How often have we heard people complain about not having enough time?
I am often guilty of this too, wishing I could clone myself many times over, and hoping the hours would stretch more so I can catch up on some unfinished tasks.
So how do I manage my time?
The answer to this timeless (hah hah) question is crucial to many aspects of life; from balancing an online education to just finding time to learn how to cook.
I am not a time management expert but since I answered ‘yes’ to some of InspirationBit’s test questions in her time management group writing project, I am glad to share my three simple time management tips: Prioritize. Delegate. Say no.
Table of Contents
1. Prioritize
Focus on your To Do list or whatever is written in your schedule first before doing other less important activities.
2. Delegate
Don’t sweat the small stuff. We are not super heroes, we can’t put our hands on everything that claims our attention. Let go of things that can be passed on to others such as phone calls or simple computations. You can also train others to do part of your work so you can focus on the more important things.
3. Say no
If your schedule is fully loaded, and you have lots of pending tasks that needs your personal attention and they can’t be delegated, learn to refuse additional workload, responsibilities or unnecessary distractions.
My favorite time management guru is Stephen Covey and I learned a lot from the principles he taught in his book ‘First Things First’ about the compass (vision) vs. the clock (schedule) and efficiency vs. effectivity. I’ve learned about centering your goals on a personal mission statement which serves as your inner compass, your reference point on what matters most in your life.
What about situations that do not depend on you, but on external circumstances and other people – how do you manage your time when things don’t turn out according to your schedule? I have written about this dilemma before, you can read about it in ‘Warning! Do not delay!: Lessons in Time Management for goal-driven fanatics’:
So, it’s absolutely fine to have a goal, BUT when things don’t go according to your timetable, and things are beyond what you can manage, don’t fuss. Stay pretty (or else you’ll age faster and those unwanted wrinkles would start appearing). Keep your cool. You might be in for a pleasant surprise.
Related posts:
– 33 timeless ideas on time management
– Warning! Do not delay! : Lessons in time management for goal-driven fanatics
– The wisdom of the perfect time
11 replies on “3 simple time management tips”
Hi Carey. I love your blog’s design, and actually like the idea of having the comment field before all the contact details – pretty neat.
Couldn’t agree more with you on all those 3 time management essentials. I also liked Stephen Covey’s comparison with the compass, clock and efficiency
Hi Vivien (inspirationbit)! thanks for appreciating my blog design. it’s not totally mine though. it’s actually a ready made template here in i.PH which i customized with my own header image and background, using my favorite fonts Trebuchet and Arial, and my own sidebar arrangement.
I guess my time management tips are too general though. It’s just a summary and I wish to provide some practical tips in the future. Thanks for dropping by and hope your writing project will be a big success.
thanks for the tip!
my time management trick as always is: MULTI-TASKING!!! it gets many things done.
Daisy: yeah, I do multi-tasking a LOT too! Some tasks can be done simultaneously, I love it when I get more done at the same span of time. Though some tasks needed more focus and attention, and I had to tackle them first before the others in my To Do list.
I really love your second tip: Delegate. I find it hard to delegate some things myself. I’m quite picky with the way things are done. It would be nice to have someone who will put as much passion as you have on the tasks you have in line, even the minor ones. I found some time management tips as well at http://sn.im/wyeuh Take note, the author wrote “Learn to Delegate.” Really hit me hard there LoL..
I must agree, the best time to work on your hardest tasks, is in your freshest times. For me personally, If I do not start working on tasks in the morning, by the afternoon, I am usually burnt out & easily distracted. Get to know your peak times, be it early in the day, or perhaps you are an afternoon or evening person. Make the most of these times. Also, I find that making a list is the best way to get work done.
Time management is important because without it, life has the potential to be chaotic. If a person doesn’t actively manage their time, this individuals time may be used up before they realize it. Time management allows a person to succeed. Managing their time encourages achievement of goals.
Batching is a highly effective time-management strategy. Your productivity is affected every time you switch gears and change tasks. Instead of doing everything every day, try scheduling certain tasks less frequently. For example, instead of paying bills as you receive them, check your due dates and only touch invoices twice a month. The E-Mail strategy above is a perfect example of batching since you are only touching it twice a day instead of all day long as each message hits your inbox.
There’s one word that’s more powerful than any others when it comes to focus and that word is NO. You must learn the art of saying no gracefully and tactfully to others. You’ll get request all the time particularly as you become more productive and manage your time better, others will see that and they’ll want you to participate in projects, causes, things that they have going on. Now, this isn’t to say that you always say no but you have to learn how to say no more often than you say yes because whenever you say yes to one thing you always saying no to something else. When someone asks you to do something, ask for the request through email. This does several things. First of all, it gives you time to consider the request in a calm environment where you can look at your calendar. Second of all, it allows you to prepare a response that’s diplomatic and kind in the case that you do have to say no. It allows you to crop that response in a written format rather than making an excuse in person or worst yet, saying yes because your uncomfortable saying no face to face. And third, it creates a situation where the person may not actually follow through where they just ask because they saw you but they weren’t really committed to having you involved. This gives them opportunity to back-out gracefully or just to not have you involved because they fail to follow through.
To learn how to say no to others, watch this video at http://davecrenshaw.com/how-to-say-no-to-yourself-and-others-and-stop-dam-failure/
..actually I’m a working student..
it’s hard for me to manage my time
i always wish that i have a twin or many clone to do all my task and activities
..now i’m taking my ojt sa it’s another task that i need to give time
..so your article give me an idea how to manage the time
..thanks for that idea:]
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