According to a new study, the average person wastes 21.8 hours per week.
Does this sound like you?
If you feel like there’s never enough time in the day to get everything accomplished and you’re losing sleep over it, then you might be in need of some time management strategies.
There are certainly a wealth of them to be found. But we’ll start here with some simple tasks to get you started.
1. Audit How You Use Your Time
Your first order of business is to take a serious look at how you’re using your time. This can be easily accomplished with a time management app that can track everything you do for a week.
Once you download the reports, you might be really surprised to see how certain activities are eating your time. Then you can take proactive steps to shorten or eliminate those time-suckers.
2. Plan Your Week Ahead of Time
Armed with the information from above, you can take some time every Sunday to make a schedule for the upcoming week.
Mondays are low-energy days, so schedule low-priority tasks for those days. As your energy builds during midweek, those are good days to schedule more demanding or creative tasks.
And as energy begins to drop by the end of the week, reserve your Fridays for networking and planning.
To have a little fun with this, you can even use an Adobe Express free calendar maker to make a personalized calendar specifically for this purpose.
3. Avoid Distractions
Your computer and phone have “do not disturb” functions for a reason. So use them when you’re involved in focused tasks.
The world won’t come to an end if you unplug from the internet or your contacts to get work done. And you’ll get it done faster.
4. Create a “Done” List
Staring down at a long “to-do” list can be daunting. You may even be wasting time procrastinating tackling it.
So be sure to jot down anything you get done each day. That means tasks on the “to-do” list, and others that just popped up and you handled.
Looking at a long list of what you’ve done will boost your confidence and help you in creating the following week’s schedule.
5. Learn to Say No
Obviously, there will be times when you aren’t able to say no.
But if you’re feeling that certain activities are not urgent enough or not moving you forward, you’re welcome to say no.
For example, if you’re someone who’s always helping others, it’s easy for the scales to get tipped out of balance and soon you’ve stopped helping yourself.
Are you really the only one who can take your neighbor’s cat to the vet? No.
6. Take Time for YOU
Are you getting enough sleep and exercise?
When you make your schedule each week, be sure to block out time for both of these. Even if exercise is just taking a walk at lunch.
Taking care of yourself is essential if you’re going to effectively manage your time.
Stay Energized with Time Management Strategies
Start reaching your potential by employing the above time management strategies. They’re easier than you think and they could make a huge difference.
And for more tips on managing your time and your life in a natural way, keep checking back with us.
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