Whether you’re a freelancer, entrepreneur, or the CEO of a major corporation, time management and ways to improve it are definitely on your mind. That’s because productivity is directly linked to one’s capacity to manage their time and juggle multiple tasks.
Plus, when you know how to manage your time effectively, you’ll discover you do have enough hours in the day to take breaks, have coffee with loved ones, and care for your personal needs. So, it’s a win-win situation.
However, improving time management is not something you can do in a day or even a week. It takes a bit of introspection as it requires learning about your current habits and understanding where you can change things for the better.
To get you started, we have a few tips that will set you in the right direction:
1. Observe Your Current Time Habits
Did you know that the average office worker is productive for less than 3 hours a day? So what happens during the other 5 hours? Most employees waste a lot of their time on administrative tasks, in meetings, or trying to get back to a task after someone interrupts them.
Plus, human beings are not machines. We can’t run our engines at 100% efficiency all the time. However, we can learn to organize our time and tasks in such a way that, when we’re working, we give it our all. This is what’s called a deep flow state, where you are focused on the task at hand, and every action is designed to help push forward your progress.
But, to get there, you first need to know where your time goes during the day. Start by observing your daily habits for a month and write everything down to identify patterns. At the end of the month, you should have a pretty good idea of how you spend your time and where. Look into using project management platforms as well for time management.
2. Take It One Step at a Time
When you have seven meetings in one day and two reports to finish by the evening, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and panicky. That’s when procrastination tends to rear its head and also when you are the most at risk of ruining your schedule.
Instead, take a deep breath, a step back, and check your schedule. Do you have enough time between meetings? Do you really have time to finish those reports by the end of the workday?
Managing your diary effectively is an invaluable skill that takes time to master, but it will help you handle crazy days like a pro. At the end of the day, you have the same amount of hours in the day as any leader or celebrity, and they are notorious for getting a lot of things done in a short amount of time.
3. Delegate, Delegate, Delegate
One thing famous people know how to do is delegate tasks that don’t require their immediate attention. They have at least one assistant and a small team handling their schedule, taking care of administrative tasks, and keeping them in the loop.
While you may not be able to afford this (just yet), there are plenty of apps that can take over some of the routine tasks. Starting from project management platforms and ending with note-taking apps, you can automate a wide range of activities in your professional and personal life.
This will free up your time and allow you to focus on the activities that must have your full and undivided attention. There are many such advantages of time tracking.
Key Takeaway
Treat your time as if it’s a precious commodity. You only have a specific amount, and you can’t allow it to go to waste on tasks that don’t carry much importance. Observe your current habits and learn how to focus your attention on the things that matter.
