Basic Principles of Time Management

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Time management can be interpreted in several ways. But it is commonly understood as proper allocation of time in terms of maximizing it by accomplishing more tasks. It could be applied to a lot of situations, whether in school, or work, and basically everywhere that requires something to get done within a certain period of time.

Time Management In Focus

With a lot of things to do in a span of 24 hours, most people have a difficult time setting their priorities and recognizing what are the things that must be done first. There are a lot of distractions in life that can take our attention away from far more important things. Eventually, most of us fail to maximize our use of time that we end up accomplishing nothing for the day. Hence, the big question is: how do you manage your time?

Time management works very much like economics. It is an allocation of scarce resources, which in this case is time, in order to reap maximum efficiency at the end of the day. However, we don’t need to become good economists in order to efficiently manage our time. All we need is common sense and good sense of judgment in order to maximize everything we do.

Few Things To Consider To Proper Time Management

In order to properly manage your time, there are a few things that you have to consider. You have to condition yourself to do the most important or most urgent tasks first. This is what sets responsible people apart from those who aren’t. Knowing what things to prioritize first will help you to overcome all those distractions along the way.

However, recognizing your priorities is just mainly your first step. As the cliché goes, it is easier said than done. It is best recommended to list down the things you have to do for the day. When you already have the checklist or to-do list for the day, you have to create a mindset wherein you must fulfill them. Once you are used to this list, soon you will get used to this that you do not even have to keep listing them. Instead, you’d create a mental note for what you are set to do for the rest of the day.

By doing this, you are not only able to set your priorities but develops a sense of responsibility that will prove helpful in the long run.

Knowing what your priorities are is just the first step. Relaxation is also an important factor in our everyday activities. The best thing to do is to initiate periodic rest times ideally 10 minutes every 2 hours in order to relax our mind and muscles from the stressful. Relaxing once in a while also improves our concentration in what we are doing. Hence, it improves your level of productivity.

Advantages Of Time Management

There are a lot of advantages when we properly manage our time but we will just discuss a few and most important ones.

It eliminates cramming – When you have properly set your priorities, you are able to finish your task early. This cuts time and you’d be more likely to accomplish things in advance. Hence, you avoid cramming. When you do your work earlier than usual it also follows you to achieve better results because you could allocate more time to focus on your task.

Eliminates stress – When you keep on beating deadlines, there is the tendency to use up more time. When this happens, you disrupt your sleeping habits and thus produce more stress. Proper Time management helps you eliminate the stress because you properly allocate your time for work and rest.

Proper allocation of your time is a hard task, but once you get used to it, you are sure to become more productive.

How to stop wasting time

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Are you one of those people who are always wasting time? You are doing something else when you should be getting your work done? Everybody has a procrastination habit that they don’t want to admit to. So how are you going to kick this habit? Here are a few steps how.

1. Identify what you waste your time on.

Are you one of those people who waste their time on watching television or surfing the Internet when you should be getting your work done? List down those time wasters? It could also be lining up in a queue in the post office to get stamps. So list it all down.

2. Find solutions

Now that you know your time wasters, list down the solutions you can take to stop wasting time. It could be taking out the television plug, so that you can’t switch on the television. It could also be doing online banking instead of lining up to pay your electricity and water bills.

3. Plan your day

Have a checklist of what you have to do for that day. Try putting your checklist in order too. Say like you have to go to the store in the morning, put it as number 1. Number 2 could be clean the house. Make your check list as practical as possible. If you do have a checklist and you did not plan in what order you should be doing, you will most probably only be able to complete half of your checklist.

4. Plan your week.

After you are done planning your checklist by the day, you can now move on to a checklist for the week. Give a timeline to the things you have to do for that week. This way, it allows you to get more work done at a consistent pace and you will also be able to find some time in between to relax.

5. Multi task!

Multi tasking is how you could use your time more efficiently. You could go through your bills while watching your favourite show or you could do your online banking whilst having your breakfast in the morning. So multitask!

Most importantly, remember to make every second count! So start today! Remember, time waits for no man!

4 useful tips to get more hours

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Who hasn’t wished that there were more hours in a day? We seem to be rushing from place to place trying to accomplish everything and if we don’t we end up feeling frustrated. So here are a few handy tips to create more hours in a day.

1. Acknowledge the fact that you can’t do it all.

Decide what is important in your life. You have to know that you can’t do it all. If you do try, you will end up being frustrated and burnt out. The most important thing is how you are spending your time. Are you having quality time? Are you happy with the way you spend it? Think about that.

2. Prioritize ruthlessly

Review the list of things you have to do. Now redo that list and prioritize that list. Not everything has equal importance in that list. Which is more important? Getting your hair done or that big paper which is due this Friday? Once you prioritized, you find that you will be able to get more things done instead of rushing around like a mad person.

3. Enough is enough

You have to know your limit. Do not commit yourself to the project if you are still in the middle of another project. Unless you are able to handle both projects at the same time, then go ahead although that is most likely not the case. If somebody asks you to do a favour for them and your day is jam packed, learn to say NO. You are not being unkind, but you have to think of yourself too at the same time.

4. Get away from the distraction

When you have that big project coming along, it is okay for you to sit down, shut the door and disregard the phone calls or emails that are coming through for that particular period. You need to get your work done and those email and calls can wait. Set aside another part of the day for you to listen or respond to emails and phone calls

In conclusion, remember, to lead a balanced life you need to get your life organized, so try our time management tips and you will be sure to achieve all that you want to do.