How to manage your time

10 Tips for Managing Time Effectively

Time Management | By Meggie Nahabedian | Read time minutes

Time flies – always. That makes time a variable that can be hard to control and monitor. And once time has slipped away, you never get it back. For companies, time lost equals dollars lost.

In a business environment where employees and skilled professionals are hired based on their input and productivity at a set time, it’s a great time to teach them time management skills. Why? They’ll not only keep better track of time but also have the opportunity to track their progress in projects and contribute to the company’s success.

Being conscious of time will result in self-improvement and goal achievement. That’s true in both your work and personal life. What’s the best way to manage time effectively? Applying these 10 tips is a good start.

1. Have a Time Check

Know exactly how you spend your time. In an office setting, you should know the tasks that are stealing your time. Then you can do something about it. For example, you may be spending an hour on email instead of completing important projects. Knowing exactly where your time is going can help you make decisions about delegating tasks or buying software to speed up some lower-level processes.

2. Set a Time Limit

Setting a time limit for a task can be fun. In fact, it can be like a game. Some companies actually divide employees into groups, and the group that finishes a project or task first gets a reward. You can apply this principle to any task. Set a definite time limit, such as an hour or two. Then try to finish the task within the allotted time, and feel the excitement as you do it.

3. Use Software Tools for Time Management

Technology is more sophisticated at managing time. Various apps even help track employees’ time so that you can monitor their check-ins and check-outs. The internet offers a variety of apps and tools, and some are useful for business management, especially for monitoring and assessing daily processes. For many apps, the advanced functions of the paid versions can also give you added control and better user experience.

4. Have a To-Do List

Having a list is always a time saver. If you have a list, you’ll never have to wonder what’s on the daily agenda or what to do next. Indeed, a list keeps you focused and motivated, focused on feeling that sweet satisfaction every time you tick off a task from your list. Lists also let you see – and monitor – your progress. Even if you’re surrounded by distractions, your list will keep you on the right track.

5. Plan Ahead

Planning ahead is a critical part of time management. Ideally, you should plan ahead for the week or at least the day before. When you know exactly what needs to get done for the day or week, you’ll stay organised and focused. You can break tasks across days to see, in advance, how much time is needed to complete a project. Even spending just a few minutes planning ahead can transform how you work.

6. Start with Your Most Important Tasks

Do your most important tasks in the morning. All those stressful tasks, the big bulk of your work, the hardest tasks – do them in the morning. The reason is simple. You have the most energy in the morning, so you will be able to tackle the tasks efficiently and competently. Plus, the feeling of accomplishment at getting the most important stuff done first will make the rest of the day that much better.

7. Delegate and Outsource

You can’t do everything by yourself, so cut yourself some slack and delegate. Maybe it’s time for you to train someone to do some simple processes in your work or office. That frees you up to focus on the bigger projects or the more complicated tasks. You can even outsource the work to an experienced freelancer and save money.

8. Focus on One Task at a Time

If you have chosen to do a task, see it through to the end – finish it. Avoid doing half work, which means abandoning your current task and doing something else entirely. One example of half-work is writing a report then suddenly checking your email for no reason and writing replies. That’s not only bad time management but also bad for your concentration. You’ll lose your momentum. Focus on the task at hand, and avoid these pitfalls.

9. Make Some Changes in Your Schedule

If you feel more energised at certain times of the day, change your schedule to embrace that. Make the most of your time. Some people are more energised in the morning, while some are night owls. When you choose the best time schedule for you, you’ll enjoy the benefits of being able to do more.

10. Avoid Perfection

Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good, as they say. Avoid overanalysing everything you do. That doesn’t mean be careless, however. Do your best – always. But perfection can drag you down, so don’t think about it. Once you’ve finished a task and given it your best, you have to move on.

Effective time management is ultimately a result of having the right attitude and commitment to your goals. Software tools can help aid in your time management efforts, and there are plenty of calendars and time-tracking devices available to help you manage time effectively.

Whatever tips or tools you use, use your time wisely, but also make time for rest and relaxation to keep you happy and motivated all throughout your life.

