Improving Your Time Management Skills

At times the amount of work that we have to accomplish may feel impossible to complete in the time we have available.

As tasks continue to pile up, you may need to reflect on how to more effectively use the time to have so you are able to complete what is needed. Time management is a skill that takes time to develop; it should be a daily practice to prioritize and organize your life in a way that can improve the use of your time so you can achieve your goals in a timely manner.

How you manage your time may be different than how others manage theirs; try the following tips to find what works best for you:

1. Create a list of all the tasks you have going on at the moment. Write down even the simplest of tasks so you have a very clear picture of what you have going on.
2. Organize your tasks in order of importance and the amount of time you estimate will require to complete them.
3. Create a schedule that has a vision from one week out until one year out and use it along with a daily “to do” list in order to stay on track and monitor your time management.
4. Divide larger projects into smaller parts that you can complete. You can use your time more effectively and lower your stress level when you can see daily steps being made towards the completion of larger tasks.
5. As you lay out what projects need to be done, delegate the tasks that you are weakest at. Delegating is not a way for you to avoid a responsibility, but a function of successful business management practices. Tasks that are most technical, that you lack proper knowledge or require you to obtain additional skills to complete properly should be delegated to professionals that will be able to complete them more efficiently.
6. Avoid procrastination. Complete tasks fully, with your undivided attention during the time you have dedicated to them. Avoid common time black holes, such as social media, in order to stay on track with your deadlines and avoid wasting time.
7. Take time during every day to care for yourself. Wether it is 30 minutes to go out for a walk, exercise or meditate; make sure that you are allowing time for you to take care of your body, decompress and destress.
8. Notice where you are wasting time consistently and make a plan of action towards eliminating those distractions. If you feel like you need more time in your day, wake up earlier and be more specific about even scheduling your morning routine to be as time efficient as possible.

In short, you can start implementing these actions to your life by creating a list of tasks and prioritizing them.

Use that list in order to determine what can be delegated to someone else. Create a detailed schedule with specific action items and realistic deadlines for each one. Remember to schedule time for yourself as well, especially time to workout, do yoga, meditate or are prioritizing your eating habits. Once you get true clarity of what’s on your plate and how to get it done, you can can be more efficient and diligent in managing your entire life.

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