Effective Time Management - How To Boost Your Productivity

 

Effective Time Management - How To Boost Your Productivity

 

Someone said that there is nothing like time management and he premised his reasoning on the fact that time is constant and has not changed over the millenniums.

The time for every day has always been 24 hours - no more no less.

And so he said that instead of saying we manage time, we should rather say we manage ourselves because we are the ones to adjust to meet up with time demands and not the other way round.

What do you think of that?

Anyways we still talk about Time Management

Time management is a method for making better use of your time.

Organize your professional and personal tasks according to their urgency and importance, and prioritize the most urgent and important chores first, followed by less urgent but still significant activities.

And today we are discussing Effective Time Management

What then is Effective Time Management?

Effective time management entails completing more vital tasks in a given day.

In fact, effective time management is more important than effective time management.

Of a fact, the most effective time managers are also the most efficient.

What Are The Major Objectives Of Time Management?

Time management is a set of common sense skills that will help you make better use of your time and learn to:

Determine which activities are essential and which can be eliminated.

Utilize your time to the greatest extent possible.

Control time-wasting distractions.

Allow yourself more time to unwind and enjoy life.

How to Manage Your Time More Effectively in Seven Easy Steps

Step 1 - Figure out when you're most productive

Step 2 -    Make a to-do list

Step 3 – Break Down Large Tasks Into Smaller Pieces

Step 4 – Get Rid of the Distractions

Step 5 – Take Rest Periods While Working

Step 6 – Improve Your Efficiency

Step 7 -    Accept Your Limitations

5 Time Management Techniques You Should Know

1.  Make a to-do list and stick to it.

2.  Prioritize your tasks - rank them in the order of importance

3.  Manage distractions to stay focused.

4.  Make a schedule for your job and stick to it.

5.  Track your time to become more self-aware.

Advantages Of Time Management At The Workplace

1.  On-time delivery of jobs and assignments is a must

2.  Improve the quality of your work

3.  More efficiency and productivity

4.  There's a lot less procrastinating

5.  There is less anxiety and stress.

6.  A better quality of life

7.  More prospects and advancement in your career

8.  More leisure and recreation time.

 

What is the first step to time management success?

Make a plan to get rid of the time wasters from your day.

Begin Managing Your Time Right Now

Step 1: Make a list of your short- and long-term objectives.

Step 2: Figure out how much your time is worth.

Step 3: Maintain a Time Log.

Step 4: Examine your time sheet.

What Does It Mean To Have Time Management Skills?

Examples of time management skills or abilities.

Prioritizing

Organizing

Delegation

Strategic planning

Problem resolution aka problem solving

Don't just state your time management talents on your résumé; back them up with real-life experiences.

The 4 Ds Of Time Management

Do

Delegate

Defer

Delete

these make it easier for managers to actually determine what tasks truly matter.

The Fundamental Concepts Of Time Management?

Time Management Principles

1.     Planning

No matter what you do, planning is essential

2.     Organize and prioritize your tasks

Remember the 80/20 Rule  - the Pareto Principle: 80% of results are produced by 20% of causes.

In the 80-20 rule, you prioritize the 20% of factors that will produce the best results

3.   Take it one step at a time

4.   Avoid Distractions at all costs

5.   Delegate

6.   Maintain a healthy and stress-free lifestyle

7.   Saying “NO” is a skill that should be learned

 

Recurring Tips For Effective Time Management?

This is a fantastic place to start.

1.   Take a look at the clock. You should be aware of how you spend your time.

2.   Set a time limit for yourself. It might be enjoyable to set a time restriction for a work.

3.   Create a to-do list.

4.   Make a plan ahead of time...

5.   Begin with the most important tasks.

6.   Outsource and delegate.

7.   Concentrate on a single task at a time.

8.   Use software tools to help you manage your time.

Software (Tools) For Time Management

And talking about software (tools) for time management - check out these ones

Scoro

Scoro gives you all the tools you need for efficient time management, including 

time tracking,

billing,

work reporting,

project & task management

ActiveCollab

ProofHub

Clarizen

Harvest

Toggl

Replicon

Timecamp

https://www.timecamp.com

 

Typical Time-Wasting Activities

Click HERE to download the list of 40 time wasting activities that men and women indulge in, know the one that affects you and then plan on how to acquit yourself from its or their grip

 

However, let me just mention 5 of them

1.  Too Many Superfluous Meetings

     -    sitting in meetings are not really essential to carrying out the task at hand or where a subordinate can sit in

2.  Too Many Interruptions

     -    these serve as distractions

     -    when a train of thought is disorganized, it takes about 15 minutes for it to get back to base

3.  Majoring in the Minor

     -    getting concentrated on less important tasks and backing down on the more important tasks

4.  Procrastination

     -    using the phrase "what if" too much

5.  Delegation avoidance

     -    inability to delegate or outsource

 

Fixes & Workarounds for Time Management in a Hurry

Learning to manage your time effectively all of the time necessitates understanding of the challenges – as well as practice.