What tips and tricks do you use to better manage your time or your team?

Do you want to manage your time more effectively to get the job done? Check out Productivity Hacks When Working From Home.

Meggie is a writer, social media and content marketing manager who works with AMGtime. She has been interested in marketing and management since she was young and wants to share her creative ideas, and unusual approach to marketing with others. Meggie is deeply convinced that marketing is everything and it’s a crucial part of our life. She regularly delivers concepts on how to market products, services and events, how to manage time, employees and more.

15 Time Management Tips for Achieving Your Goals

Serious goal setting requires an unblinking focus on effective time management.

One of the most effective skills you can have in life is powerful and effective time management. If you’re not managing your time well, there’s no way you’re going to reach your goals at work and the life outside of it. Sure, you might make some progress. But your time management will be an uphill battle if you don’t take your time seriously. For people who squander and waste the precious little time they do have, they know all too well how difficult achieving even mildly difficult goals can be.

eclipse_images | Getty Images

The truth is that time is the greatest equalizer in life. No matter who you are, your age, income, gender, race or religion, you have the same amount of time as the next person. Whether you’re filthy rich or dirt poor, your time is the same. It’s not about how much time you have. It’s about how effectively you manage your time.

So if you’re serious about achieving your goals, not only do you need to set those goals the right way, but you also have to get serious about avoiding distractions and becoming too immersed in the bad habits that you know you need to quit. Time-wasters need to fall by the wayside, and serious grit-and-bear-it hard work needs to take its place.

The trick? Find a good time management system and work it. There are many. It’s entirely up to you on which one to choose. But if you don’t want to become part of the 92% statistic of people who fail to achieve their long-term goals, then you need pay attention to how you use the precious little time you do have in this world.

What are the best tips for managing your time?

One of the biggest problems that most entrepreneurs have isn’t just in how they can get enough done in such a demanding market, but also how they maintain some semblance of balance without feeling too overworked. This isn’t just about achieving and going after goals around the clock. This is also about quality of life.

Balance is key. If you lack balance in your life, you’re going to feel stressed out. Even if you’re able to effectively juggle your responsibilities, without proper balance you’re going to eventually reach your breaking point. So, it’s important to not only follow a system that will help you get things done, but also one where you prioritize personal and family time.

Don’t forget to do things like take a walk in the park or just sit and listen to your favorite music with headphones on, or paint a picture, go on a date night and so on. That’s more important than you can think. And when you do that, you achieve some semblance of balance. Life is short. So don’t ignore those things while you reach for your bigger goals. With that said, here are 15 crucial time management tips for getting the proverbial job done.

1. Set goals the right way.

There’s a right and wrong way to set goals. If you don’t set your goals the right way, then you’ll lack the proper targets, which will force you to fall off track. But when you set them the right way, the sky is the limit. Use the SMART goal setting method to help you see things through. And when you do set those goals, make sure you have powerful deep down meanings for wanting to achieve them.

2. Find a good time management system.

One of the tips for managing your time is to find the right system to actually do it. The quadrant time-management system is probably the most effective. It splits your activities into four quadrants based on urgency and importance. Things are either urgent or important, both, or neither. Neither (quadrant 4) are the activities that you want to stay away from, but it’s the not-urgent-but-important quadrant (2) that you want to focus on.

3. Audit your time for seven days straight.

Spend seven days straight assessing how you spend the time you do have right now. What are you doing? Record it in a journal or on your phone. Split this up into blocks of 30 minutes or an hour. What did you get done? Was it time wasted? Was it well spent? If you use the quadrant system, circle or log the quadrant that the activity was associated with. At the end of the seven days, tally up all the numbers. Where did you spend the most time? Which quadrants? The results might shock you.

4. Spend your mornings on MITs.

Mark Twain once said, «If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.» His point? Tackle your biggest tasks in the morning. These are your most important tasks (MITs) of the day. Accomplishing those will give you the biggest momentum to help you sail through the rest of the day.

