The Key Elements Of Time Management

After we have gone through keeping yourself motivated we are going to visit another aspect of improving ourselves, Time Management. Do you often find yourself in the situation that you are full of tasks which are already overdue? Do you often feel frustrated because of not having time to complete all your tasks? Then you have come to the right article. Let’s see what you can do in order to reign your days.

Efficient days

You should start with writing everything you do up on a paper. At the end of the day you will see that there are a lot of activities that you are wasting time on. By identifying and regulating these areas you will gain some extra time doing what actually needs to be done. The best way of getting rid of them is making daily routines. A daily routine can be extremely positive, as you will be able to further optimize it.

Thinking time

A lot of people just have a vague overview of what they need to do, but there is not a real order in place. Well completing the tasks out of the blue sky will mean that you will forget tasks, and that your meetings will be in charge of your life not yourself. You should always assign yourself some time to think, to see the big picture. This way you will have an easier time prioritizing between your tasks. You will have clear goals and will understand your life better.

Personal life

There are a lot of people out there who will tell you they don’t have time for this and that. I can tell you that this is not true. What they are really telling is that those activities are just not important enough for them. There are people saying they don’t have time for playing with their children. I would advise them importing their personal tasks in their To Do List.  It wouldn’t mean that they couldn’t do anything spontaneously. It would just mean that they wouldn’t put their career  before your loved ones unintentionally.

Creating the To Do List

Finally, the technical part of time management is having a list of all your tasks in one place. I am kind of a microsoft excel guy, so I am using it for this purpose also. The method of building such a list is the following:

1. Gather all your tasks
2. Assign every task a due date
3. Order the tasks by due dates
4. Assign different colors to the tasks based on importance
5. Create the order of completing the tasks
6. Assign a starting date for the tasks

Such a list can be very helpful. Personally it got me through my last semester of University. I was attending lectures, working in 30 hours and writing my thesis simultaneously. I don’t think it could have worked out without this list.

Using the above mentioned methods will have a positive impact on both your professional and personal life. You will do a better job, as you will have more time for the important tasks, events. You will not feel overwhelmed by the number of tasks, as you will have them organized in a list. And you will not be frustrated about having to do everything in the last minute.

Sources

Young Men’s Health – Time management
Real Men Real Style – 10 Time Management Tips That Actually Work!
Forbes – 8 Secrets Smart People Know About Time Management