Our 5 Top Tips For Time Management
The Oxford English Dictionary defines time management as thus:
The ability to use one’s time effectively or productively.
Whether in our personal lives or at work time management is important.
Think about this for a moment – what would you do if you had a free day. A totally free day where you get to choose exactly what you do. 24 whole hours. You could go to brunch with friends, lie on the beach and read a book or tidy the whole house.
Go on, what would you do?
Whatever it is I’m willing to bet it is achievable; most people don’t say they’d spend their free day doing something unattainable like flying to space – we’re not all millionaires after all! Now I’m not saying that if you manage your time better you can achieve everything but we might make enough time to tidy one room or read 10 pages of our book and that’s a start!
First of all I think its pertinent to say that if you don’t do something different then nothing will change. We have to change our input to get a different output.
So, here are our top tips for time management:
1) Use your time effectivley, not just efficiently
Decide what is urgent and important and then use Eisenhowers Matrix to decide what to do with it. If something is Urgent and Important then that needs doing right away, if it is important but not urgent you should still probably do it but it doesn’t have to be done today. If its urgent but not important then this is something you can probably delegate and if its neither urgent or important then its not a task you should be doing!
2) Give your undivided attention to tasks
By multitasking we force our brain to refocus continually. We are up to 50% more effective if we focus on one task at a time. So set a timer or take away the distractions that stop you being productive. I know if I get a message on my personal phone this will send me into at least 10 minutes of answering WhatsApp conversations (how do you get so many messages in such short time??) so I leave my phone in a different room.
3) It’s ok to say no
Is the task being given to you really something that fits into urgent and important or at least important? If it’s not then do you need to do it? Or could someone else? Often we take on tasks because we like to be helpful or feel valued but really these can clutter up our to-do lists and take time from the things we really need to get done. This can be a really tough one to handle but unless you love doing tasks that you don’t need to I suggest you try this it out!
4) Pay attention to when you are most productive
For me this is late morning and then late afternoon. Around 4pm I really start to get into a flow and often find myself shocked when it gets to 5:30! Use the times when your mind and body are the most focussed to get through the tasks that need doing that day. The rest of the time can be spent working on lighter tasks or planning for your productive times.
5) Making a list and mind mapping
Everyone loves a list, ticking off something you have done feels great. So, make a done list too – it might take an extra second or two (I know I know we’re trying to save time) but this is worth it. Seeing how much you have achieved makes us feel good and when our brain feels good it is more productive! If a linear list doesn’t work for you then a mind map can be a great way to get everything down on paper. Start in the middle the page and work out, writing everything connected to the task until you can’t think of anything else. Getting it all out of our heads helps us to visualise and prioritise what we need to do next.
Now, these tips might not give you a full day back for yourself but you might have time for a coffee in the garden or to catch 15 minutes of your favourite TV show before your kids make it home from school.
Whatever you use it for it’ll be worth it!