5. Follow the 80-20 rule.

Another great time management tip is to use the 80-20 Rule, also known as the Pareto Principle. This rule states that 80% of the efforts comes from 20 percent of the results. In sales, it also means that 80 percent of the sales come from 20 percent of the customers. The trick? Identify the 20 percent of the efforts that are producing 80 percent of the results and scale that out. You can do this with meticulous tracking and analysis.

6. Instill keystone habits into your life.

Charles Duhig poignantly coined the keystone habit in his book entitled, The Power of Habit. In architecture, the keystone is the stone that holds all other stones in place. Similarly, keystone habits help to not only solicit other good habits, but also help to eliminate bad habits as well. Focus on keystone habits and you’ll get much better at managing your overall time by making your habit development much easier.

7. Schedule email response times.

Turn off your email throughout the day. When your email is pouring in, it’s easy to get distracted. Schedule time to read and respond to emails. If there’s something urgent, someone will call or text you. But when you have your email open, those distractions interrupt your thought flow and it’s harder to get back on track.

8. Eliminate bad habits.

One of the biggest time-wasters we have are our bad habits. Whether it’s Netflix binge-watching, excessively surfing social media, playing games, going out frequently to drink with friends, or so on, those bad habits take away the precious little time that we do have. Use your time wisely by eliminating your bad habits if you’re serious about achieving big goals in life.

9. Take frequent breaks when working.

One study suggests that you should work for 52 minutes and break for 17. You might not have the luxury to do that. But you should take frequent breaks. If you’re an entrepreneur working for yourself, this is crucial. It’s easy to run on fumes and not even know it. Keep your mental, emotional and physical states at peak levels by breaking frequently.

10. Meditate or exercise every morning.

You might not think that this will help to better manage your time, but meditating and exercising every single morning gives you balance. Cut the toxins out of your life and get serious by doing this and watch as your energy, stamina and mental focus takes a drastic shift.

11. Make to-do lists in the evening for the next day.

Every single evening before bed, make a list for the next day. Look at your goals and see what you can do to help move you closer. This doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time. But by making to-do lists, you’re effectively setting goals for the day. Daily goals are easier to achieve while helping to move us towards the longer and bigger goals. But that happens by creating to-do lists.

12. Find inspiration when you’re feeling lackluster.

Turn to YouTube, TED Talks and any other inspirational source you can turn to when you’re lacking inspiration. It’s hard to stay on track with your time when you lose that drive inside of you. Find ways you can turn the fire back on by focusing inspiring content and seeking out others who’ve achieved big goals.

13. Get a mentor who can guide you.

Finding a mentor is crucial. It’s easy to get distracted and dissuaded when you don’t have someone guiding you. But when you can personally rely on someone who’s been through the wringer and can help you achieve your goals, it’s easier to stay on track with your time. Find a good mentor that can help you along your path.

14. Turn off social media app alerts.

Incessant social media app alerts aren’t helping you with your time. It’s definitely hurting you. Turn them off. You don’t need alerts every moment or to know everything happening with your friends. It’s not important. What’s most important is to have some peace of mind and be better able to focus on the task at hand.

15. Declutter and organize.

Studies have determined that clutter in our environment helps us to lose focus. When we lose focus, we lose time. If you want to avoid that, declutter and organize. Don’t do it all at once. Start small. One drawer today. A shelf tomorrow. Maybe a closet the next day. Just one per day. You build momentum and eventually find yourself turning into an organizing warrior.

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What Is Time Management and How To Manage Your Time Wisely

Founder & CEO of Lifehack Read full profile

Time is money, isn’t it?

If you learn to manage your time efficiently, you can conquer any task in the world. From inner peace to productivity to work efficiency, time management is the one skill that can help you achieve them all.

So what does all of this mean and how can you achieve it?

Read on to find out everything you need to know.

Table of Contents

What is Time Management?

The term ‘time management’ is pretty self-explanatory:

It means managing your time.

At the end of the day, all you got are 24 hours.

Of these, at least 6 to 9 hours are spent sleeping, as recommended by experts. [1] A couple of hours are used to prep and eat meals. Add in 3 to 4 hours of commute, being stuck in traffic, and other minor unexpected challenges.

So, all you are left with is 10 to 12 hours or sometimes even less.

