The secret to managing time successfully is being able to manage yourself, although we often think we don't waste a minute of our time, in reality, this is far from true and there are many ways which we can manage ourselves more efficiently which ultimately leads to more successful time management.
In order to successfully manage time, there are strategies which you can use to stay more in control and relieve stress which plays a big factor in successful time management. Here are our top ten time management skills:
Attempting to do too much
In today's busy world many people want things done yesterday and this only leads to rushing around and not doing a task properly, it also leads to mistakes and half-finished work with no real feeling of having accomplished anything with your time.
A lack of priorities
This is the single biggest cause of time-wasting, in order to successfully manage time we have to know exactly what our priorities are for the day, by not prioritizing we spend too much time on the minor things and not enough time on the important ones.
Interruptions
We all get interruptions in our day, this could be someone dropping in and asking if you have a minute to spare, which usually turn into a half-hour or more. Knowing how to successfully deal with interruptions in your daily life is essential to time management.
Procrastination
Thinking about what you have to do instead of actually getting on and doing it is one of the biggest time wasters in your day, reduce the amount of time that you spend thinking and this leaves you more time for doing.
Learn to say "no"
Many of us just cannot say the words "no" when asked if we mind doing something, this is usually out of fear of upsetting the other person, but if you are taking on the responsibilities of others then you are taking time away from your own workload or tasks and essentially robbing yourself of that precious time which leads to stressing you out.
Clutter
Look around your desk or workspace, do you know where everything is? If you are asked for a file can you lay your hands on it or do you have to go rummaging to find it? A cluttered desk or workspace is a time-waster.
Set deadlines for yourself
Work out a reasonable deadline for a particular project and make sure that you stick with the deadline.
Manage your e-mails and phone calls
Where possible manage when you read your e-mails and take phone calls better, this was you are not continually breaking off to answer a call or reply to an e-mail. Set aside certain times when you check your e-mail and reply to them, the same applies to phone calls, it is surprising how much time can be wasted throughout a day by stopping and starting a project or task.
Use an activity planner
Setting your day out in a planner can help you save time, a planner will allow you to allocate tasks to time slots and this way you can plan your day out and maximize your time more efficiently.
Avoid multi-tasking
Starting many different projects at the same time is not a very efficient way of managing time, try to complete one project before starting out on another, this gives you the satisfaction of seeing the project complete and knowing you have accomplished something with your time.