Time is one of the wisest counselors of all- Pericles
Once Buddha said the biggest mistake one makes in life is by thinking they have time.
Time is free but priceless that flows away like sand. It is impossible to store instead we can utilize it appropriately.
As Stephen Hawking beautifully stated:
“If time travel is possible where are the tourist from the future?”
Every morning we wake up hearing two voices that are leading our day and controlling us.
But only one voice we amplify and listen to. We give that voice the power to schedule our day.
The worst part is, most of the time, we choose the voice that distracts us in so many ways. Therefore, be careful when you entertain the voice that plagues your mind.
These superb tips will help you manage your day, weeks, tasks, plans, and goals you set for yourself.
Instead of saying “managing my time”, just say, “choosing my time consciously.”
This concept is very powerful for success!!!
Adopt Best Time Management Habits for Success
Here are 10 best tips to manage your time efficiently and effectively –
1. Create A Plan of Action
The first thing you should wake up to, is a sheet of paper hung up on your soft-board that has all the work scheduled for the present day.
This sheet will help you plan your entire day so you can make it more productive.
Make sure you prepare your sheet one night prior to avoid wasting much time on scheduling the day.
“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible” – Tony Robbins
2. Make 4 Lists
Penning down thoughts is better than storing them in your brain. Instead of making one list, make four like this –
Master list: This list includes all the goals of your life or you can say a “long-term list.” For example: Becoming a millionaire, owning a penthouse in New York, loose 15kgs of weight etc.
Monthly list: This list has all the monthly tasks that will help you fulfill your main goal bit by bit. For example: clear off bills, Submitting 8 articles, loose 4kgs (main list goal).
Weekly list: This list involves your weekly task with a goal that will help you fulfill your monthly task. For example 2 articles, 1 kg to lose.
Daily list: This list involves everyday tasks you want to fulfill. For example: start the article, workout, clean the cupboards.
These lists will help you to maintain a balance in life and teach you how to build a habit to manage your time. This idea is introduced by Brian Tracy from Eat That Frog.
3. Prioritize Your Tasks
A poignant fact that came into notice is, people tend to prioritize even the smallest details and stay hung up on them without realizing they are losing time.
They work most of the time on those not so important tasks.
Basically, the ratio should be 80:20 when it comes to managing your time, wherein you give 80% of your time to the highly important goals and 20% to the ones that require less attention.
The lesson is, avoid sweating your time over little things that not benefit you much.
Must Read: Powerful habits of highly effective people
4. Block Your Distractions
Even though we scheduled everything perfectly but still get distracted with very small things in life.
The great danger lies in distractions that become the constraints in work while managing our time, like, social media.
Just one ting of the notification can sweep away your entire focus off. Therefore put your phones in silent mode so nothing can barricade your speed and focus.
“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.” – Henry Ford
5. Abandon Procrastination
This habit enslaves your mind and channels your attention towards unnecessary tasks that you didn’t ask for.
Instead of helping to manage your time, it consumes every bit of it and at the end of the day leaves you with lots of regrets. Therefore, avoid procrastinating as it will only subside you from your daily goals.
Must Read: Habits you should develop for a successful life
6. Check-The-List
Habituate yourself to add a tick once you are done with that particular task.
This will keep you motivated and confidant enough for further tasks of the day. Checklists are the ways of comforting your subconscious mind and preparing it for the next task.
7. Restrain Multitasking
One must create momentum with the ongoing task instead of multitasking.
Multitasking always leads to an average performance as you aren’t fully focused on one.
The idea of one task at a time is productive enough to manage your time smartly.
“You can do two things at once, but you can’t focus effectively on two things at once.”- Gary Keller
8. Breaks Are Important
Avoid completely roasting your mind.
Give yourself enough breaks to recharge your brain again, instead of just doing it all day long.
Dance, sing, listen to music, meditate, or do whatever makes you feel calmer and refresh. This will help you return to your task with higher motivation.
Next time don’t forget to block some time for yourself.
9. Learn to Say “NO”
Do not let anyone take your time unwillingly. Hang on them by informing your schedule.
“When you say yes to others, make sure you are not saying no to yourself.” – Paulo Coelho
10. Create A Balance
Even though we have a lot on our plate to handle, we also got to live life equally. Hence the term ‘Balance’ plays a huge role here.
All of us are stuck up in a roller coaster called ‘life’ wherein living your time is equally important.
Therefore, instead of being stuck up all day with your lists don’t forget to enjoy your life.
Some More Tips to Manage Your Time Smartly
There are more tips that can help you a lot to manage your time and energy smartly. Pay attention to every single things to help you mange your “Everyday Energy Quota.”
These will keeps you active mentally and lead to higher productivity with saving your lots of time.
- Sleep well as tired brain procrastinate more and easily get distracted.
- Use a time management app to track your daily activities.
- Complete your most important task in the morning.
- Put a time limits on tasks.
- Set some time for short and intense workouts daily.
- For a productive “Monday-Morning-Brain,” plan your week on Sunday.
- Schedule some time for relaxation such as, meditation and breathing exercise.
Featured Image: Freepik