How to Improve Your Time Management Skills
Where Are You Now? Evaluate Your Current Skills
A good place to start is by identifying your current time-management effectiveness. When you struggle to get things done, what do you think the cause is? When you successfully manage your time, what do you do differently? If you know what to work on, that's half the battle right there.
For instance, you might have good time management in your home life but lack the ability to get your tasks done at work. Since you'd like to improve your skills at work, you can go further by figuring out the reasons why your work projects don't go as quickly as planned.
Is it because other people are getting in the way of your completing your work? If so, you can strengthen your communication skills too, so everyone works together more effectively. Maybe you're just bored with your job. If that's the case, you'll want to find ways to fight the boredom and motivate yourself.
Better Time Management
Try these techniques to strengthen your time management skills:
1. Avoid procrastination. If you make a habit of procrastinating, you're just wasting precious time. Ask yourself why you're putting things off, and try to tackle the root problem. When you do, you'll get back on track in no time.
It's possible that you're expecting too much out of yourself and feel overwhelmed. It's okay, and even more productive, to take breaks and make time to relax. Then, when it's time to work, you'll feel refreshed and motivated to get the job done.
2. Get organized. It's easy to waste time if you can't find things, or if you aren't sure what task you're supposed to be working on at the time. Organize your workspace and eliminate clutter. Then move on to keeping checklists and goal sheets, enabling you to use your time more effectively.
3. Set deadlines. It's always a good idea to start your projects with a time goal in mind. Without a clear goal, you might give yourself a week to complete a task that should've only taken a day. Set attainable deadlines and then stick to them.
Schedule your time to maximize your productivity while still remaining relaxed and happy. Avoid stressing yourself out with unattainable deadlines, or you'll run the risk of burnout.
4. Learn to delegate. When it's appropriate, delegate certain tasks in order to save yourself time for things that you must do on your own. At work, this might mean passing out jobs to your employees or colleagues. At home, this may mean sharing tasks with your spouse or assigning chores to your children.
5. Have a daily to-do list. At the beginning of each day, make a to-do list and plan the tasks that you hope to accomplish. Keep flexibility in mind, because plans might change.
Cross off the items as you complete them. In doing so, you'll be motivated to finish the rest.
Choose a ranking system where you prioritize which items on the list should be completed first. You might want to start off your day with the most important ones or establish momentum with some quick, easy tasks. Find something that fits your personal style.
If you have the will to change, you'll be able to strengthen your time management skills. Practice these strategies each day and soon you'll be a master at time management.