Have you ever wondered how to manage your time better? It would be really nice to have enough time for everything you’ve planned, right?
Fortunately, there are many effective productivity tips you can follow to change your lifestyle once and for all in ways that will help you become more organized.
Why Do You Fail At Time Management?
Do you often find yourself in a situation where you just feel that time isn’t working for you? You’ve planned so many things to do, but somehow at the end of the day, there are always some tasks that remain incomplete.
Don’t worry. Many people find it difficult to follow a certain schedule. This is because we tend to get distracted very easily. You grab your phone to see that new message and end up scrolling through social media for hours.
Panic is another common reason that leads to not completing your to-do list. If you start to think of how many things you need to do before a certain period of time, you’re doomed to fall into desperation. You will most likely end up being in a state where all you do is panic and complain that you don’t have enough time.
Not planning your time is another frequent misstep. Many people think they will cope with completing all of their tasks and don’t find it necessary to plan their day. They will, in all probability, end up not completing at least two of their daily tasks.
How to Manage Your Time Better: Fundamental Productivity Tips
Wake Up Early
This is perhaps one of the most common productivity tips when it comes to better time management. Waking up early is a proven method that works like a charm. If you wake up at 5 AM, you will have so many hours to complete all your work.
Even though it is very hard in the beginning, once you get used to it, you will love it. In the first two days, you will turn off your alarm and will go back to sleep. But that’s okay. In the next few days, you will somehow get out of bed, being grumpy for the next two hours. That’s okay, too.
However, when you survive the first week, it will get easier with each day that passes. In the end, you will grow so accustomed to this routine that some days you won’t even need an alarm.
Many famous and successful people have settled into this routine because it helps them stay consistent and organized.
If you acquire the habit of waking up early every day, you’ll not only have plenty of time for your daily tasks, but you’ll also find time to do your favorite things such as working out, going out, reading, etc.
Start a Bullet Journal
As I mentioned above, many people fail at time management because they don’t find it necessary to write down their tasks. However, it’s much easier to have a planner where you create your to-do list.
Having a bullet journal or a planner can be simple, or a bit more time-consuming. It’s up to you. If you buy a notebook and just write down your tasks, you will spend no more than 30 minutes a day working on it.
But if you are a more artistic person, you may spend a good amount of time making your diary pretty. It’s not that hard to get inspired since there are plenty of bullet journal masterpieces on the Internet.
You can use your bullet journal to write down the events you’re excited about, the places you want to go to, or the goals you strive for, as well. You can even create a budget log and list all your daily expenses.
All in all, a bullet journal is a great and easy way to organize your time and to boost your productivity.
Put Your Phone Away
Phones can be your best friend or your worst enemy. When you’re doing a job, consider them as the second option.
‘I’m just going to check my phone for a minute.’ pretty often ends up in you spending hours of scrolling through social media with no purpose.
In order to avoid this, it’s better to leave your phone in the other room when working. This way, you won’t be tempted to reach out for it every 5 minutes. It’s much more effective to work for 2 hours and then take a 15 minutes break.
Take a Break
A common mistake many people do is to work until exhaustion without taking a single break. This is extremely wrong. Not taking a break often results in doing less work in more time.
Instead of being productive, you’ll be tired, not focused, and short-tempered.
It is much better to take short breaks every two or three hours. Grab a snack, make a coffee, or just walk around for a while. Your brain needs some time off. After you get back to doing your job, you will feel much more energized and productive.
Prioritize Your Tasks
Another important productivity tip is to prioritize your tasks. This will undoubtedly help you to manage your time better.
The first step is to think of all the things you must do. Then, make a list of all your tasks putting the challenging and fundamental ones on top, followed by those that are simple and less time-consuming.
This way, you will be able to complete the major ones on time and will have enough time to cope with the rest of your duties. You won’t have to worry about incomplete important tasks while doing minor ones because you’ll have already fulfilled them.
Stop Thinking and Start Doing
You know what I mean, right? You just sit there thinking of all the things that need to be done for the day. The clock is ticking, your headache is getting worse, and that time just keeps passing. You decide to leave these tasks for the next day.
Big mistake. If you leave today’s work for tomorrow, you will end up having to complete a myriad of tasks the next day, and the day after tomorrow, and every following day. You don’t want to do that.
So, instead of panicking, complaining, and procrastinating just do the job step by step. You don’t need to rush. Once you calm down and focus on your task, you will fulfill it effortlessly in no time.
We spend so much time worrying about the future, we forget that we actually live in the present, and have the enormous power to affect the forthcoming time.
Conclusion
If you’ve come to the end of this guide on how to manage your time better, you should feel ready to slay the following day.
The most important thing to remember is to not be too harsh on yourself. Make sure you take breaks and don’t get overwhelmed with work.
If you start to follow at least 3 of these productivity tips, you’ll most likely find it easier to fulfill your daily tasks and will become a more organized and consistent person.
Great read.You’ve got a way with words.
Thank you, Martin. 🙂
Writing down my tasks for every day in a journal has truly been a game changer!
– Laura || https://lauraorvokki.com
I know, right? It’s working great for me, too! 🙂
Thank you for your comment, Laura!
Waking up sucks but it does make a difference. I guess to better my time management skills I just need to start doing.
Thanks Alexandra for the amazing article.
Yes, waking up early is my biggest struggle. 🙁 But it definitely makes the difference!
Thank you for your comment. 🙂
Loved the post! Find it so difficult sometimes to manage my time between work, my blog and my personal life. This surely helps! Thanks!
An excellent post on time management.