Within this time, you need to complete your work tasks, study, manage a hobby, take care of yourself, socialize, and spend time with your family. Events and special occasions are a whole other story.

How does one cope with so much in such little time?

The art of doing this without losing your mind is exactly what time management is.

Why Does Time Management Matter?

Fortunately, or unfortunately, you cannot choose to skip time management.

Living in a social world also means having some responsibilities. Without fulfilling these, you cannot survive.

You have to work to earn money. You need money to be able to eat. If you do not eat, you will starve to death. If you completely isolate yourself, your mental health will suffer. You have to have some source of entertainment to keep your mind fresh.

This is why time management matters. You have to learn to cope with time restraint for your own good.

Without time management, you will only stress yourself out. You will have to sacrifice a meaningful life, which results in everything going downhill, mentally, emotionally, and physically.

Therefore, you are the one who needs to manage time like a pro.

Find out more about why time management matters: When Does Time Management Matter Most?

Time Management Techniques

No matter how elaborate your to-do list is or how minimal your time is, if you follow the right techniques, there is always enough room to fulfill your tasks in one day.

1. Delegation

Delegation is a remarkable technique to manage huge projects at work. It is specifically suited for work-related tasks. This technique requires the distribution of minor tasks among a group of people to achieve bigger goals in the end.

If you aim to create a digital marketing campaign, you can break the task down into several components. Assign individual, small tasks to different employees so that everyone can work simultaneously to produce a great campaign in minimal time.

If one person were to work on an entire project, it will take weeks to develop. However, with the delegation, this project can be done within hours.

2. Prioritizing

Sometimes, when you have a lot to do and little time to do it, you may dive right into the workload without thinking about it first.

First, go through your list of tasks for the day and prioritize. This way, even if you run out of time by the end of the day, you will not be missing out on anything super important.

The best way to use this technique is by learning how to prioritize, especially when everything seems to be equally important and you do not have hours to ponder on the list.

3. Block Scheduling

What is a better way to manage time than creating a schedule? And not just any schedule, but a block schedule.

So what you do it divide your time into blocks of hours or minutes however you want.

Then you assign one task to each block.

The main aim is to tackle fewer tasks per day but get done with them within the assigned time-frame. This is a method to keep the brain focused.

If you do a little bit of everything every day, your brain will be all over the place. Therefore, block scheduling technique recommends getting on with one thing, finishing, and then moving onto the next.

4. Stay Focused

Truth be told, if you could keep yourself focused, you can finish any task faster.

A major part of time management is utilizing every single second productively. You can do this best if your mind is focused on the task at hand and without any distractions.

There are little things you can incorporate in your routine to improve your focus, such as choosing a structured environment to work on. Here’s how: How to Stay Focused and Not Get Distracted

5. Overcome Procrastination

Having 10 hours to do 10 things might sound impossible.

But the truth is that you can very easily squeeze in all the necessary tasks within this time-frame if you stop wasting your time.

Believe it or not, procrastination is the biggest enemy of time management.

You probably already knew that. But what you may not know is how to overcome this bad habit.

Well, you will have to start by identifying when you are procrastinating. You can follow guides available online to stop procrastinating and improve your productivity.

However, one thing you must keep in mind is that it takes a conscious effort to eradicate procrastination from your routine. You will have to figure out when you are doing it and then forcefully stop yourself from putting off important things.

Here you can learn some tips on overcoming procrastination: What Is Procrastination and How to Stop It (The Complete Guide)

6. Learn to Say No

Just because you are learning to tackle more in less time does not mean you should over-burden yourself.

Once again, prioritize what you are assigned with. If something is out of your job description, not your passion, or not manageable for you, simply say no.

It may come out as rude, and you may feel a pang of guilt. But, you can always learn to say no in a polite way to tackle both these issues without causing any extra stress to yourself.

Find it difficult to say no? This article can help: How to Say No When You Feel You Can Only Say Yes

7. Use the Pomodoro Method

The Pomodoro method is a technique of working in short intervals. [2]

Basically, you set a 25-minute timer and focus on the single task at hand without any distractions.

