Do you ever wish that the day had more than 24 hours? Are you unable to complete all the tasks on your to do list? We often can’t accomplish our short and long term goals because we lack time management skills.
This means that we perform the following: One, we waste time doing unnecessary things and procrastinate what’s important; two, we have unrealistic goals; three, we are disorganized. If this sounds like you, you need to polish your time management skills and make time for being productive and even reducing stress.
One way to manage time is to cut back on spending hours in front of the television, surfing the web for unimportant things, and lounging around. We tend to feel better knowing that we have been productive rather than lazy.
Many people procrastinate and one of the reasons for that is because people make to-do lists that reach 50 tasks because nothing gets accomplished. Part of time management is to not procrastinate. People also list tasks that they do not like or want to handle and therefore, never get to it. When you feel like you have 50 things to do, chances are you are not going to do them.
This also means that you are not setting realistic goals for yourself. We can only manage time and make time for tasks that are realistic for us. If you have to go to the gym and you are really passionate about it, start off going twice a week rather than expecting to go 5 times and then feeling guilty for only going twice. When we list 10 things to accomplish in one day, it has a negative effect on us because we don’t feel accomplished. Instead, we dwell on the fact that we have been unproductive.
To reach our daily, weekly and monthly goals, we have to be more organized in order to actually get to the tasks. Lists are helpful only when they are realistic. Staying organized is an essential part of time management because it allows us to allocate certain amounts of time for certain duties. Set daily or weekly goals for yourself, make lists of a few things to do each day and check them off once you do them.
Dedicate certain days for certain tasks. You can go to the gym Tuesdays and Thursdays, read on Mondays and Wednesdays, and so on. Most importantly, if you have bills to pay and other deadlines, attend to them sooner than later. Put these on your calendar so that you don’t leave them last minute.
By taking a look at your goals and understanding what is realistic for you personally, time management will become easier. Staying organized and not procrastinating or wasting time are essential qualities for someone who wants to shape up his or her time management skills. Follow these time management tips and you will see the difference!