Few things are more frustrating than realizing that you just do not have enough time to get everything done. Since there is no way to add more hours to the day, you have to learn how to get more from the time you have. The following time management tips will teach you how to do just that.
To help you reduce stress and stay on task plan each day's activities. Plan the activities that you must complete daily by keeping a calendar. This will help ensure that you allot enough time for each activity. Additionally, this will help avoid scheduling conflicts that can create unnecessary stress.
Go over the day's schedule when you get up in the morning. If you know what is on the agenda for the day first thing in the morning, you increase the likelihood of completing it all. Make sure as you think through the day that you haven;t overextended yourself.
Keep a diary of how you are spending your time. Do this for about 3 days. You will be able to see what you are spending time on. You can then determine what is necessary to spend time doing and what isn't necessary. Figure out how to manage your time better.
The first 30 minutes of the start of your day should be used for planning the entire day. Do not begin your day until you have completed a plan that includes the times that everything is to be done. You can consider this time block used for scheduling your day one of the most important times of your day.
Create a to-do list every morning before you begin your work. Sometimes time is eaten up in the day simply because you don't have a plan. Even a light sketch of a plan, like a simple to-do list is enough to save you precious minutes, even hours, during the day.
In order to become a master of time management, you need to keep both the short- and the long-term in mind. Although it may feel more productive to concentrate on one task exclusively until it's complete, weigh that feeling against the bigger picture. If you're putting off major jobs in order to finish minor ones, you may be wasting a great deal of time!
Try to avoid answering the phone or e-mails just because they ring or appear. If you can, try disabling or disconnecting instant messaging. You don't need to instantly give people attention unless it's essential to the instant human response aspect of your business. You should try scheduling time for returning calls and answering emails.
Don't dismiss the simplicity of a simple pocket sized planner with pages for you to write in appointments, birthdays, lists and other important things. People tend to rely too much on electronic gadgets to help them manage their lives but paper and pen can often be the most effective way to organize your thoughts.
A great tip for self-improvement is to only follow up with clients when absolutely necessary. If you can pass on follow up calls onto a subordinate, then do so. You need to handle what is most important for you and delegate effectively. This will go a long way with managing your time.
If you want to prevent anxiety from overwhelming you, make sure your time management strategy includes plenty of division. Lots of big tasks seem insurmountable at first glance. If you take the time to divide them up into smaller jobs, though, they become a lot more manageable! Fill your schedule with small, "bite-size" tasks, and soon you'll be meeting your goals again.
A diary can help you get a better grip on time management. Takes notes of your day for a couple days. After a few days, check the diary to figure out which areas need improvement.
Carry a to-do list in your pocket. This list is a wonderful reminder when you have trouble remembering what all needs to be done. There may be activities that you need to do that lead you to feel a bit unsettled. That can make you forget what has to happen after that. You can stay focused when you have the list.
Divide to-do lists into four portions. Make one column not important and one of them important. On the left put urgent tasks, on the right those that are not as urgent. Don't spend any more than 10% of your time during the day in the not important/urgent quadrant. Spend the majority of your time doing tasks on the significant and serious sections. Still, you do need to allocate a little time towards the important/not urgent section. If not, you could quickly become overwhelmed with those tasks as they move into the urgent area.
To cultivate a better sense of time management, you need to start with the big picture. Take a week or two to log everything you spend your time on. What you want is an hour-by-hour breakdown of how you do your work. Review your log carefully and identify the places where you're spending more time than is strictly necessary.
Look into the idea of grouping similar work together. Time management is often kicked to the curb simply due to ineffective use of resources. If you've got lots of things that need the same resources, then do them at the same time. It can give you back hours of your time if you''re effective about it.
Don't let obligations get in the way of efficient time management. If you're the type of person who likes to be helpful, you make take on tasks and responsibilities that you don't actually have time for. Be honest about your capabilities. Return tasks that eat up too much of your time, and be more cautious about saying "yes" to favors that may require lots of work.
Once you have mastered the art of time management, you will be able to get a great deal done each day. Before long, you will wonder how you ever got anything done at all. With the advice you have just read, you will be able to achieve great things every day.
Orignal From: Time Tested Ideas You Can Use To Make The Clock Your Friend
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