We all have limited time in hand to accomplish the tasks and achieve the goals. Therefore, proper time management is a tool for success. At our workplace, we have to attain the set goals in a specified time frame. Here are some tips for time management to increase your productivity:
1. Start your day with the most challenging and most crucial work
Set your daily goal and achieve it. Get to grips with the tasks that will have the most impact on your goals. If you have two important tasks, do the most important one first. Then, get it done before you get sidetracked on other less crucial but perhaps more seemingly “urgent” tasks that come up.
One more way to be your most productive is to guard and foster your energy levels. Working too-long hours, eating unhealthy foods, failing to get enough sleep, and forgoing exercise are all ways we exhaust our energy reserves, and as a result, our productivity suffers.
2. Single handle every task
Once goals are defined and broken down into actionable tasks, it’s time to take a step further. Break your tasks down into the minuscule possible components. The shorter the task, the easier it will be to start and complete because you will be less startled by the idea of jumping into another task.
Don’t do multitasking; it steals your attention and decreases productivity. Once you start working on a task, continue working on it until complete. Don’t give up in between; work on it until you can take it off of your to-do list. Resuming the original task once left will take more time to build your attention span and therefore decreases your productivity. You tend to consume more time to accomplish the initial task.
To follow this rule effectively, you need to make sure you have tasks that are little enough to complete in one sitting. Next, you need to ensure you have blocked the time appropriately to work on it. And finally, you need to make sure that you have precisely estimated the time required to complete the task.
3. Prioritise the work and Delegate the tasks that you need not do
Ask yourself, what are the potential consequences of doing or not doing this task. It’s easy to contemplate that you need to finish everything on your to-do list. However, the reality is that there are few things you simply don’t need to do. Other things are better delegated to others.
For proper time management, identify and delegate the tasks which you need not do. First, understand exactly what you are accountable for. Then, work on those things on priority.
4. Follow ABC methodology
Use ABC methodology to accomplish the tasks. The Pareto principle observes that 80% of the result comes from 20% of the work done. Considering “A” tasks are the most important things to do, “B” tasks are things you should do, “C” tasks are nice to do.
Once you categorise the tasks, you should also frequently evaluate the list using this method. This is because as time passes, priorities often change, and make sure that your prioritisation reflects those changes.
5. Upgrade key skills
If you are good at a task, you tend to finish it quicker. A primary reason for delay and procrastination is a lack of confidence or ability in a key area of the task. If you suffer from imposter syndrome or feel unequipped to manage the tasks you need to complete to meet your goals, you will become procrastinated.
To meet your goals more swiftly and for effective time management, identify your strengths and centre your goals around those strengths. Taking up the task you’re good at and what you love to do can significantly increase your productivity.
6. Build-in buffer time
Ensure that your plan builds in the buffer time for you to work on. It is time for the unexpected.
The moment something unanticipated pops up, it may be a meeting runs over by half an hour, or there’s a wreck on the expressway, our schedule is shot. Not to mention it takes 23 minutes for the average person to refocus on a task after an interruption. Thus, if the unexpected something interrupts intense focus, you’re going to be even further behind after switching back.
However, buffer time’s effect on your mind is a bit more subtle. The 23 minutes it takes to refocus on a task after an interruption? That’s a result of what researchers call attention residue. It means that even if you are actively working on the next task, part of the mind is still on the last thing you handled. And the more task switching you do; the more effect will compound.
But used congruously, buffer time provides a refocusing zone. Instead of suddenly jumping from one task to the next, you have time to complete work on the last task and mentally fortify for the next. As a result, you lose less productivity to attention residue.
No plan works for everyone. There is no single thumb rule of success, everyone is different, and their response to the situation also varies based on various conditions. In addition, there are many other effective time management techniques that different people use. So, adopt the plan which suits you best.