After one Pomodoro, or 25-minute interval, is over, you take a break of no longer than 5 minutes.

The 5-minute break is enough to recharge your productivity but not long enough to break your work tempo. It gives your mind the satisfaction of taking a break without letting your brain lose its trail of focus.

Moreover, after 4 Pomodoros, you can treat yourself to a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes. You can indulge in a small activity, eat a snack or simply relax. This is an excellent way to keep you from getting bored with tasks that you have been working on for a long time already.

By setting a timer, you are giving your brain a direction. Your mind knows that it has to focus on one thing for a set amount of time.

You can also view the 5-minute break as a treat for your mind looks forward to. Hence, you boost your overall focus and productivity.

Useful Tools and Resources to Master Time Management

Sometimes, just knowing is not enough.

Constant reminders, a budge here and there, and a support system are necessary to keep you pushing on the right track.

This is where time management tools come to the rescue.

Your brain may agree with everything you have read so far. But constant repetition is needed to imprint this on your mind to make it a habit. This is why time management guides and books are lifesavers.

Here is a long list of relevant time management books that can help you out in this regard: 10 Best Time Management Books for Maximized Productivity

Each one has a different approach and suits different individuals’ reading and learning styles. Choose whichever one you like best, and take advantage of an expert’s opinion.

Now, even when your mind has all the knowledge, you still might not be able to manage time well enough. This is why you need the help of applications.

Certain applications serve the purpose of accountability while others keep your to-do list organized to save you the stress.

Some apps, like Focus Booster, focus on the Pomodoro Technique. So, if you find that to be useful, an app like this one will help you save a lot of time.

Similarly, some tools will allow you to record how much time you are wasting and where you spend the rest of your time. Once you have this information in front of you, you can then prioritize and shift your routine to accommodate more productivity.

Summary

If you want an organized, stress-free life without compromising your relationships, work-life or mental health, you should start applying these recommended time management techniques in your work and personal life.

Download applications that will boost your productivity, and read books that encourage you towards a better life.

Conclusively, you are the one in control of how your life goes by.

Luckily, it is pretty easy to follow along with these tips, and anyone can avail of their benefits.

How to Manage Time: Tips for Effective Time Management

How to manage time effectively and by this increase your productivity:

No matter how much work we put into productivity, somehow it always feels like there is so much to do and never enough time in the day to do it. But why? Is it because there is really so much to do? Or are we not managing time effectively enough?

In this article, we delve into how to manage our time, because time management is life management. The more we take control of our time, the more we are taking control of our lives. But before we get to the practicalities of it, let’s discuss why time management is important.

Time management to reduces stress

When we take control of our time, we are sending a signal to ourselves and those around us, that we respect our time and we respect ourselves and by doing this we reduce anxiety. We feel like we’re in the driver’s seat, rather than reacting to what’s thrown at us. The more we manage our lives, the less chaotic we feel, which puts us on top rather than grasping at straws, which can make us feel helpless. The less stressed we are, the more productive we are.

Time Management when working from home

When working from home or remotely, it’s even more important to manage time effectively, otherwise it can lead to burnout as well as being ineffective. The lines between work and personal are extremely blurred when working from home. Gone are the days where you left the office at 5pm and work was finished until 9am the following day. If we don’t take control of our time, then we can end up always working, which is unhealthy and ultimately doesn’t produce the best work.

Time management is life management

There are various ways to manage time at home, for example:

Best Practices on How to Manage Time

Let’s look into some best practices now on how to manage your time more effectively.

#1 Effective Time Management:
Create a System That you Enjoy Using and Looking at

The best way to manage time effectively is to create systems that work for you and make you feel good every time you look at it. If you like ‘old fashioned’ pen and paper, then put your to-do list on that. If you enjoy apps, or want everything in your calendar, that’s fine. The important thing is that you need to like your system so that you engage with it and don’t run from it. If you don’t like the system you’re using you’ll resist opening it and using it, which will work against you being productive.

Tip: We have an article to help you decide if to use paper or on your phone for your todo lists.

