Mastering Time Management
The Ultimate Cheat Strategy for Everyone
Time management is the process of organizing and planning how to divide your time between different activities. Get it right, and you will end up working smarter, not harder, to get more done in less time – even when time is tight and pressures are high. The highest achievers manage their time exceptionally well.
Time management is the process of coming up with a plan of making sure you do the most important tasks efficiently.
Let’s delve into the causes of poor time management. Let’s see how the causes will help you learn some of the common signs that show that you are not managing your time effectively:
1. Procrastination
2. Perfectionism
3. Poor Planning
4. Inability to Set Priorities
5. Undefined Goals
6. Indecisiveness
7. Too Many Tasks
There isn’t a single method that works for all those looking to improve their time management skills. Finding one that works for you might take time and trying out several methods; several techniques can also be combined to get the desired result.
Most ways to improve poor time management require a good understanding of one’s goals and motivations and an even better understanding of yourself. Below are a few suggestions on how to work on improving your time management skills:
1. Eat That Frog - Do the most important and difficult tasks first thing in the morning. Works well for people who struggle with Procrastination.
2. Pomodoro – 25 minutes of work, 5-minutes of break, and then again 25 minutes of work ,5-minutes of break. Repeat this for 4 times and then longer break. Works well for people who struggle with distractions.
3. 2-Minute Rule – If a task can be completed in 2 min or less, do it right away. Works well for boosting productivity and reducing procrastination.
4. 1-3-5 Method (1 Big Task – 3 Medium Tasks – 5 Small Tasks) – By focusing of a limited number of tasks at different levels of complexity, you can stay organized throughout the day. Works well for those who struggle with overwhelm.
5. Eisenhower Matrix – Organize work in four quadrants and decide on urgent vs important & not urgent vs not important factors. Works well for people who have a deal with a lot of decision making.
6. Getting Things Done (GTD) – Add all tasks to a list. If the task is around 2 minutes of, do it instantly, else – schedule it. Works well for people who like to-do lists and long-term planning.
7. Pickle Jar Theory – Add a finite number of tasks in a day. Identify what is useful and what is not useful. Works well for people who love creative thinking.
8. Task Batching Technique – Assign time blocks for the tasks in your day. Most effective with task batching. Works well for people who manage multiple responsibilities or projects.
Proper time management will help you get the most out of your work and personal life. The first step is identifying and accepting that you are not good at managing your time. This is followed by finding a tool or learning a time management technique that works for you.
It will take deliberate and continuous effort to improve. A career coach can also be effective in helping to identify the reasons one is a poor time manager. Using this knowledge, career coaches will help you avoid the common pitfalls of poor time management. Good time management skills, when learned, will serve you for a lifetime.