Are you the type who always delays your tasks? Do you find yourself deliberately putting off those urgent things that need to be done? Are you the typical crammer who waits until the last minute before beginning an important task?
Books and resources on time management tips and productivity define procrastination as the habit of putting off the things that you need to do despite their urgency. This usually leads to tasks being half-done or haphazardly done. More importantly if you delay or put off doing your tasks and consequently cram, it inevitably results to stress. Procrastination is the enemy of time management. Here are some time management tips to get rid of the procrastinator in you.
List down the things you need to do and number them according to their urgency. Try to determine how much time you will need to accomplish every single task that you have listed down so that you can budget the time that you have in your day. Know which of the tasks are similar or can be done simultaneously. Let say, you promised to bake brownies for the whole class while you’re also hosting a dinner for your bosses at home. Preparations for these two tasks need not be done separately. Prepare a grocery list that will cover everything that you need for both tasks. Make sure that you list everything down as extra trips to the supermarket can ruin your schedule.
Set deadlines. Most of the time people procrastinate on the tasks that they do not want to do in favor of those which are easy to accomplish or those that they are used to doing. Thus it is important to keep tab on when you need to have the tasks accomplished and write them down in a planner. Work your way through your calendar backwards, starting from the date of your deadline. Write down the things that you need to do to accomplish a particular task so that you can do the dreaded task slowly but surely and find yourself right at the finish line on time and even earlier than the deadline.
Post reminders of your tasks and things to do on your corkboards or even your dresser or your bathroom mirror or perhaps your refrigerator, especially if you are not the type who opens your diary of planner at the end of the day. Having these constant reminders of the things you need to do will stimulate you to include these tasks or at least parts of it, into the activities that you plan on doing for the next day. Before going to bed make a written, if not a mental assessment of how your day went and how time was spent.
After following all these time management tips, and you find yourself liberated from those dreaded tasks, reward yourself. If you find that you’ve had your tasks accomplished ahead of time, then this is good news and is definitely a reason to celebrate! Treat yourself to a good soak in the tub, a delicious meal or a good book. Relax! Accomplishing the work that you need to do ahead of time simply means that you now have extra time to waste in your hands.
For years, people have been fascinated with the meaning of time management. Fascinated because although time management is actually a simple concept, but one that most people find hard to follow. It is important to understand the proper meaning of time management for a person to make good use of his time so he can accomplish his goals and tasks.
Time management is the general term that refers to the many ways and means that people use to properly allocate their time. This time usage is in relation to effectively completing projects however big or small it may be. Time management also refers to the effective use of various resources to accomplish different goals on time and satisfactorily.
When people try to define the meaning of time management, various time management tools also come to mind. These can be as simple as organizers, notebooks, clocks and wristwatches. The organizers and notebooks are used to jot down or list the projects and tasks that one has to accomplish with a given set of deadlines.
Most often, the term time management refers to personal time management, that is, the effective use of one’s time to accomplish his own pre-set tasks. In this aspect, people should learn to value time as they value money. Basically, we spend time, save time and invest time. We spend time so we can finish certain projects and jobs. We save time so we can better allocate our time and resources to finish future tasks. And we invest time on certain projects that we know we will benefit in the future and contribute to our improvement.
The proper usage of time is actually relative to the person who uses it. When one person does nothing but listen to music, people around him may argue that he is wasting his time on this unnecessary leisure when he could be doing more important things. But if the person listening to the music is a songwriter, then he might actually be making good use of his time because he is doing a form of research or searching for inspiration to help him with his future songwriting projects. This is the reason why people need better grasp of the meaning of time management so they will know when they are using their time wisely or just spending it wantonly.
To some people, time management is a form of discipline which they need to learn to become more effective individuals. To others, it is nothing more that just knowing one’s priorities and allotting his time for the completion of these important tasks. No matter how one looks at time management, it all boils down to the fact that everyone must make effective use of their time if they want to really accomplish their goals and come up with quality outputs.