 It's just as tough to break old, time-wasting habits as it is to break any other habit.

However, if you're in a pinch right now and need to finish a job or find additional time in your day, consider these time management quick fixes and workarounds.

1.   Make a list of your objectives and post it somewhere you'll see it often.

2.   Set out a few minutes each day at the end of the day to plan, list, and schedule activities for the next day.

3.   Assign priorities to each of the jobs, and allot enough time to the highest-priority things so that they may be completed.

4.   Schedule your most important and/or tough chores at the time of day when you'll be most effective.

5.   Break down large jobs or projects into manageable chunks.

6.   Schedule less time-consuming chores or projects for when you're not at your most productive.

7.   Set deadlines for each task or component of a task to be completed.

8.   Distract yourself from your task at peak hours.

9.   Limit how much time you spend on social media.

10. Complete one assignment before moving on to the next.

11. Delegate tasks to other members of your team.

12. Ascertain that they have the necessary training and authorization to handle as much as possible independently.

13. Outsource work to other departments, businesses, or individuals.

14. If you are a morning person, try to wait until the afternoon to read your email. Make the most of your morning by doing crucial tasks.

If you're anticipating an important email, examine your inbox for the message you're looking for and open it only once.

15. To avoid being tempted to just "take a peek," turn off any automatic notifications that tell you there is new mail in your email account.

16. Turn off your phone's sound notifications so you won't be tempted to check texts or social media notifications all the time.

17. Tell your administrative assistant to put all of your phone calls on hold.

18. If you don't have anybody to take your calls, leave messages on an answering machine or with an answering service.

19. Set aside time during the day to take and return phone calls. This will help you resist the urge to talk to callers about non-urgent concerns.

20. Be always mindful and live in the present - the now

In Conclusion

Time they say is money and I am sure you know that is true whatever it is you are engaged in.

Time is currency and its cost is very expensive.

It is an insidious mover, you hardly notice its movement until you suddenly find that the day is far gone for instance; that's why Benjamin Franklin wrote, “You may delay, but time will not.” The problem with time is that it keeps on ticking away, whether you notice it or not.

That great philosopher, Dr. Seuss, wrote, “How did it get so late, so soon? It’s night before it’s afternoon. My goodness, how the time has flown! How did it get so late, so soon?”

He was overwhelmed and flabbergasted about the insidious movement of time.

Time is constant, humans are the ones on the move and we must ensure that we maximize the time on our hands so that we can make every second, every minute, every hour, every day to count towards the achievement of our goals and dreams before we sing the nunc dimitis.

Thank you for reading

What other time management techniques have we missed out?

What is your opinion on the use of time management software tools?

What is the greatest tool that anyone would employ in time management?

For effective time management, what is the best way to structure your to-do-list?

For a to-do-list to be accurately crafted, what is the one thing that anyone should know about themselves?

Mention in the order of importance, 5 basic principles of time management?

It would be great to read from you by way of quality comments on this Blog Post

Carpe diem

About the Blog

Success with Dr. Jerry - the First Blog is owned by Topitup Media And Communication Nigeria whose Team Head is Dr. Jerry - the First Oguzie: JP

At Success with Dr. Jerry - the First Blog, we believe that life is a continuous process of learning, that successful people are continuous learners and that your success is completely dependent on you

 

About the Writer

Dr. Jerry - the First Oguzie is a Physician, an Author, a Writer, Thinker, Founder, Convener and Success Coaching addict. He is passionate about helping people become the best versions of themselves through coaching, mentoring, teaching, enlightening and enhancing their self worth. And the Platform he uses to reach out to people is his Ministry of Encouragement  (MoE). He has deep interests in Personal Development including mindset reset and habit change, Personal Finance, Wealth Creation, Health and Fitness. He believes that financial knowledge (literacy) combined with self - discipline is the key to achieving financial  freedom.

He is the author of the book: ThePractical Steps To Total Financial Freedom

Kindly engage with our Blog on the following Social Media Sites

Facebook       -       LINK -      

Instagram      -       LINK -      

Twitter           -       LINK -      

Linkedin         -      LINK -      

Webtalk         -       LINK -      

YouTube       -       LINK -     

 

Thank you