Failure to manage your time during this Covid 19 pandemic period may cost you your precious job given that organisations may find retrenchment as a way of cutting costs. Bottom of Form, one of the most effective skills you can have in life is powerful and effective time management. Many companies resort to remote working which allows you to work outside the eyes of your boss. However supervisors need results at the end of the day. The only way they can track how you are working is looking at your deliverables. Failure to deliver mean you are basically doing nothing. The situation is different from office work where they basically look at attendance and punctuality.
If you are not managing your time well, there is little chance of you attain your goals at work and the life outside of it. Sure, you might make some progress. But your time management will be an uphill battle if you do not take your time seriously. For people who squander and waste the precious little time they do have, they know all too well how difficult achieving even mildly difficult goals can be. The truth is that time is the greatest equalizer in life and it is not about how much time you have but how effectively you manage your time. So if you are serious about achieving your goals, not only do you need to set those goals the right way, but you also have to get serious about avoiding distractions and becoming too immersed in the bad habits that you know you need to quit. Time-wasters need to fall by the wayside.
What are the best tips for managing your time?
One of the biggest problems that most entrepreneurs have isn't just in how they can get enough done in such a demanding market, but also how they maintain some semblance of balance without feeling too overworked. This is not just about achieving and going after goals around the clock. This is also about work life balance. If you lack balance in your life, you are going to feel stressed out. So, it is important to not only follow a system that will help you get things done, but also one where you prioritize personal and family time.
Set goals the right way
Advertisment
There is a right and wrong way to set goals. If you do not set your goals the right way, then you will lack the proper targets, which will force you to fall off track. But when you set them the right way, the sky is the limit. Use the SMART goal setting method to help you see things through. And when you do set those goals, make sure you have powerful deep down meanings for wanting to achieve them.
Find a good time management system
One of the tips for managing your time is to find the right system to actually do it. It splits your activities into four quadrants based on urgency and importance. Things are either urgent or important, both, or neither. Also remember to audit your time to answer these questions, where did I spend the most time? Which quadrants? The results might shock you.
Eliminate bad habits
One of the biggest time-wasters we have are our bad habits. Whether it is Netflix, excessively surfing social media, playing games, going out frequently to drink with friends, or so on, those bad habits take away the precious little time that we do have. Use your time wisely by eliminating your bad habits if you're serious about achieving big goals in life.
Take frequent breaks when working
One study suggests that you should work for 52 minutes and break for 17. You might not have the luxury to do that. But you should take frequent breaks. If you are an entrepreneur working for yourself, this is crucial. It is easy to run on fumes and not even know it. Keep your mental, emotional and physical states at peak levels by breaking frequently.
Meditate or exercise every morning
You might not think that this will help to better manage your time, but meditating and exercising every single morning gives you balance. Cut the toxins out of your life and get serious by doing this and watch as your energy, stamina and mental focus takes a drastic shift.
Make to-do lists in the evening for the next day
Every single evening before bed, make a list for the next day. Look at your goals and see what you can do to help move you closer. This doesn't happen overnight. It takes time. But by making to-do lists, you are effectively setting goals for the day. Daily goals are easier to achieve while helping to move us towards the longer and bigger goals. But that happens by creating to-do lists.
Get a mentor who can guide you
Finding a mentor is crucial. It is easy to get distracted and dissuaded when you do not have someone guiding you. But when you can personally rely on someone who has been through the wringer and can help you achieve your goals, it is easier to stay on track with your time. Find a good mentor that can help you along your path.
Declutter and organize
Studies have determined that clutter in our environment helps us to lose focus. When we lose focus, we lose time. If you want to avoid that, declutter and organize. Don not do it all at once. Start small. One drawer today. A shelf tomorrow. Maybe a closet the next day. Just one per day. You build momentum and eventually find yourself turning into an organizing warrior.
Nyasha D Ziwewe is a Business Consultant and Systems developer at Industrial Psychology Consultants. Email: nyasha@ipcconsultants.com. Mobile 0783462251. LinkedIn: Nyasha D Ziwewe.