night with distress?
• Are you unable to finish your work?

If your answer is “yes” to these queries, then you are feeling stressed. 

Even though When you don’t feel stressed, you have control of your time and are always working to meet deadlines, it’s very likely that your health is suffering. 

Time management skills can help to diminish or even eradicate stress. So proper time management skills will make you more productive, helping you to fit your deadlines and reducing your stress.

It opens up new possibilities

One of the unknown risks of poor time management is that it ruins your chances of broadening your boundaries and trying out new things. 

If you go through life moving from one job to another, you never have the chance to explore various opportunities. 

With more available time, you may be ready to volunteer at a local charity or aid someone in need.

It helps your personal relationships

Solid time management skills are necessary to have healthy and productive relations. So the more available time you have to use with your friends and family, the better your connections will be. 

You’ll make better choices have better views, and people around you will see. More effective personal relationships will improve all aspects of your life.

It improves your career

Instead of going with the flow, having a good time lets you control your life and take the edge at work. By getting enough rest and sleep, you’ll be properly placed to make fair decisions at work. So others will see and this will help improve your possibilities for promotion.

It improves your decision-making ability

This skill will help you to avoid stress and get enough sleep. This will have a powerful effect on the quality of your decisions you make and, in turn, So influence almost all aspects of your life, from your career improvement to your connections, friendships, and social life. 

Through adequate time management, you can avoid making the bad decisions that you make when you’re feeling stressed, bored, or pressured.

You can achieve more

Staying in control of your time is excellent for productivity. You’ll find that you can get very much done in less time when you aren’t regularly rushed off your feet. You’ll have improved focus and productivity because you won’t lose momentum by having to deal with various time-sensitive jobs in a hurried manner.

It stops you from missing opportunities

Inadequate time management will kill your productivity and this, in turn, will make you miss opportunities. 

For example, if a co-worker consistently exceeds you at work, they’ll likely be promoted ahead of you. So if you want to improve through the ranks, good time management skills will help you control your time and gain more opportunities.

What Is the Time Management matrix?

It is a matrix which assists you in prioritizing the activities.

	Urgent	Not urgent
Important	1	2
Not Important	3	4

1. The first things to be completed are Important and Urgent Quadrant: These are things such as crises, emergencies, or deadlines.
2. The second thing matters that are Important but Not Urgent: This is where you should focus and spend your time on it. It is all about planning.
3. Third, things matter that is Not Important but Urgent: Most of the people tend to focus on matters that are urgent without thinking if it’s important. Examples are phone calls and social media which deviate from the actual work
4. Lastly, things that matter are Not Important and Not Urgent: These are time wasters. you shouldn’t spend much time on, like binge-watching movies. You must limit your time on these things.

Benefits or advantages of Time Management

• Assists you to achieve what you want, and at a faster rate
• Allows you to get more work done, but in a shorter time
• Helps in reducing waste time, and avoid more problems
• It helps in making a clear schedule for better productivity
• Assists you to fulfil more jobs in less time
• It helps you feel more relaxed and less stressed

Conclusion

Finally, one thing you should remember is, in today’s scenario learning Time management skills became essential. It may be for a student or an employee or for an entrepreneur.

Also you can read our blog on Project Closure – Learn to End Projects Properly

FAQ’s