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We live in a time that everything is rushed, from the time we wake up, and head to work, to preparing a meal with our families. With the fast pace of life, it seems there is not enough time in the day to plan anything extra for a vacation or self-care. Many of us have instead mastered the art of multitasking. This seems like a fantastic skill if you can truly concentrate on both tasks simultaneously. Usually, it means spreading our focus too thin into two tasks, neither of which receiving our full attention. We can be more productive AND create more time for ourselves and our personal lives by implementing effective time management techniques.
Time Management Techniques
There are many time management techniques and strategies to gain control of our lives, which can add hours to our busy schedules. Hard to believe that is even possible when you have stockpiled files, projects, and deadlines every day. One technique for when you're overwhelmed is setting aside 15 minutes on your most energetic cycle. Ask yourself, am I an early bird or a late owl? Once you determine when your optimal energy level occurs, this will begin your productivity cycle. That is the best time to allot a moment to plan your day.
Write down every task you need to accomplish and decide which tasks can be delegated, or create future deadlines on a calendar—followed by prioritizing your task to evaluate the high and low-priority tasks. Determine the most urgent to not so urgent tasks. Determine realistically how long each task will take to complete, obviously, estimations are great starts, and always leave room for breaks and interruptions. When you assign a time of day to each task, make sure you work on high-priority tasks that coincide with your productivity energy cycles. Work on high-priority tasks before the less urgent ones and continue to go down your list.
Why not give this technique a try? Create this plan for a few weeks and see if this gives you more spare time. You may find you have spare time to relax and plan your future vacations thanks to your great time management techniques. Could your team benefit from tips and training on soft skills like time management, communication, and leadership? Click here to get in touch with an L&D Consultant.
