“He who every morning plans the transactions of that day and follows that plan carries a thread that will guide him through the labyrinth of the most busy life.”
With this quote from Victor Hugo we can find out what time management is.
Time management is the process of planning and exercising conscious control of time spent on specific activities, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity. It involves a juggling act of various demands upon a person relating to work, social life, family, hobbies, personal interests, and commitments with the finiteness of time. Using time effectively gives the person “choice” on spending or managing activities at their own time and expediency.
Time management may be aided by a range of skills, tools, and techniques used to manage time. Forbes has identified 20 Time Management Tips, of which we have selected 5 that we believe are truly essential. What are they?
- Plan ahead: During your morning routine, write down 3 or 4 most urgent and important matters that need to be addressed today and work on those when you are most productive.
- Set a time limit to each task: I have found that setting a time limit to each task prevents me from getting distracted or procrastinating. Making the small extra effort to decide how much time you need to allot for each task can also help you recognize potential problems before they arise. That way you can make plans for dealing with them.
- Get organized and single-task: Create to-do lists for each goal and project, listing all the measurable steps that need to be accomplished,” suggests William Lipovsky. This not only keeps you focused, but also motivates you, as you are able to see what you have already achieved and what remains to do.
- Follow the 80-20 rule: “The Pareto Principle also known as the 80-20 rule suggests that 80% of results come from 20% of the effort put in. When it comes to how you should manage your time this principle can also be applied. 80% of your results comes from 20% of your actions. Start by looking “at your schedule or to-do-list every day and remove non-essential tasks/activities. Determine what is significant and what deserves your time. Removing non-essential tasks/activities frees up more of your time that can be spent on genuinely important things.
- Learn to delegate/outsource: Delegation and outsourcing can get a bit tricky. The thing is delegating or outsourcing are real time-savers since it reduces your workload – which means you have more time to spend on more important tasks or doing less work.
Managing wisely your time can help you also to improve your career. So, having strong time-management skills can ultimately lead to accomplishing key goals and advancing in your position. Start now!