Top 3 Time Management Tips

Introduction

Imagine this: You wake up as the sunlight pours through the blinds and birds sing on the windowsill, you put on a power suit and get yourself your favorite Starbucks drink, walk through the office with your song playing in the background, sit down at your desk and… get absolutely nothing done. Don't worry, we have all been there but if you want to squeeze more out of your day, be sure to follow these 3 key time management tips.

Understand How You're Spending Your Time

Now, before you go write that to-do list or create a list of SMART goals, you need to first understand how you are actually spending your time. Without an adequate understanding of where you are spending most of your time and understanding main distractions, you may not be able to stick to your plans, and thus not see an increase in your productivity. Take a moment to understand how you are actually using your work time, and take measures to prevent time draining activities from killing your productivity. We here at Next Step Business recommend that you continuously set a 30 minute timer and write down what you are doing at the moment that timer goes off. Doing this for a week can give you more awareness of what you do on a day to day basis and will allow for more effective schedule planning.

Create (And Stick to) Schedules

Now that you have understood where your time is going, it's time to reign it in and create a schedule. When I say schedule, I don't mean one of those lists that says complete by 5PM at the bottom or a super detailed table that plans out each and every minute of your day.

Create Realistic Timelines: Most people overestimate their ability to get things done in a timely manner, a phenomenon that scientists often call a "planning fallacy" which usually results in overly optimistic timelines. Understanding this fallacy and planning your schedule in a more realistic way will ensure that you are able to get everything on your schedule done in an organized and time efficient manner.

Avoid Distractions: while you are trying to stick to your schedule, it is best that you give the task at hand your full and undivided attention. Close all extra tabs and stow your phone away in a bag or desk drawer and leave it alone for scheduled breaks only.

Avoid Multitasking

While it may seem like a good idea in the beginning, multitasking is one of the worst things you can do if you are aiming to be more productive at work. In fact, according to the American Psychological Association, although switching tasks constantly may seem to increase your focus and efficiency, because it takes extra time for the brain to switch mental gears from switching to different tasks, individuals are less likely to be productive. In addition to multitasking slashing your productivity, it also has been proven to increase the probability of error on the given task. All in all, multitasking is not a good idea unless you are aiming to get the least done.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, time management is often not as hard as it looks. Having a strong understanding of where you are spending your time, scheduling, avoiding distractions, and avoiding doing too many things at once will allow you to optimize your time and never again have to deal with the dread that follows an unproductive workday.

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