One underutilized but important skill in life is good time management. If you never feel like the day ends with all of the items on your “to do” list checked of, it’s easy to feel frustrated and increase your stress levels too. The following techniques will show you how to manage your time wisely. Read on to learn more.
Make use of one of the most inexpensive of organizing tools — the calendar. Lots of folks still like paper calendars on which they can scribble. Other people like electronic calendars because they can access it through their phone or computer. Using a calender is the best way to manage your daily commitments.
Be careful as you set your schedule. Consider the amount of time the different tasks for the day will take so you can calculate a time of completion. This gives you control over your life. If you find yourself with extra time on your hands, use it to pamper yourself.
Fill in any blanks on your schedule at the beginning of the day. If you begin your day with the knowledge of what lies ahead, you will be more likely to accomplish your goal. Review your daily schedule, making sure you haven’t taken on too much.
Part of your daily schedule should be to include time for interruptions that may pop up. When you leave no time between your appointments, you’ll end up being late. Planning ahead for those interruptions will help you stay on track.
Focus on single tasks if you have a hard time managing your time. Many people cannot finish multiple projects at the same time because they are not good at multi-tasking. Refrain from multi-tasking at all times. Take a minute to relax and breathe as you work on a single project through to its completion.
If you find that you’re not getting things done in a timely manner, it’s time to stop and think about how you’re doing things. You may be doing things in an inefficient manner. Ask others how you can improve. To manage time well, you really must define how your existing patterns are impacting your output.
When you find yourself managing your time poorly, consider for a moment how you’re putting your time to use. You must be smart about it. Check your voice mails and emails only when you have set aside time for them. Otherwise, you reduce the time you have for the allotted tasks on your list.
Plan out your schedule every morning. Write what you will be doing that day and what amount of time you will need for each class. Keeping a schedule everyday will improve the efficiency of your time usage.
Unless it is an emergency, when you are occupied with a task, you should ignore your phone, text messages or instant messages. After being interrupted, it will be difficult to get back on task. Do all your chatting, electronically or otherwise, once you’ve completed your tasks for the day.
Take on those difficult tasks early. Any task that takes up a lot of time should be done as soon as possible. This takes the pressure off as you move on to more mundane tasks. If you get through the toughest part of your day right away, you can feel more refreshed as the day goes by.
After reading the article, you should know how to manage your time. Using these ideas daily will bring many rewards. You will find that more time becomes available to accomplish your tasks.