Are you running daily without any gap and still couldn’t catch up on tasks? It is mainly because you don’t manage your time well.
You might always feel overwhelmed. Also, you might think that you have an endless queue of crises which doesn’t get over.
All these things happen only because of few time management mistakes and lack of proper planning.
This article gives you a list of common time management mistakes and tips to manage your time like a pro.
Knowing the common areas of errors allows you to handle the situation in a better way.
Not making a to-do list.
Making a to-do list every day, morning or the before night gives you the right direction to work efficiently.
Without making a to-do list, you will start with the most petite important works initially and then go for essential works that require more focus and attention.
By doing this, you will spend a lot of time and effort in doing the less important jobs.
Make a to-do list daily with the most critical tasks at the top and less important things at the bottom.
Do a time audit
First things first, begin planning by finding where your time goes in a day. There is often a significant distinction between your subjective time and reality.
You can use a time management app or manually record what you do throughout the week.
Then sit down, take a look at the record and evaluate them. With this report, you can quickly identify areas that need improvement.
For instance, you may spend too much time sitting in front of the screen without any work or attending to low-priority tasks.
Set smart personal goals
If you don’t know what you will be doing in six months, next year or 10 years from now, it is time to set some personal goals.
Personal goal setting helps you to manage your time well because plans give you a clear mind and destination towards which you have to work.
Only when you know the place you want to reach can you decide your priorities and time to get there.
Goals also help you focus on things that will take you to your destination and avoid distraction.
The plans you set should be smart: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely.
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Manage procrastination
Procrastination is the main culprit that strips us of the potential to manage time. Procrastination is when you halt on tasks that you should be focusing on right now.
When you procrastinate on one task, you feel guilty that you haven’t given a head start; you dread doing the job, and everything will catch up on, and you will be left with a pile of tasks and significantly less time. Start by telling yourself that you are the one to do the jobs.
Break your tasks into small portions that can be completed within short intervals.
Doing so helps you eliminate the overwhelming and anxious feelings that are primary reasons for procrastination.
Spend your mornings doing MIT’s.
Mark Twain quoted, “If it’s your task is to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning.
And if you have to eat two frogs, eat the biggest one first.” The frog reference feels Gross, right?
The point is that you should deal with your most significant and most challenging tasks in the morning.
There are a few reasons why it is an efficacious time management trick. People usually have the most amount of energy in the morning.
So it’s best to tackle big and challenging tasks when you’re not drained. Once you finish the challenging tasks, the sense of accomplishment gets you through the rest of the day.
Get organized
On average, a person spends 2.5 days each year looking for misplaced items.
A lot of money is spent on replacing the missing items. Getting organized is the only way to prevent wasting both your time and money.
Start by having a place for everything and making sure that the items are put in the same place after using it, or anyone else uses it.
At the end of every day, tidy up your workplace and create a management system for all your things.
Focus on single-tasking
Many believe that Multitasking improves efficiency, but Multitasking usually increases the time required to complete a task by 20-40 percent.
As your focus gets split, you might fall short at everything you do at a time. Focus on single-tasking to increase efficiency.
Bottom line
Time management is essential to perform best in both personal and professional life. With the tips listed, become a pro at time management.