Time is finite for everyone, and that is a reality of life. We all have a limited number of hours daily available which we can use for utilizing our day in the best possible way. Here we will discuss all the top time management best practices so that you can develop it as a core skill for being more successful in your life.

Adopting good time management practices daily in our lives enables us to get things done in a more structured and methodical way. These best practices will help you in focusing on the things which matter most to you so that you can get more out of the day. 

Plan your Day a Night Before

Before you go to bed, make it a point to jot down everything you plan to do for the next day. This won’t take very longer than 10 to 15 minutes. These can be related to your personal as well as professional goals.

This activity is vital as everything you think about remains at the back of your mind and ended up not procrastinating the next day. Instead, you work faster, harder and ultimately in a more efficient manner by putting everything on paper. This is one of the most proven and effective time management techniques.

Prioritizing Your Tasks

You should know the art of prioritizing all your work which needs to get done. This is an essential time management skill. If you are not clear about the order of their significance, you won’t be able to be as much efficient as required. You would want to start with the most urgent work and then continue prioritizing and doing them in decreasing order. Many people use the proven technique “EisenHower Matrix”

Another proven technique which has been seen to be effective is paying attention to the time of the day you perform the tasks. Usually, morning is when you start off your day and your energy levels are highest at the beginning of the day.

It is therefore, advisable to perform the most significant tasks right at the start. This also arouses a feeling of accomplishment for the rest of the day. This helps in keeping you enthusiastic and the spirits high and the enthusiasm alive.

Another useful advice is to categorize your tasks into four broad categories. The first one is “Important and Urgent”. These are the ones which have to be addressed right away and must be completed.

The second category is “Important but not urgent” These are the ones which undoubtedly critical but can be postponed to getting done later. Decide when you have to do these tasks.

The third category is “Urgent but not important”. These tasks have little value and make the most noise when achieved. However at first glance, they looked important. The last category consists of the ones which are labelled as “Not Urgent and Not Important”

Minimize Distractions

To accomplish your daily objectives or long term priorities, you will need to be laser focused. So start paying attention to the distractions you are facing in the course of your day.

This will enable you to realize which ones are instrumental in wasting your time unnecessarily. Doing this will save you some more time and keep you in tandem with your planned schedule.

Tracking self-induced interruptions are essential. For instance, minimize the time you are watching television and shut down your smartphone during the time you are performing critical tasks.

Do plan a stipulated time during the day when you are away from your phone. Take a break!

Setting up a Time Limit for Doing Each Task

Having set aside a stipulated time for completing a task is essential. This makes you more focused and ultimately more productive. Setting a limit on the number of hours you will spend on a specific task will enable you to get done with it well in time. Since your time is so valuable, it will also prevent procrastination and getting distracted elsewhere.

Work Smarter, not Harder

Remember the above mentioned old adage? It appears to be perfect solution in today’s world.

Besides, accommodating all the important tasks is not enough till you accomplish them in the most efficient way and within shortest time period. Remember, doing all of them mechanically is not the solution.

Squeezing umpteen of them into your schedule is not a good way of dealing with your daily objectives. Time is indeed a constraint which you should keep in mind. Instead, work in such a way that you get your tasks done faster and in the most efficient way possible.

Outsource your Tasks

If you are a new startup, it does make sense for you to be extremely time conscious, as time is money! As a leader of your company, assigning certain jobs which you think are time consuming and can be better dealt with by your employees becomes the key.

Contracting out your tasks which otherwise might cause a wastage of your time is the solution and the right thing to do. 

Review Your Accomplishments before Going to Bed

After you are done with the day’s vigorous grind at work or at home, go through your to-do’s list again which you had set up for yourself at the beginning of the day.

This will enable you to get a good look on them again and cross the ones which have been done today. Now you are left with the not-done and the new ones to be added for tomorrow. Way to go!

Follow the 80-20 Rule

“80% of the results come from 20% of the efforts you put in.” So says the Pareto Principle. In fact you can also apply this principle to taking care of your tasks.

This is also similar to the old adage which states that in sales 80% of the sales usually comes from 20% of the customers.

Doing this will eventually implore you to accomplish the first most important five tasks on hand and eliminate the not-so-important ones. That will eventually let you motivate yourself to compel the most critical tasks in the beginning.

Manage Your Stress & Stay Healthy

If you work in an office, chances are ripe that you have been affected often by work related stress more than you can manage. At times during such a crisis our body starts showing symptoms, like getting tired, feeling dizzy or exhausted, mentally fatigued or loss of motivation.

All of this ultimately leads to a marked decrease in the productivity. Giving yourself adequate sleep during the night is quite significant.

A great way to get away from such a negative state of mind is to keep yourself healthy. Take small breaks from your work which are essential to keep yourself fresh and pepped up. Exercise, gym time and even simple yoga poses are considered excellent ways for keeping your time management skills going.

Various studies conducted by researchers have pointed out to a strong link between productivity and a healthy lifestyle. Therefore, being healthy is a great way to tread on the path of positive productivity. As we learnt, The major two ways to do that is by exercise and eating healthy food.

Conclusion

To conclude, applying effective time management strategies allows you to pursue more goals and objectives. You are able to not only reduce your daily stress but also get some free time which enables you to plan for pursuing more opportunities.

If you want to have a successful career or in personal life, turn your dreams and ambitions into reality by understanding the value of time so that you are in control of how much time you will spend on specific tasks.

Are you an aspiring entrepreneur with high ambitions & self-confidence to make it big, but at the same time have a limited budget to start off with your startup venture? Watch this video now!