Do you have enough time in a day to get it all done? Make sure you know the true value of your time, and you are using it wisely. Here are the top 12 time management tips for finding extra hours you didn’t have any idea you had.
Time management is always an issue in almost everyone’s lives, as people often fail to complete their day to day tasks. No matter whether you stay at home or work outside, I am sure that you could utilize a few more hours in a day.
- Get organized!
This is the first thing that needs to be done to save some time. Think about all of the time you have wasted in looking for things, phone numbers, papers, supplies… your desktop.
• Use the first 10-15 minutes of the morning to organize your work area.
• Grab your “To Do” list and arrange the things needed to accomplish them.
- Pinpoint your most productive hours.
• You may love morning time or evening time. For instance, I complete all of my challenging tasks when I am fresh in the morning.
• Use your child’s sleeping time or one hour of “TV time” to do your demanding tasks.
- Prepare your “To Do” list the night before.
• Know what you want to do the next day. That way, you will be able to start your day with a goal in mind rather than wandering around aimlessly.
• Try to make your list inclusive with several pages; one for the tasks to do tomorrow, this week, and one for the month. Once you accomplish these tasks or goals, cross them off. I usually write my goals on my calendar.
- Find more time.
Need extra hours in the day? Get up early in the morning and have your cup of tea or coffee sitting at your laptop going through your emails, answering them and posting the forums. I consider these tasks my ‘day wasters’.
- Make a schedule and stick with it.
Write the task you will complete each day of the week on your calendar. For example, I do online banking on every Monday, file every Wednesday, and update my website on Friday.
- Avoid the big “day wasters”.
• Social media, television, surfing the web, and talking on the phone are all big “day wasters” if not used properly. All these activities are great when used in moderation, but they can prove to be very addictive and consume hours and hours of your day.
• Limit these ‘day waster’ activities to the morning time. This is an excellent time management tip!
- Household chores and cleaning!
• Clean one thing each day. Vacuum one day, clean the kitchen one day, clean the bathroom one day, etc.
• Load the washing machine the night before. Start the machine as you move towards the coffee pot in the morning. Dry the load when you are doing your other household works, then hand and put it away!
• Do the dishes and make your bed before you go to work or leave for office. Tidy the night before so that you have a neat house in the morning and you are ready to start working.
- Do double duty.
• Are you the one who sits in the carpool for at least 30 minutes? If yes, read newsletters, or lengthy emails. Read your emails you saved for this time.
• If you have a kids, schedule work and play together. If the kids are playing at the park or riding bikes in a safe area then this can be a great time to check emails and send replys. I use this time to read and study.
• You can make your children do their reading while you are cooking or doing other chores. I can hear them read and help them with any difficult words they are having a problem with.
- Learn to say “No!”
I often run into the problem of people assuming that because I am a business owner, I don’t have any work but to sit and read. People, especially family members, often ask me to run errands right do other favors. If I have a busy week, I don’t hesitate to say them “no”.
- Avoid interruptions.
• Let unnecessary calls go to voicemail.
• Do the callbacks when you are sitting with your kids outside or sitting in your car in the carpool line.
• Since emails are a major interruption, turn them off. Check them only in the morning, at lunch and the end of the day.
- Minimalize recreation.
Partying, playing sports, spending time on video games… no matter how you spend your free time, see whether you can cut into that time or not.
- Disconnect yourself.
If all else fails, cut your internet, shut the doors, and turn off all devices. Then start doing your work. This trick works for me amazingly if I can’t bring myself to getting it done.
Since actions trump everything, just do it.