Time management seems to be a major challenge for men and women from all different backgrounds, different professions and different income levels. Are you ready to stop the insanity and discover 21 tips towards better time management?
- Set your priorities wisely. What is really important to you? Put that above everything else.
- Set your goals. What do you want to achieve in your life or career? What will you need to do to get there?
- Have a plan. Plan your month, week, even your day. Leave space for emergencies, but know what needs to get done.
- Have a list. I have lists for everything from shopping, to packing (when traveling or moving), blog post setup, etc.
- Use lists properly. Get things done, and check them off the list.
- Celebrate your accomplishments. Acknowledge when you get something done.
- Track your time to see where the leaks are.
- Block off your focus time. Schedule uninterrupted time into your calendar to help you focus on your business or project.
- Set boundaries. Let people around you know that you will not pick up phone calls during specific times.
- First things first. Your family is more important than any other project. Protect your family time.
- Schedule time for yourself. Unless you are satisfied with where you are, schedule time to read, learn and grow personally. Even if you only get 1 hour a week for yourself, that gives you 52 hours a year.
- Focus on productivity, not busyness. Keep in mind that busyness doesn’t make you effective.
- Take time to rest. We all have a limited amount of energy. Failing to re-energize lowers your ability to function.
- Prioritize your tasks. Have you heard about the 80/20 rule? It’s true even when it comes to time management. 80% of your activities create 20% of your results and 20% of your activities contribute to 80% of your results. Recognizing what the 20% of the activities are will be a game changer.
- Delegate. If something is not a strength of yours, or you know somebody who can do it better, cheaper, or faster, you should delegate it to them. Delegation doesn’t only save you time, it also helps you create better results faster.
- Use an egg timer. This simple tool has saved me a lot of wasted time. It reminds me to quickly get back to the project and get it done before I have to move on.
- Take breaks. Even a short break when you stretch, have a quick conversation or run up and down stairs, this may help you between projects. Remember to get back within 10-15 minutes or it might be hard to get back to work.
- Success starts with self-discipline! You can keep blaming your lack of time on others or you can take responsibility and start managing your time instead of giving that power to others.
- Connect every task to your goal. Does it move you forward in the right direction or is it a distraction? Does it speed up the process or does it slow you down?
- Assign a deadline to your items to avoid letting it slip through the cracks.
- Acknowledge your uniqueness. What works for others might not necessarily work for you. Pay attention to how you take action and produce results best, and continue to do that.
Question: What is your favorite time management tip? What helps you stay on track and get things done?
For even more time management tips check out my Time Management YOUR Way.
