How to manage time like a pro? [7 time management tips]
- Updated on: October 3, 2024
![How to manage your time like a pro? [7 time management tips] - Luxafor](https://staging.luxafor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/How-to-manage-your-time-like-a-pro-7-time-management-tips-1-1024x576.png "How to manage your time like a pro? [7 time management tips] 1")
Ask yourself — how many times have you felt like you don’t have enough hours a day to complete everything that you’ve planned? The problem might be the poor ability to manage your time wisely.
So in this blog article, we take a look at 7 practical tips that will help you learn to manage your time wisely! But before that, let’s discuss why you have to learn how to do effective time management!
What are some time management benefits?
Sometimes many of us think that doing more activities at the same time will help us accomplish more in a shorter period of time. This, in fact, cannot be further from the truth.
By trying to hold onto four different tasks at once we spiral into the neverending cycle of multitasking — and that can lead to burnout, loss of time, and nothing gets completed.
By managing your time wisely, you’ll notice that you’re getting:
- less stressed about small (oftentimes even unimportant) things because all the worries about unfinished and forgotten tasks will just disappear;
- more productive every day as you’ll learn how to plan your tasks efficiently;
- more free time and energy to do the things you really enjoy instead of overworking and losing every single bit of motivation because of that;
- better at staying focused — by effective time management you’ll have a more clear mind, therefore it’ll be easier for you to avoid small distractions like notification signals;
- closer to your big goals because, instead of wasting your precious time multitasking, you’ll have more time to set your personal goals and achieve them!
Source: Pexels
7 time management techniques
So now that we’ve clarified some of the main benefits that effective time management can give you, let’s talk about the actual tips that will help you manage your time the proper way!
1. Group similar tasks together to save time
If you’re dealing with several tasks that are quite similar, this is the right time to group them together. This technique is also called batching. It means that you bundle multiple smaller tasks together, therefore saving time and also boosting your productivity.
This batching technique allows you to focus on one specific action, that way you don’t get lost in multitasking, jumping from one duty to another without accomplishing any of them really.
You can organize these similar tasks into one category, and the tasks don’t necessarily have to be exactly the same. They can be responsibilities like writing content for your social media accounts, responding to emails, or updating your website.
A similar method to batching is the Eisenhower Matrix, which helps categorize tasks based on their urgency and importance.
2. Automate any process you can, saving more time
This era is amazing in the sense that many things can now be automated due to technological growth. So you can (and should) use it to your benefit!
For example, you can save a lot of time and effort by using automation tools on your computer to do tasks for you. This can be super beneficial for those small, repetitive tasks that don’t require a lot of your attention.
In fact, in a recently done survey, about 60% of the responders admitted that they lose nearly a full workday doing repetitive tasks that can be easily automated. Learn from their mistakes — automate any small process you can to save yourself a lot of time and worries!
3. Spend less time thinking about it — just do it!
Have you ever caught yourself sitting next to your computer and doing everything that’s in your power to avoid that one specific task that you just don’t want to start? Yeah… imagine, how much time you’ve wasted there just by thinking and worrying about it!
Instead of trying to escape something that you’ll have to sooner or later do anyway, just get yourself together and do it! You don’t have to accomplish it all at once — just start little by little, taking a small break every 15 to 20 minutes to allow your mind to rest. That way you’ll find the task more enjoyable — and trust us, you’ll be much happier after finishing the task!
Source: Pexels
4. Set your boundaries by saying “NO!”
This one might be harder for those nice souls that love to help their colleagues, getting buried under a pile of tasks of their own at the end of the day. But you have to learn to say “no”!
It’s amazing to help a co-worker out by doing something small in their favor, but that way they’ll quickly learn that they can give you all the tasks they just don’t want to do. You don’t have to take their responsibilities into your hands — you have many projects of your own!
So sometimes you just have to be the “bad” one and say those two letters to save yourself from trouble later on.
5. Use your digital time management calendar
Paper planners and calendars are awesome, but do they send you notifications for upcoming events and meetings? Probably not. That’s why you should use some kind of digital calendar.
The Internet is full of amazing and free digital calendars and planners that you can use to effectively manage your time during work hours and after. We’re all only humans, and in these fast-paced days, we often tend to forget about important things — digital planners and calendars are life-savers!
6. Turn off your notifications
Who doesn’t like to get a notification of some sort, right? But sometimes, especially during work, they can make us so distracted! After taking a look at the notification, we often lose ourselves in checking Facebook walls, scrolling through Instagram, and maybe even reading old threads of emails.
This, of course, takes a lot of time away. So, in order to manage your time effectively, using it mindfully throughout the day, you can put your phone on silent mode, use free website blockers, or even get yourself a smart productivity gadget like Luxafor Flag.
This little device notifies you of only the most important incoming emails or notifications by blinking, allowing you to focus on your tasks without the need for checking your inbox every 5 minutes.
Source: Luxafor Flag
7. Set some time for much-needed breaks
We know that sometimes you might think that without taking a break you’ll be more productive because you’ll use your lunch-break time for completing your tasks. But that doesn’t necessarily work like that.
Your mind and body need breaks to work efficiently and be able to stay focused. You have to stretch every once in a while during the day, as well as eat at least some snacks to give your body much-needed energy.
It might help you to learn about the Pomodoro technique, where you divide your workday into smaller chunks of work. For example, you fully focus on your work for 25 minutes and after that take a 10-minute break, and then repeat the process, playing around with the length of breaks.
Some final thoughts on effective time management
Believe it or not, effective time management is an actual skill that you have to keep building day by day to make it work by benefiting you. But once you get on track and start religiously using these tips daily, oh boy, you’ll notice a huuuge difference in your work life as well as your private life.
Just keep in mind that it takes about 21 to 40 days (depending on the ways you approach these things) to create habits, so be patient and everything will work out!
Don’t sleep on these tips — try integrating them into your life and finally manage your time like a true professional! Take care!
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