#2 Time Management Best Practice: Be Realistic

It’s one thing to want to get everything done, it’s another to be realistic about what you can do and the time frame you can do it in. Managing time effectively, means managing expectations realistically. ⏰ One way to do this is by taking the task at hand and figuring out how many hours it’ll take to get done. Then break down the hours per day, doing a bit of work each day until the task is complete.

For example, if you have a large project that you think will take about ten hours to make a dent in, look at your calendar and figure out when you can realistically dedicate those hours. Can you do two hours each morning for the next five days? Can you do one hour for ten days, or three hours over the course of three weeks? Be realistic and then commit to what you decide to do.

#3 How to Manage Time: Work When You Work Best

It’s not enough to have a to-do list, but you have to carve out time in your day to focus on that list, at times that make sense for the task at hand.

For example, if you have a project that requires a lot of concentration and you are at your best in the morning, then carve out time in the morning to do that project. Even if it’s just three hours, work on things when you are at your best to work on them.

Don’t just put it on the to do list and assume you’ll get to it at some point.

#4 Managing Time Effectively: Have a ‘Filler List’

There are always breaks in the day from the more intense work and when these breaks occur, one of the best ways to increase productivity is by filling that time with a few lighter things on the to-do list. Some people call this the ‘filler list’. These are things that need to get done, but perhaps don’t need hours or a quiet space. Maybe it’s sending a few text messages or answering emails or making calls you’ve been putting off.

Think about all of the 15-20 minute chunks of time you have in the day. If you add it up, there’s at least 1-2 hours where you could be ploughing through a ton of things.

#5 How to Manage Time Effectively: Break It Down

Part of the reason we do not have effective time management, is because we often don’t want to do a task that seems too daunting, so we hope it goes away, or we put it off, or we put it on the list as a whole project, but then never get to it. This leads to procrastination and experts tell us that procrastination, is more emotional than it is logistical.

Procrastination is not a time-management problem, it’s an emotion-management problem.

Tim Pychyl, an associate professor of psychology at Carleton University and blogger at Psychology Today

We procrastinate when we get overwhelmed or anxious and one way to combat this is by breaking things down into baby steps and asking ourselves: What’s the next step? When we do things one step at a time, it helps move us forward and take actions that eventually build momentum and ease that feeling of fear and anxiety.

Tips from the Experts on How to Manage Time more Effectively

Experts in time management, like Robby Slaughter, workflow and productivity expert, speaker on topics related to personal productivity and corporate efficiency, say the problem most of us face when trying to increase productivity is that we focus too much on time and tasks and not enough on relationships and impact. Time management isn’t just about logistics, it’s making sure we’re emotionally OK, which is why Robby says we should schedule something positive into our weekly schedule so that we have something to look forward to.

Other tips that Time Management Expert Robby Slaughter says are crucial if you want to manage your time include:

Your Takeaway for better Time Management

Time management is both practical and emotional, which means that we have to keep our mental and emotional health in check. The more conscious we are about what works for us and how and when we work best, coupled with taking stock of how a task or a job is impacting us emotionally, will help us take more control of our time.

The more we take control, rather than letting our time control us, we’ll be more productive and feel more fulfilled.

Managing your Time: Best Practices

Header photo: Photo by Jeffrey Paa Kwesi Opare via Pexels

3 thoughts on » How to Manage Time: Tips for Effective Time Management «

Indeed it was worth investing my time to read your blog. There were many insights that would be helpful. But the best one is having a ubiquitous capture. I was not familiar with it, but after reading it now I think I need to have it to enhance my productivity. Thank you for sharing such informational blog. Hoping to read more blogs from your end!
Yours Thankfully,
A Happy Reader.

Great article. Busy people have schedules to manage their time. As a result, people should make the best use of time. In corporate life, time management can be useful to the employee.

The most enlightening part for me was : Time management isn’t just about logistics, it’s making sure we’re emotionally OK, which is why Robby says we should schedule something positive into our weekly schedule so that we have something to look forward to.

Time Management

Planning and controlling how much time to spend on specific activities

A Brief Guide to Time Management

Time management is the process of planning and controlling how much time to spend on specific activities. Good time management enables an individual to complete more in a shorter period of time, lowers stress, and leads to career success.

