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How To Manage Your Time

Many of us have multiple goals to achieve in our lives, but the hectic life and responsibilities could make it harder for people to manage their day effectively.

Fortunately there are some steps and methods that we can follow to make it easier to achieve these goals.

Before listing tools or methods randomly, there are some steps that we need to take. These steps not only help us manage our time but also improve our overall life.

1- Know what you want to spend your time on :

This advice is usually given when talking about achieving goals, but it's definitely crucial here too. First write a list of your annual goals, then break them into monthly and daily goals. This way you know exactly what you need to do every day, and minimize the time wasted on figuring out the tasks you need to complete.

2- Prioritize :

Not all tasks are equally important. Eat the frog method states that it's better to complete the most important tasks first in the day. What you need to realize is everyone's peak energy time is different. So, it's better to work on your most important task at your highest energy, which is different for every individual.

3- Eliminate distractions :

Regardless of the amount of effort you put into organizing your time, or how many methods you use, if you were not able identify and eliminate your time wasters you won't actually benefit from those tools. People struggle with different distractions, but I'll mention the most common ones.

Time wasters :

-Perfectionism:

Having a high standard toward yourself is beneficial. It allows you to improve, but if it's preventing you from completing or finishing a certain task then it's definitely doing more harm than good.

- Social media:

it's not realistic for most people to cut off the usage of social media, but if you notice that doom scrolling is stripping you of hours daily, then working on limiting your screen time is essential.

-Procrastination:

this could be a result of many things like perfectionism, not sticking to a routine, disorganization, or indecisiveness.

-Not setting boundaries:

whether you're a student or an employee, having clear boundaries saves you a ton of time. This allows you to focus only on the tasks that you need to complete.

4- Create a routine :

Having a routine makes sticking and adding new tasks much easier. It allows you to shift your goals into habits unconsciously. Routines also reduce procrastination by decreasing the amount of decisions we need to make daily.

5-Avoid burnout:

having occasional rest and focusing on yourself is essential, as constant stress could lead to burnout. This reduces concentration and causes extreme exhaustion, hence decreasing productivity. Now that you know your goals, have prioritized them according to your energy levels, and decreased your distractions, you're ready to apply time management methods to your daily routine. Experiment with these tools. You can apply one of these or mix some, until you find what suits you best.

Time management methods:

-To don't list:

If you struggle with too many distractions and feel like starting a task is a heavy burden, then you might need to create a to don't list. It'll help you get rid of poor habits gradually.

-Parkinson's law:

This law states that the amount of time given for a certain task will be filled regardless of the actual period this task needs. The next methods will assist in solving this issue.

-Time blocking:

This strategy simply means dividing your day into blocks of time, where you allocate a specific period of the day for a certain task. To avoid overlaps between each task, put a buffer time between them. Some also recommend to spend a week tracking the time you spend on each task when being fully concentrated on it.

-Deep work:

Deep work is dedicating a certain amount of time on a single task while eliminating all distractions. You can devote hours or days depending on the type of task you're working on. This method enables you to finish tasks faster and stress-free.

-Seinfeld method:

If you're struggling to build a new habit but keep procrastinating or you lose consistency, then applying this strategy might assist in becoming more consistent. All it requires is a calendar and a red marker, so each day you complete the task mark it in X. This will create a chain that you'll try not to break.

-Task batching:

Suppose that you have multiple small tasks in a single day, it would be easier to dedicate a certain period for similar activities. Task batching decreases multitasking and aimlessly shifting between tasks.

Not every method works for every individual, so it's necessary to evaluate and reflect on whether a method or set of them benefits you. Also, what helps us organize our day changes over time. That's why you should change it when you realize it's not effective anymore.