Time Management Skills – 5 Basic Tips:
Here are 10 tips to help you prioritize and improve your time management skills. It is essential to use these tips on a regular basis to help stay focused.
Lots of people have a great potential but do not take action or do not complete their projects. They do not know how to manage their time effectively and waste precious minutes that could be put to good use.
Each of these tips can help you becoming more effective with your time management skills.
1. Assume ownership of your time
Stay in possession of your own time and don’t allow anyone to make commitments of your time without asking you first. It is not inconsiderate to keep others from consuming your time. Give it freely when you desire, but don’t undervalue this resource, or feel guilty when you do not let others waste it. If you are not careful others will sabotage your time management skills.
2. Prioritize
Do not think of priorities only as tasks that need to be done. Remember yourself to do the most important tasks first, those that are in relation to your goals, and then you will probably find that other less important tasks, which really don’t need to be done, can be dropped. Continually check yourself to see if you are working on the most significant tasks.
3. Learn to say “No”
Why is “Yes” easier to say than “No”? It is not that saying “No” is too difficult, but it’s more the feeling of guilt that you may experience as soon as it is said. You have to concentrate on the things that are important first and learn to decline things that are not a part of your priorities. In your past week, what are the things you should have said “No” to?
4. Protect your blocks
Your day is made of numerous large time blocks divided by natural interruptions. Keep your blocks whole and do the most important tasks at the beginning. If you need scheduling appointments, meetings or phone calls, do so at the end of the block instead of in the middle or at the start. Keeping your blocks of time as big as possible gives is a great way to get more productive time and improve your time management skills.
5. Delegate
Delegating means assigning the responsibility for a task to someone else. You then no longer have to do the task, nor do you have to remind somebody else to do it. Being able to delegate some tasks is a way of freeing up lots of your time for the jobs that only you are able to do. As someone else learns to do a job, do not be tempted to take over if they are not doing it quite right. “Done” even if it is not perfect is better than “Not Done”.
Time Management Skills: More Tips
More time management skills:
6. Think in terms of buying time
There is an intimate relationship between money and time, where one can often be substituted for the other. The more frenetic your schedule is, the more reasonable it is to buy tools and services that will save you from spending time. Paying someone to post adverts on classified sites to advertise your business, or paying a baby sitter to watch the kid during an hour so you can concentrate on a task, are examples of purchasing time.
7. Learn to work with your biological clock
People have a peak time in the day when their energy is at its highest and concentrationat its best. Some people work better early morning before the kids are up and some others excel late at night…
Determine which time of the day is your peak performance time and plan your work accordingly. Keep routine tasks that do not need much concentration for other parts of the day.
8. Break down big jobs into manageable tasks
Most people delay starting a project because the job looks too big and they lack time management skills. You have to break down a large job into manageable tasks, and then start with the task you can handle well.
You will have a greater sense of satisfaction when you complete each individual task of the job and this can help you to stay motivated.
9. Work on overcoming procrastination
Procrastination is a habitual way of dealing with tasks you find displeasing or that make you fearful of failure. When you see that you are procrastinating, make the commitment to take the first step toward completing the task. Determine exactly what that first step will be, then set a specific time and day in the near future to begin the work.
10. Reward yourself
I am often guilty on this one and do not often celebrate when a major task is completed or a major challenge is met. The problem with a busy life is that you often fail to notice the completion of a major piece of work, and just move on to the next job without celebrating your previous success.
I hope this article will help you to improve your time management skills.
Michel Gerard
