In the ever-changing world of work, time management more important than ever when it comes to career success and satisfaction. In recent years, when we consider the considerable shift towards hybrid and remote working, making the best use of your time is shifting from the responsibility of employer, to the responsibility of the employee. This has been a considerable challenge for many, yet there are a few simple things you can do to improve your time management skills.
Spending time on things other than your goals can feel like a waste which can have a detrimental knock-on effect your your productivity and your feeling of accomplishment throughout the workday. As first port of call it is important that you actually figure out which goals you want to achieve. It is important to have meaning behind them so that you are internally motivated to work towards them. Following what others decide to set as their goals will only make things more difficult for you. With a lack of internal motivation, it can be very difficult pushing yourself towards achieving them. Once you know what your goals are, you can then break them down into smaller tasks and focus on smashing them.
In order to stop wasting your time, you must figure out how much time that you actually have. Try and gauge how much of your time is spent on things which are productive, how much time you spend doing laundry, cooking meals or making your bed. After completing these essential tasks, then you can allocate the remaining time towards your goals. Knowing exactly how you spend your time will allow you to manage it much better.
Tasks which fall under the category of being both urgent and important must be completed as soon as possible. These are the kind of tasks which build up stress over time and can cause great hinderance. Getting these tasks done will prevent you from becoming overwhelmed. Spending your time on tasks with are important but not urgent will result in a much less stressful life.
Most wasted time comes from procrastinating and deciding what you should actually do with your time. By creating a personalized schedule whereby all of your important tasks are categorized based on when they will work best for you, you can instantly check the schedule and know what needs to be done and when. This removes unnecessary procrastination and ultimately will see your time being spent much more productively.
The old Chinese proverb rings true here, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”. Often one of the biggest barriers to productivity is the perception that a task is just insurmountable and too large a project to tackle. This can be easily cancelled out with one simple step. Just start the task right now! This is easier said than done however, and may require a conscious effort to change your attitude and be a bit more optimistic. It will also greatly help to break the insurmountable project down into smaller, manageable chunks. By doing this you will feel that sense of accomplishment after each smaller task that will create the motivation to keep going.
