Time Management – “How long did that task take me?!”

Entry #204, July 6, 2010

Where does all of your time go?

When you do a task for work, home, the kids, do you spend more time than you allocated for it to take? At the end of the day are you perplexed as to why your to-do list didn’t get many items checked off?

I think everyone is like this to some degree. Either we have too many obligations and not enough time, OR we have enough time and we aren’t managing our time well.  Either way, let’s figure out some ways to help ourselves.

I have this issue with social media. It is hard for me to only go to Twitter for 5 minutes, and then return back to my previous task.  The same is true for Facebook. I don’t think the term ‘viral’ meant that Ronique moves onto 20 other websites from the original social media site and never returns to her first task!

I have featured Celestine, from Stepcase Lifehack before. She has a wonderful article on time management… we can ALL learn from it.

Are you usually punctual or late? Do you finish things within the time you stipulate? Do you hand in your reports/work on time? Are you able to accomplish what you want to do before deadlines? Are you a good time manager?

If your answer is “no” to any of the questions above, that means you’re not managing your time as

Have a plan, everyday.

well as you want. Here are 20 tips on how to be a better time manager:

1. Create a daily plan. Plan your day before it unfolds. Do it in the morning or even better, the night before you sleep. The plan gives you a good overview of how the day will pan out. That way, you don’t get caught off guard. Your job for the day is to stick to the plan as best as possible.
2. Peg a time limit to each task. Be clear that you need to finish X task by 10am, Y task by 3pm, and Z item by 5:30pm. This prevents your work from dragging on and eating into time reserved for other activities.
3. Use a calendar. Having a calendar is the most fundamental step to managing

   your daily activities. If you use outlook or lotus notes, calendar come as part of your mailing software. Google Calendar is great – I use it. It’s even better if you can sync it to your mobile phone and other hardware you use – that way, you can access your schedule no matter where you are.

4. Use an organizer. The organizer helps you to be on top of everything in your life. It’s your central tool to organize information, to-do lists, projects, and other miscellaneous items.
5. Know your deadlines. When do you need to finish your tasks? Mark the deadlines out clearly in your calendar and organizer so you know when you need to finish them.
6. Learn to say “No”. Don’t take on more than you can handle. For the distractions that come in when you’re doing other things, give a firm no. Or defer it to a later period.

For more productivity ideas on Stagetecture – click here