Time management is planning how to efficiently use and deliberately control the time you spend to maximize productivity. In short, get more done in less time. Other upsides include:
- Better work quality
- Less stress
- More time to work on strategic or creative projects
- Less procrastination
- More self-confidence
Time management is the process of consciously planning and controlling time spent on specific tasks to increase how efficient you are. You may be familiar with setting deadlines, writing to-do lists, and giving yourself small rewards for accomplishing certain activities.
Motivating ourselves is a core part of time management—and it takes a bit of effort not only to motivate yourself but to cultivate good habits to work and live more efficiently.
To develop good routines and habits, you can start by knowing what strategies and best practices are out there. You can experiment with them in your own life to see what works for you.
For most of us, multitasking is generally less efficient than focusing on one task at a time. In fact, one study found that only 2.5 percent of people are able to multitask effectively. Doing too many things at once can impact your cognitive ability, making you feel unproductive or dissatisfied with your progress. Arranging your time so that you complete one task before starting another can boost your confidence.
Further, it may be helpful to compartmentalize tasks. If you are a writer, for example, you might dedicate Monday to research, Tuesday through Thursday to writing, and Friday to editing.
Consider your lifestyle, whether you are a student or a working professional (or both), whether you have a family or aspire to become a digital nomad (or both!). Think of your long- and short-term goals for your career and personal development. Make sure the goals are SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. What will it take to achieve them? How can you manage your time to maximize your productivity?
Once you have established your goals, prioritize them in order of importance. It may be helpful to use Post-its or pen and paper to visualize them.
Parkinson’s law states that, “Work expands to fill the time allotted to complete it.”
Motivating ourselves is a core part of time management—and it takes a bit of effort not only to motivate yourself but to cultivate good habits to work and live more efficiently.
To develop good routines and habits, you can start by knowing what strategies and best practices are out there. You can experiment with them in your own life to see what works for you.
For most of us, multitasking is generally less efficient than focusing on one task at a time. In fact, one study found that only 2.5 percent of people are able to multitask effectively. Doing too many things at once can impact your cognitive ability, making you feel unproductive or dissatisfied with your progress. Arranging your time so that you complete one task before starting another can boost your confidence.
Further, it may be helpful to compartmentalize tasks. If you are a writer, for example, you might dedicate Monday to research, Tuesday through Thursday to writing, and Friday to editing.
Consider your lifestyle, whether you are a student or a working professional (or both), whether you have a family or aspire to become a digital nomad (or both!). Think of your long- and short-term goals for your career and personal development. Make sure the goals are SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. What will it take to achieve them? How can you manage your time to maximize your productivity?
Once you have established your goals, prioritize them in order of importance. It may be helpful to use Post-its or pen and paper to visualize them.
Parkinson’s law states that, “Work expands to fill the time allotted to complete it.”
If you have a full day to complete two tasks that should take only three hours, you’ll probably still spend the whole day on those two tasks. If you give yourself a smaller window, chances are you’ll still meet the earlier deadline.
Anything that distracts you – emails, texts, social media – can make you lose focus and become less productive. Eliminate these distractions and take control of your time so you can get more work done.
Stress can affect our productivity. We often feel stressed when we take on more work than we can accomplish. It’s crucial to identify what works for you when it comes to managing stress response. Find effective ways to deal with stress, including taking a short break, exercising, meditating, practicing a hobby, calling up a friend, or listening to music.
We’ve all experienced the woes of time management at work. You wake up hopeful and optimistic—not only will you meet all your deadlines, but you’ll hit the gym and make a healthy home-cooked meal, too.
Then life happens. You leave late, you hit traffic, and you arrive at your desk already frustrated with the world. Sitting down to finally knock out that project you’ve been procrastinating for weeks, you realize you’ve got back-to-back meetings until noon—and yes, you’re already late for the first one. You finally walk out of the last meeting, and you start wading through emails when you get pulled into a meeting with the VP. He has a last-minute request for you. “It should only take an hour,” he says. Try three.
The good news is that there are ways to reclaim those seemingly elusive lost hours of the day. It’s all about personal time management—manage your time instead of letting it manage you.
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