Learning the Art of Time Management

Being busy the whole day doesn’t mean you’ve become productive at all.  Many times, we hear people complaining about how very little time there is when there are so many things that need to be accomplished.  But do you believe you can accomplish many things with your time and still have spare time to do other fun stuff? It’s called time management. Melanie Greenberg Ph.D. says that “The key is to take control of your time, rather than letting time control you. One study found that people who were under time pressure and felt they had control over their time reported greater life satisfaction, felt less overloaded, and had less tension than those who were equally busy, but felt they had little or no control over their time.”

Secret to Success

Many successful people accomplish many things in a day and still have time for other things.    This is because they have learned the art of time management.  In fact, it is one of their keys to success.  Richard Branson (founder of the Virgin Group), Warren Buffett (American business magnate), Nathan Blecharczyk (co-founder of Airbnb) to name a few.

You may say, “Yeah, of course, they’re successful.  They can do so much because they have people to do things for them.”   Yes, that’s true, but I’m talking about how they did it before they became who they are today, the difference they made in using their time wisely.  Before they succeeded in their career and businesses, they first succeeded in learning the art of time management.

 

 

Manage Your Time Wisely

We all are given 1440 minutes or 24 hours in a day.  Want to make a difference?  Manage it well.

 

1. Plan your day ahead. Make a list of things you need to do.  You can’t do anything if you don’t know what to do for the day.
2. Allocate time for each task wisely. Keep a record of how much time you spent on each.  This will help you manage your time efficiently.
3. Focus on what’s important. The more focused you are on a task, the faster you’ll finish with quality.  When done, move on to the next.  Multitasking often gets you nowhere.
4. Learn to say NO to distractions, things of less importance (social media, TV, parties, etc).
5. Ask for help. When there’s so much to be done, choose efficient people to delegate tasks to.  You may be the best, but you still can’t do it all.
6. Silence is a virtue. Let others know that you need a time of silence, a time alone. Shut the world off to stay on track and finish a task.
7. Don’t keep hitting your head on the brick wall. It will only drag you down.  Stop and move on to the next task.  You may come up with a better idea as you move forward.
8. Rest when you’re tired. Don’t wait until you are done, because very rarely will you accomplish things completely in one sitting, especially if it’s a long project and it’s draining your mind and body.  It’s okay. What’s important is you’ve done some things today.  Get ready for tomorrow.

 

Live a Less Stressful Life

Time management is never easy.  It’s a habit you must develop and continually work on.  Even the most successful people struggled at first, but they’ve proven that with discipline, consistency, and perseverance, time can be managed and so much can be accomplished with the time you have.

 

Plan, prioritize, and focus. Go against the flow that society is dictating you. These are just some tricks you can learn.  Using your time wisely is key to a less stressful life.  If some people were able to do it, so can you.

 

Tip: “Find self-care strategies that you can integrate in rather than add on. Honor the smaller things,” says Erica H. Wise, PhD – instead of going to the gym for an hour, you can workout for 15 minutes. Time management.

 

Another way to look at it – according to Sandra Lewis, PsyD – “People focus a lot on time management, but I think in terms of personal energy management. If you have enough energy, you make better use of your time,” Lewis says. “In the same way we charge our cellphones, we need to charge ourselves.”

Manage your time. Never let time manage you.