”How time flies”, is a famous aphorism you must have heard over and over again. This is to tell you that time is fleeting and expensive. In a bid to be more productive in both private and public life, experts have come up with courses on time management. Failure to manage time effectively affects your life-work balance. As a matter of fact, most organizations see the loss of time as the loss of millions of naira. Many crises people face in their homes and workplaces are as a result of poor time management. In this article, I will explore 8 time management tips that can help restore balance to your life.
1. Monitor How You Spend Your Time
This is the first step to managing your time. You should be able to identify those things that steal your time, such as tasks, idle chatters, sleep, social media, and some other legitimate and illegitimate things. So, place a check on your time, know exactly where your time is going, and cut out unproductive ventures.
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2. Live A Scheduled Life
It can be fun to do this. Living a scheduled life is setting a time limit for everything you do. Living within time limits could look like a game. Is like having a life timetable. Always challenge yourself to do a specific task within an hour or two, and finishing within the limit could give you a sense of achievement and at the same time help manage your time effectively.
3. Have a To-Do List
Having a to-do list will save you from the confusion of time mismanagement. A to-do list will give you a sense of direction, knowing what task to do after the other. A to-do list will streamline your focus and keep you motivated as you finish one task after another. To make this more fun, always tick a ”check” sign above every accomplished task on the list.
4. Prioritize Appropriately
Set your priorities right. Always perform your most important tasks in the morning. It’s advisable to work on the most stressful and biggest tasks in the morning, because you have most of your energy in the morning, and it affords you the needed strength to clearly tackle the tasks effectively and completely. Getting most of your work done early in the day gives you a sense of accomplishment and peace.
5. Plan Ahead
Planning ahead is very key if you want to manage your time effectively and stay out of stress. The implication of planning ahead is that you already know what to do in the coming days and weeks. Learn to plan a day before, a week before and a month before task executions. Break tasks into hours, days, weeks and months. Allot time for each so that you can keep your mind focused, knowing ahead how to carry them out.
6. Use Software Tools for Time Management
Software tools are more effective towards time management. They can help keep track of your time, informing you of when to check in and check out. Examples of these apps include Google Calendar, Focus Keeper, Todoist, among others, which can be gotten on iOS and Playstore. Some apps are very important for business management, which keeps track of all the day-to-day processes.
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7. Delegate and Outsource
One of the reasons why it seems you’re constrained by time and easily stressed out by it is because you’re trying to do all the tasks by yourself when you can easily delegate or outsource some of your tasks. Rather than getting bogged down with so much on your table, try delegating or outsourcing some tasks to an experienced freelancer and save yourself money and time.
8. Have A Flexible Schedule
Having a flexible schedule instead of a rigid one can help you navigate and stay on course in times of emergencies and unforeseen circumstances. Further, let your schedule fit into moments that motivate you, rather than getting bogged down by tasks that weigh you down during your unmotivated moments. Some people are early birds – they’re energized in the mornings – while some are night owls, who find most of their strengths at night. Find out who you’re and design your schedule to fit into your best moment.
Conclusion
There you have it! 8 ways to effectively manage your time. When everything in your life is falling in line because of good time management, you can easily strike a balance between family and work.
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