Most of us would agree that 24 hours in a day is sometimes just not enough. Between work, family commitments, house commitment, social lives, relaxation, sleeping, eating, there really isn’t much time for just enjoying life at a slower pace!
24 hours is all we have to play with however, and that’s not going to change any time soon, so we need to be a little clever instead. Time management is the number one way to give you more hours in the day, metaphorically speaking, and all you need to do is embrace it whole-heartedly!
What is Time Management?
Time management is basically a fancy terms of organising yourself to the point where you can get things done more effectively, therefore freeing up the time you would have spent procrastinating, multi-tasking, and not really getting anything productive done. Sounds good, right?
If you can master time management, you will notice that overall it makes you much more productive at work, and that will free up time to spend with your loved ones, enjoy the things you never usually get time for, and basically give you more hours to relax and enjoy life.
Time Management Strategies to Get on Board With Today!
Do you write lists? If you don’t, it’s time you started. You don’t need to go down the pen and paper route if you find that a little retro, you can download an app onto your phone or tablet, and work from that. Write down every single thing you need to do that day, and from there prioritise it.
Prioritisation is the number 1 hack for time management, and as a result of getting the most important things (or the most urgent) things done first, you’ll much more less stressed. You won’t have people breathing down your neck asking where that report is, what time you’re going to arrive at such and such a place, and why you haven’t done the filing yet. Prioritisation means that you do the most important/urgent thing first, tick it off, do the next most important thing, tick that off, and so on. You will certainly notice your ticking off goes much faster, and you might even get a little addicted to it!
Another facet of time management is delegation. You might not be in a position at work to delegate, but if you are, it’s a good idea to look at your tasks and decide whether someone else in your team would be better able, or have more time, to complete one of them. That gives you one less thing to do, and more time to concentrate on the areas your skills relate to. Of course, if we’re talking about home-related tasks, you can easily delegate to your partner, kids, friend, etc!
Prioritisation, delegation, and basically looking after yourself and making ‘me’ time a priority will give you those extra hours you crave. You will feel energised, more positive, and overall, your 24 hours every day will be much more productively spent.
