Time Management Tips
“If only I had more time….” While you can't add a 25th hour to the day, what you CAN do is maximize the time that you have. Whether you're feeling perpetually rushed and disorganized, want to improve how you schedule your time or simply want more room for relaxation, effective time management tools can help you achieve those goals with less stress.
Prioritize. What short-term and long-term goals do you wish to accomplish? Rank various chores and activities in order of priority. By establishing a hierarchy of goals, you can focus on accomplishing the most impactful tasks first.
Use planning tools. Whether on paper or electronically, recording your tasks and events will help you remember what needs to get done and stay on track towards reaching your goals. Some examples of planning tools include planners, calendars, phone apps, wall charts, index cards, pocket diaries and notebooks.
Set time limits. It can be easy to lose track of time while working on a project, but working too long on one task means others may get neglected. You can always adjust your plan as needed but using alarms or timers will help you concentrate and provide useful parameters. The Mindfulness Toolkit offers tools for staying focused.
Ask for help. Delegating tasks means assigning responsibility to someone else, freeing up your time for tasks where your expertise is required. Identify tasks others can do and select the appropriate person(s) to do them.
Be aware of procrastination. Most people are guilty of procrastinating once in a while, but reducing procrastination will improve productivity in all areas of your life. Learn how to distinguish between activity (busy work) and productivity (something that accomplishes a goal) and how to direct your actions towards the latter.
Finally, don’t forget to take breaks! Scheduling time to practice self-care and brain breaks help you rejuvenate physically and mentally.