Benefits of Time Management

The ability to manage your time effectively is important. Good time management leads to improved efficiency and productivity, less stress, and more success in life. Here are some benefits of managing time effectively:

1. Stress relief

Making and following a task schedule reduces anxiety. As you check off items on your “to-do” list, you can see that you are making tangible progress. This helps you avoid feeling stressed out with worry about whether you’re getting things done.

2. More time

Good time management gives you extra time to spend in your daily life. People who can time-manage effectively enjoy having more time to spend on hobbies or other personal pursuits.

3. More opportunities

Managing time well leads to more opportunities and less time wasted on trivial activities. Good time management skills are key qualities that employers look for. The ability to prioritize and schedule work is extremely desirable for any organization.

4. Ability to realize goals

Individuals who practice good time management are able to better achieve goals and objectives, and do so in a shorter length of time.

List of Tips for Effective Time Management

After considering the benefits of time management, let’s look at some ways to manage time effectively:

1. Set goals correctly

Set goals that are achievable and measurable. Use the SMART method when setting goals. In essence, make sure the goals you set are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely.

2. Prioritize wisely

Prioritize tasks based on importance and urgency. For example, look at your daily tasks and determine which are:

3. Set a time limit to complete a task

Setting time constraints for completing tasks helps you be more focused and efficient. Making the small extra effort to decide on 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.

For example, assume you need to write up five reviews in time for a meeting. However, you realize that you’ll only be able to get four of them done in the time remaining before the meeting. If you become aware of this fact well in advance, you may be able to easily delegate writing up one of the reviews to someone else. However, if you hadn’t bothered to do a time check on your tasks beforehand, you might have ended up not realizing your time problem until just an hour before the meeting. At that point, it might be considerably more difficult to find someone to delegate one of the reviews to, and more difficult for them to fit the task into their day, too.

4. Take a break between tasks

When doing a lot of tasks without a break, it is harder to stay focused and motivated. Allow some downtime between tasks to clear your head and refresh yourself. Consider grabbing a brief nap, going for a short walk, or meditating.

5. Organize yourself

Utilize your calendar for more long-term time management. Write down the deadlines for projects, or for tasks that are part of completing the overall project. Think about which days might be best to dedicate to specific tasks. For example, you might need to plan a meeting to discuss cash flow on a day when you know the company CFO is available.

6. Remove non-essential tasks/activities

It is important to remove excess activities or tasks. Determine what is significant and what deserves your time. Removing non-essential tasks/activities frees up more of your time to be spent on genuinely important things.

7. Plan ahead

Make sure you start every day with a clear idea of what you need to do – what needs to get done THAT DAY. Consider making it a habit to, at the end of each workday, go ahead and write out your “to-do” list for the next workday. That way you can hit the ground running the next morning.

Implications of Poor Time Management

Let’s also consider the consequences of poor time management.

1. Poor workflow

The inability to plan ahead and stick to goals means poor efficiency. For example, if there are several important tasks to complete, an effective plan would be to complete related tasks together or sequentially. However, if you don’t plan ahead, you could end up having to jump back and forth, or backtrack, in doing your work. That translates to reduced efficiency and lower productivity.

2. Wasted time

Poor time management results in wasted time. For example, by talking to friends on social media while doing an assignment, you are distracting yourself and wasting time.

3. Loss of control

By not knowing what the next task is, you suffer from loss of control of your life. That can contribute to higher stress levels and anxiety.

4. Poor quality of work

Poor time management typically makes the quality of your work suffer. For example, having to rush to complete tasks at the last minute usually compromises quality.

5. Poor reputation

If clients or your employer cannot rely on you to complete tasks in a timely manner, their expectations and perceptions of you are adversely affected. If a client cannot rely on you to get something done on time, they will likely take their business elsewhere.

Related Readings

Thank you for reading CFI’s guide to time management. CFI is a global provider of financial modeling courses and financial analyst certification. To help you become a world-class financial analyst and advance your career, these additional free CFI resources will be helpful: