Don’t you wonder how there are some people who seem to have enough time to do everything they want, while there are others who are often scrambling for time to finish the multitude of tasks.
How does this happen?
It is because the people who manage to do everything they want have used their time more effectively through practicing good time management skills.
All would agree that time management is one of the most rewarding skills that will take you far in your life — both personal and professional. If you aren’t managing your time effectively, sooner or later you would enter into the state of pandemonium. Time, being such a crucial aspect of life, deserves to be treated in the most respectful manner. Only if we learn to master the art of time management, our life would experience a positive change.
What are Time Management Skills?
Firstly, time management is the coordination of tasks and activities to maximize the effectiveness of an individual’s efforts. Essentially, time management is enabling people to get more and better work done in less time.
Time management skills are a variety of skills to essentially help you manage your time well such as:
- Staying organized
- Prioritizing what you need to accomplish
- Setting goals clearly
- Strong communication skills
- Effectively planning out the day
- Practicing delegating tasks
- Handling stress in a positive way
Time Management Tips
These are some quick tips to change up your routine and allow you to polish your time management skills accordingly.
1. Wake up early — Make your day longer
All of us get 24 hours in a day. Though it’s not possible to change the number of hours in a day but you can definitely try waking up a little earlier and make your day longer than others.
Start with setting up your alarm 15 minutes earlier than before and increase the time frame with the course of time. You can use this additional time to exercise, meditate, prioritize, or even to pursue a hobby. Gradually you will increase your daily productivity and time management will never be a trouble.
2. Set aside time to properly set SMART Goals
If you’re responding to this by saying: Hey but I do set goals!
The question in response to that is to reflect and ask yourself: But are they working out for you, and are you ticking them off your to-do list well each day?
When your goals are not reaping benefits, something is missing or lacking in your approach. Whereas if you set goals the right way, your productivity could reach the sky.
Set goals that are S.M.A.R.T. — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound. These goals would bring a solid structure to your work life and prepare you for what’s in store for you today.
It’s also recommended to take some time to set these goals every single evening before bed, or early in the morning just before you begin your day. By making to-do lists, you’re effectively setting goals for the day. Daily goals are easier to achieve while helping to move us towards the longer and bigger goals.
3. Keep mornings for MITs — Most important tasks
Mark Twain once said, “Eat a live frog every morning and nothing worse will happen to you for the rest of the day.” His point being, to tackle the most important task as the first thing to accomplish in the morning. And, if you have two or more frogs to eat, eat the biggest one first.
Time management and prioritization both go hand in hand. You can manage your time effectively only when you know what is supposed to be done when. The point is to take up a hard or time-consuming task, accomplish it, and focus on other things.
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If these tips aren’t enough for you to fully transform you into becoming a person with effective time management skills, we would love to invite you to learn from the expert, Ms. Chia Siang Pio.
She will be sharing powerful tips and action plans to empower you with time management strategies to achieve work-life balance in this 1-day workshop.
Join us now: Time Management Strategies: Work Life Balance
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