By Jack Milgram
Do you have trouble getting things done? Everyone has 24 hours in their day, but how you use those hours is what really matters. If you often find yourself wondering where all the time went, perhaps you are not using your time as efficiently as possible. We’ve all been distracted from what we’re supposed to be doing, whether by browsing social media, watching YouTube videos, binge-watching Netflix, or just Googling the random questions that pop up in our mind that takes us away from the task at hand. The truth is that you don’t need more hours in the day, you just need to manage your time wisely.
Learning time management skills is not that difficult. There are reliable, proven techniques available to anyone willing to become more productive. For example:
- Create your own daily schedule template and assign time slots for regular tasks.
- Take 30 minutes each morning to plan all the specific things you want to accomplish.
- Check off each task as it is completed, to give you a sense of satisfaction.
- Prepare for unplanned interruptions by factoring extra time into your schedule.
- Make sure every action is bringing you closer to your main goal.
- Build a wall and resist interruptions.
- Learn to make smart to-do lists.
- Use an online countdown timer, time-tracking and task management apps.
- Prioritize and delegate less important things that can be done by others.
- Learn to say “no” and don’t take on more than you can handle.
- Batch similar tasks to streamline the process.
- Time box your tasks by setting a start and finish time.
- Submit work before the deadline just to be safe.
- Find your motivation triggers, such as healthy snacks or happy music.
- Follow the 80/20 rule, so that 20% of your activities produce 80% of the results.
Find more details on how to use these 15 simple techniques to manage your time wisely in the infographic below. Give these ideas a try and regain control of your time!
