The person who came up with the statement, “time flies” had to be one of the wisest individuals of all time. Running out of time or not having enough time in hand is a dreadful experience that we have all endured at one point in our life or the other. Unfortunately, some people have to deal with this experience nearly every single day of their lives. Regardless of how much work is being put into the desk, some people simply can’t seem to catch a breath. Punctuality is not their strength and being on time is something that they cannot seem to accomplish under any circumstances.
Mismanaging time can lead to a number of complications in a person’s life. Employees can get into serious trouble when they do not possess exceptional time management skills, especially for those who are working jobs that are very physically and mentally demanding. Students can perform poorly in tests if they fail to complete their exams in time or go through the syllabus in the days leading up to the exam. Those who struggle to manage time are also known to have unexciting and nearly non-existent social lives as they are constantly shackled by professional and academic obligations.
If you are the kind of person who always looks at the clock with an apprehensive expression, then the following list of five time management tips may help you out to a great extent
1) Prepare a Schedule and Record Your Thoughts
The fact that creating a schedule helps in time management is common knowledge. People already know that very well. What people do not realize is that it is just as important to record your thoughts, conversations and activities as it is to maintain a schedule. How will penning down these be of any help to you? By tracking your behaviour for a week (at least), you will be able to observe patterns that will tell you a great deal about how your mind works. Once you figure that out, you will know where the precious moments of time are being wasted every single day. In other words, you are giving yourself a chance to eliminate unproductive thoughts, conversations and actions at certain times of the day.
2) Assign a Specific Time for High Priority Activities
There are productive activities and then there are activities which are absolutely pivotal to your success. For example, as a marketer, one of your first priorities should be to constantly research the market and pick up any small changes that might affect the sales of your product or service. This research activity is essential for your success as a marketer. If you do not get this job done in time your performance as a professional employee will deteriorate significantly. Make sure that you assign a particular time for such activities that have the potential determine the success of your career or academic life. Any other productive activity can come number second in the list of priorities.
3) Make Room for Interruptions
When creating a schedule, do not forget to take interruptions into account. The only thing that you can be certain about when it comes to scheduling and time management is that there is always going to be something that will throw your plans off balance. To deal with this, you need to make room for interruptions. By anticipating interruptions, you will be able stick to your schedule and avoid the hassle of being unprepared to deal with an unexpected occurrence. As the saying goes, expect the unexpected.
4) Eliminate All Distractions When Performing Urgent Work
Dealing with urgent work is always a pain in the back. What makes it worse is the presence of numerous distractions all around you. Someone could walk into your room when you are in the middle of the most important work you have had all week long. Then again, you should not always blame others for disruptions. Having access to social media, news websites or online gaming sites when you are carrying out urgent work will almost always taking your mind off what you are supposed to do. This is why it makes perfect sense to get completely detached from these distractions until after you have completed your all important task.
5) Do Not Be Hard on Yourself In the Event of a Failure
If you cannot keep up with time on a few occasions, then it will not be the end of the world for you. Lingering on these mistakes that you have made will do nothing to help your confidence. Instead, they will cast a shroud of shame, misery and regret over your mind and make you less competent of managing time. Time management is a process. It cannot be achieved overnight. Just keep pushing and trudging along. You will eventually get there. Giving up hope and losing faith is what traps people inside the vicious cycle of time management failure.