Time is precious as a moment lost cannot be brought back. Whole world is bombarding about the time as every one of us fall short of time to perform the basic tasks. People have been addicted to do multi-tasking which, at times, an imperfect strategy; for example, it is not a great idea to eat breakfast while driving a car but in reality it is happening. In order to avoid such a weird scenario, one should learn the art of pacing the day-to-day tasks in an even manner so that there is enough space for life. Everyone tries to adapt a default time-management strategy that fits everyone but, the truth is that it is an individualized affair as what is right for a person A may be wrong for person-B. Therefore, it is not a great idea to follow what someone else is doing, instead what works best for oneself should be traced out quickly and implemented.
Importance of time and time management
In a true sense, we can`t manage time but we need to manage ourselves with the pace of time. Going forward, time never change as a second is a second for everyone and anytime but what makes one quicker but the other person slower is, the way we look at it. We all need time to sleep, rest, eat, entertain, and get ready for work and in fact most importantly to work for a job that earns. We must acknowledge the fact that time management is not simply rushing through the tasks but it is all about assessing, planning, organizing and implementing a systematic, practically acceptable strategy that saves time. Most essential part is to prepare a to-do list that put oneself in a zone of comfort but not lethargy. A great time management strategy allows us to accomplish more in a quick time, which can allow a lot of free time so that we can take advantage of learning opportunities and lower the stress. This in turn help to focus on life and career, all in all, life is going to be happy and organized.
Strategies that boost time-management
- Start and end the day early: It is always a productive idea to wake up early in the morning and go to bed early in the night. Ideally , a day`s time slot seems to be great if one wakes up by 6 a.m. and go to bed 10p.m. as it allows 16 hours of a day . However, each one of us vary in the way we organize a day`s time. During this time slot, brain is more active, fresh and energetic than waking up at late.
- Start a day with a clear focus : One should avoid confusion about what do I do today, instead , the first work-related activity must determine what we want to achieve for the day and wake-up with a brief list of things to do. Setting a clear focus for the day may not consume more than 5 minutes, but this can save many hours. It is a great idea to prepare a to-do list before implementing them.
- Allocate Time skillfully: It is important to see how one can fit the to-do list .Depending upon which task is more important, allocate the time so that the most essential activity can be given enough space than the activity that is least important.
- Set clear priorities: Sometimes the to-do list may seem overwhelming therefore, it is significantly important make it manageable. Huge tasks may be divided into smaller chunks and then set clear priorities which can help to categorize tasks into important, urgent, both important and urgent as illustrated below.
- Important and urgent – these are the tasks we must should do first.
- Important but not urgent – tasks that can be schedule to do later.
- Not important but urgent – if possible, it is better to delegate these tasks quickly.
- Not important and not urgent – you can skip tasks falling into this category
- No need to multitask unless we are confident to do so: It is important to focus on one task at a time, though some people praise multitasking, it appears to make more harm than good. Doing several tasks at a time is ineffective and inefficient as human brain needs time to switch from one task to another. Trying to do too many things create a lag time, when we’re actually not being as productive as we might want to be.
- Delegating the tasks: Delegating on those works which we are not expert at can yield better results. It is not bad idea to get help from others especially when we are not so familiar at particular tasks. Delegation begins by identifying tasks that others can do and choosing the right-fit to do them. Delegation is the scientific way of assigning responsibilities for a task to someone else. This can help in freeing up some time for tasks that require our expertise. It is important to select someone with the appropriate skills, experience, interest, and authority needed to accomplish the task.
- We must avoid procrastination: We may pause many tasks for a variety of reasons. Perhaps the task seems overwhelming or unpleasant, but we need to break down the task into smaller segments that require less time, effort and commitment. We must ensure, we are going to do things which are possible and easy to do instead of regretting later.
- We must avoid being exhausted and learn to take Regular Breaks: Being exhausted and then taking 1-2 hours of rest seems to make no sense as it wastes a lot of time. Instead, we must find ourselves a small break while we are feeling tired and stressed. Too much stress can take a toll on our body which can affect the quality of work and productivity. It is important to take a walk, listen to some music, or do some quick stretches but avoid smoking during break!
In a nutshell, we must be patient and well-planned but not lazy. It is always important to pace and allocate the tasks by being a good planner, organizer and expert at implementing. Good time management requires a daily practice of prioritizing tasks and organizing them in a way that can save time while achieving more.
