Time management is something we all struggle with. Procrastination is one of those things that is hard to escape. We struggle with schedules and to-do lists. We struggle to prioritize. That’s why I’ll make things very simple. Here are tips for better time management.
- Better To Do List
Write a list of everything you have to do for the week in no particular order. This list should include every area of your life. This is a brainstorming list.
- Prioritize List
Use five categories:
Most Important
Urgent and Important
Important
Less Important
Urgent
With this list, write the corresponding letter next to each item on your to-do list. Categorize by importance and urgency. I recommend color coding. Urgent is right now. Less important could be something you can put off a little long. Important is something you need to get done. Urgent and important is something you need to get done right now. Most important is the highest priority.
- Re-organize list by categories into a table with each category label.
You just need boxes to write in for each category. Most important versus less important should create a new way to look at your priorities. An example could be an important deadline for a work project versus going shopping for errands that can wait. These simple steps in prioritization change the way we approach problem-solving our to-do lists.
- Lastly, use a calendar for TIME SLOTS FOR COMPLETING CATEGORIES AND DUE DATES for each item.
Start with Urgent and Important. Then, Urgent. Next, Most Important. Then, Important and Less Important. In that order. You will find your momentum increase and an abundance of productivity when you schedule by priority. Understanding priorities is the final thing.
- Prioritizing
Family time and relationships should come first. Scheduling in breaks is also crucial to a healthy relationship with time management. Self-care and wellness should come first as well. Since life is short, we’ll categorize that under Urgent and Important. Next, your work or school priorities should be Urgent and Important as well. Just balance the two. The rest of the categories are self-explanatory. For example, taking out the trash is Urgent.
Good luck!
One crucial thing about effective time management is reviewing the highlights of what you’re managing. For instance, I need to call twenty people today. Can I recite from memory who those twenty people are?
Now, I’m not saying memorize what you need to do on a daily basis. I’m saying review what you need to do the night before and visualize what you will do tomorrow taking special consideration on how things may go wrong and how things will go right.
You will accomplish much more the next day. Once you get good at visualizing, you will see the true power behind time management.
Time Management. That sneaky skill I need to learn, thank you for this article!