Time is not something you can “stock up on” for yourself. If you waste it, you will never get it back. Major organizations lose their productivity and business only because they are not able to optimize the time they have. The skill of managing time alone can lead to a tremendous increase in productivity, in turn, getting better results. Before we dive any deeper let figure out what time management really is.
What is Time Management and Why does it matter?
Everyone around, including you, have just 365 days in a year, in which each day has exactly 24 hours. Every single day we sleep for 6 to 9 hours, spend 2 to 3 hours in commute, and a couple of hours preparing food. It leaves us with some 10 to 11 hours per day. In these 10 to 11 hours, we are expected to work, study, pursue our hobbies, socialize, and spend time with our family. Therefore, the art of coping with all of it, without losing your mind is called Time Management.
Time management is something that you can not choose to ignore. If you do, the consequences of it can be catastrophic on all spheres of your life. The fact is that we live in a social world and we are bestowed with some indispensable responsibilities. We have to work to earn money. You need to have money to buy food and eat. Also, you need to get out and socialize, if you do not, it will take a toll on your mental health. You also need to have some sort of entertainment. If you are not able to manage any of it, you will be stressed out all the time or have to sacrifice on a meaningful life.
Tools and Techniques for better Time Management
1. Schedule with a Master Time Planner
The first step towards time management is structuring the way you spend time. The best way to do it is by making a to-do list or investing in a master time planner. The To-do list is primarily for conquering over all the tasks you planned for the day and get victory over those. Similarly, a time planner is used for planning something over a more extended period of time; it could be a week, a month, an year. A planner could be a digital or loose-leaf binder, and it captures all your tasks, goal, or actions as it comes up.
2. Follow The Pareto Principle
Once you have a to-do list or the master planner in place. It is time we organize the list as per our own priority. Once you organize the to-do list for the day, it becomes easy for you to sail through your day from morning to evening most effectively and efficiently. Remember the Pareto principle (The 80/20 rule); it says that 80% of results come from just 20% of your efforts. In conclusion, it is about identifying and prioritizing the minority tasks that in turn, contribute to the majority of your gains.
3. Use Focus Timer
Focus timer is a unique hack to become productive with your work and get better results in no time. It is based on the famous Pomodoro Technique. Francesco Cirillo, sometime in the late 80s, came up with a time management technique. The technique typically uses a timer for the user to keep track of time and break the time into several intervals (traditionally 25 minutes in length). Each of the intervals, separated by brief brakes (of typically 3-5 minutes). Such intervals called a Pomodoro, Latin word for ‘tomato’. It is named after Cirillo’s tomato-shaped kitchen clock he used as a university student.
Focus Timers are essentially used for time management by a lot of people. Moreover, It improves productivity by ruling out the scope of distractions and helping the practitioners focus better. Most of the users break down the total time into intervals, followed by a break. These sessions rotate regularly, and after some time, the user can take a more extended break (usually 30 minutes).
4. Time Management Systems
There are computer software and mobile applications for practically everything. Moreover, the range of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) is diverse out there, and they are wonderful. These invisible assistants can help you in organizing almost everything; they can tap into or load onto your personal computer and can help you organize every part of your life.
5. Block Scheduling
Creating a schedule is the backbone of time management. In block scheduling, you fragment your time into blocks. Then, you assign one task to each block. The main aim is to tackle fewer tasks in a day but ensuring to get done with them in the fixed time frame. This helps in keeping us focused.
If you hop from one thing to another, your mind in all probability will be all over the place. You eventually will not be able to finish anything. Therefore, block scheduling recommends taking up one thing, finishing that, and then moving onto the next.