- Know your priorities
It is important to be clear and defined about your goals and objectives in your personal and professional life. Prioritize things that are truly worth spending your time on. They should fulfill your long-term objectives and create a sense of purpose. Introspect and analyze the type of core values and goals you want to accomplish in your life. Manage your time around such objectives so you can easily contribute to a better life.
There are a few strategies that can help you manage your time intentionally. Some of these tasks include SMART ( specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound). This will ensure you are working on tasks that are achievable and have a deadline to get them done. Another technique is the urgent and important matrix. It helps you prioritize your tasks accordingly.
Each daily task should be a stepping stone towards your long-term goals. This helps you focus on things that matter the most in life.
- Form a daily routine.
Most of the time, individuals who aren’t able to manage their time are ones who don’t have a daily routine. Each day comes with new tasks and unpredictable aspects that are hard to manage. This creates a stressful environment for many, which can lead to low self-esteem and anxiety.
Organize your day by creating a journal in which you write down all the tasks. Before doing so, form a routine where you start your day by doing the same thing you do each day—a sense of routine forms that keeps all the anxiety and stress of the day at bay. You can use the strategy for time-blocking. Allocate your tasks at certain time frames to ensure you don’t get distracted while doing them.
- Learn to say no
Setting boundaries is one of the major steps you can take to have improved time management skills. It is extremely essential for living a life intentionally to improve yourself as a whole. There are many ways you can learn to refuse the tasks that are being handed to you.
Know what kind of workload you have and check whether you can even afford to have extra work on your list. If you don’t think you can, politely decline and say no. If they still insist, give them an explanation regarding the reason behind this. You can even offer them a different solution to it so it isn’t problematic to refuse the task.
You shouldn’t overcommit to tasks that don’t serve the purpose of protecting your time and achieving your goals.
- Minimize distractions
One of the main reasons why people aren’t able to manage their time is due to the distractions in their environment. These distractions ensure that your work piles up and you refuse personal commitments. Reduce your screen time and other time wasters that will hinder your progress. There are many different dedicated to time management that you can use to ensure your time is clearly distributed.
- Don’t multitask
Having too much on your plate can boggle the time and hinder your progress. It makes you less efficient and effective towards your goals. We stop and start until our brains adapt to the activity at hand since it takes time for them to do so. More information about the consequences of multitasking can be found here.
You’ll discover how to do tasks more quickly and effectively if you concentrate on completing them without interruptions. When you’re ready, cross it off and go on to the next task.