The process of planning and exercising deliberate control over the amount of time allotted to specific activities to maximise efficiency and production is referred to as time management. Managing time is considered a human skill for various reasons. Be it submitting a big project to your manager, an assignment to your professor or even cleaning up your room. Time management makes one more organised, increases productivity and improves how you spend your free time.
Find out how to work smarter, not harder. Managing time isn’t about cramming as many things as you can into your calendar; it’s about doing things properly to complete the most critical tasks first. Your work is simplified, you save time, and your stress levels are decreased.
Let’s look at different ways to manage time —
1. Prioritise: This is a well-known method of sorting and prioritising your tasks: Organise your tasks into the following groups:
i) Important and time-sensitive: Complete these right now!
ii) Important but not urgent: Focus on the next item and include it in your long-term objectives.
iii) Not-time bound but critical: Complete them, but stay away from any distractions while doing so.
iv) Non-essential and non-urgent: These are a complete waste of time. !
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2. Make a habit of keeping time diaries: Develop the practice of writing down the things that require your time and attention daily or weekly. This will help you figure out where you’re spending time, and you can start saving time based on your findings. Determine when you are most productive and schedule your most important tasks at that period.
3. Focus on one thing at a time: We all have heard the saying ‘Falling between two stools’, and it fits perfectly here. If you try to do too many things at the same time, you will finish none of them, and you will end up doing them poorly because your attention gets divided into several parts and you perform each task with a lesser efficiency and attention to detail.
4. De-procrastinate: Do you ever find yourself sitting with your laptop open, ready to continue your work, but end up staring at the screen for hours, visiting unrelated websites and social media profiles? And before you know it, you’ve squandered a significant amount of time. Procrastination is followed by worry and anxiety, so avoid it as much as possible. This will save you more time than you might imagine, which you can put to better use by resting and enjoying your hobbies!
5. Review your progress: Making a plan is one thing, adhering to it is a different story. So, develop a habit of reviewing your progress on the tasks on your tracker at least once a day, this will help you revise your plans according to your progress and reach your goals much quickly.
Time management is a human skill needed to succeed in various professions. Take actor Tom Cruise as an example. He uses time management as a skill in his daily routine, approaches his work as a business, and recognises that he is the product. Cruise has coupled the advantages of being in the right place at the right time with the perfect look and scrupulous control of every element of his business to achieve consistent success in the box office. He meticulously manages his roles, money, body, and public image to stay on top of his game, and he accomplishes this through good time management.
Respecting the value of time and figuring out how to manage it effectively is a key human skill required in our day-to-day lives. Time management abilities enable you to organise your duties in a systematic manner and complete them by the deadline.
You can be more innovative and proactive with your goals if you manage your time well. With a clearly defined time range for each workplace activity, you can ensure that you’re contributing consistently wherever you are.
-Anuj Sethi,
Intern writer and resident football fan