If you feel confused on the meaning of time management and what actually constitutes proper usage of time, you don’t need to worry. You don’t need the latest software and gadgets that promise you more productivity and effective time management. As with other things, the answer can be very simple. Sometimes just having a task list is all that one needs to prioritize his goals. You probably have made use of a task list. A grocery list is a form of a task list because you list down all the important things that you need to buy first. Just having a list can help solve your time management problems.
Learning what time management is all about
It is never easy to manage something that is not tangible especially when it is something that is lost forever when not used up. Learning time management is more than just being able to list down actions to be performed within a time period. It includes a critical analysis of the importance of a task and weighs it against another task that might just be equally important. Sometimes you have to juggle tasks that are all important and are all to be accomplished at the same time. There are times when conflict between to or more activities are beyond analysis and you are lead to either drop one of them or cry out for help.
Learning time management takes more than just analytical mind. Tasks are sometimes too difficult that motivation is needed for it to be accomplished on time. In that case, time management would need a study of behavior. Learning how and why a person do things will be helpful in laying down plans for accomplishing tasks that needs a lot of motivation. The fact is human behavior is on of the greatest factor that affects time management. It is quite easy just to list tasks but actually doing it is a problem especially when the action is something that a person hates to do.
Time management is actually management of actions in relation to time. Authors agree that no one could actually manage time because we couldn’t do anything about time but watch it go by. What we can actually manage are the actions that we do within a period of time. There is, however, a difference between time management and just planning an action. Time management is more than that. The element of time is very important. Tasks should be accomplished in relation to time.
Actions need not be difficult to be considered time management. Even resting, sleeping and relaxing can be considered part of time management because it restores energy that a person can use to do a certain job more effectively. Even watching movies is considered time management if the action is done with a definite purpose like doing a review or studying literature.
There are times when more than one action is needed to be accomplished within the same time period. That would mean spending time wisely to make it happen. Many people find it difficult to decide when the opposing actions consists of something that you really like to do and something that you really have to do. People have the tendency to favor the actions that they like and not the important ones.
Learning time management is also learning how people act in relation to time. There are human tendencies that are needed to be understood so that they can be used to favor time management techniques and not go against it. Mastering human behavior to be used as a tool in accomplishing tasks is not really difficult to accomplish given enough time and the right tools. Learning time management would be exciting because of human involvement.
The definition of time management can vary from one person to the next. For the corporate manager, it could mean meeting all the department and office deadlines while managing office resources and manpower efficiently. It could also mean saving the company thousands of dollars by having so much accomplished in a short period of time.
For the home maker, moms and parents, the definition of time management may center of the amount of quality time that they are able to spend with their kids. It could mean having enough time to be able to attend that all important soccer game or watch your daughters first ballet recital while keeping your home balanced and organized at the same time.
On the other hand, the definition of time management for students could mean having just enough time to participate in the extra curricular activities that interest them while keeping their academic standing above average at the same time. This could also mean that they also have enough time to spend with their friends.
Indeed time management is for everybody who would like to maximize the hours in the day to their interests. Its a good thing that the principles of time management are very basic and can be applied to carefully adapt to every person’s lifestyle.
Set your goals and prioritize. Knowing what you have set out to do day after day is key to organizing your activities and your tasks in a day. This will help you thresh out everything else that may be unnecessary and unimportant and in the long run, waste the limited time that you have. This will also help you say no to other tasks that may get in the way of the goals that you have set.
Use a planner, a daily reminder or a diary where you can list down everything that you need to do. Careful planning of your activities is important when you are gearing for optimum time maximization. Planning allows you see ahead and even predict possible problems that may arise and create scenarios that you can easily avoid. Planning ahead will also help you determine the things that you need to do in preparation for a big task.
Be realistic and delegate. Know that there are but 24 hours in a day and that you do not have super powers so do not hog the things that need to be done. Most of the time the tendency to want to do things for yourself comes from your lack of confidence in others. Set deadlines and carefully discuss the task at hand and know what others can and cannot do for you, be it in the office or the household or at school.
Indeed the definition of time management may vary but for many individuals at whatever age and whatever environment, effective time management follows the same basic rules and will give the same rewards. Without a doubt it will help you perform your tasks more efficiently while allowing you to enjoy a stress free life ahead.