Know the 5 Effective Ways to Improve On Time Management

Does the habit of submitting late assignments in college still follow you in an office where you mostly fail to deliver the tasks within the deadline? It was OK in college but once you enter in professional life, your boss always expects nothing but the best from you. Deadlines are crucial in a work environment and you cannot miss them- it’s important for your company as well as your survival in the company. Time management is an important element in terms of meeting the deadlines- how well you manage the given time for a project influences the delivery of that project the most. Management of time is not a thing that you learn overnight. It bids efforts from you and once you are excellent at time management, it can win you champion’s glory at all fronts of life. Right from solving the question paper of your board exam to delivering an office project, time management is an essential element everywhere you have been given a specific time period to complete a task. Don’t worry if you always combat the issues in time management. There are a few effective ways discussed below to help you improve on time management.

Time tracking is a must

Can’t you figure out why the clock is ticking so fast and how the time is going? Start tracking your time and create a log of the activities where you spent your time. You can start from today only- take a notepad and pen down the time spent on each and every activity including coffee break, social media, lunch break, loo breaks and everything. Documenting every activity is a matter of 5 minutes only. Once you reach home after office, take that notepad out and analyze where can you improve on time and how can you spend your office hours in a more productive way. It will help you eliminate the ‘good for nothing’ items from your daily timetable.

Stay away from distractions and interruptions

Avoid the group of gossipmongers, especially at your workplace. If you indulge in office gossips and all your time is gone, you are on a wrong track. Distraction can be defined as the other elements that hinder your work- but entertaining the distractions is your fault. Find the ways to stay away from distraction by not letting others bother you and your work. You can politely ask your colleagues not to disturb you with a mention of the deadlines you need to catch up with. Self discipline is the key to staying away from interruptions. If your workplace is loud in terms of noise, take help from earplugs or noise-cancelling headphones to concentrate on your work. Also try to maintain a distance from social media while in office.

Take ample rest

Don’t treat yourself as a machine. Marathons are more tiring than 100 meter sprints but less popular. We all know Usain Bolt but hardly any marathon champion. Prepare your mind and body for sprints i.e. give your 100% in smaller slots and take a break and then keep repeating the same in the office. It will supplement your productivity at the workplace. Regularly sitting in front of the system is not only tiresome but also hampers your health. Tiny quick breaks help you keep your energy intact for the whole day. Stretching in office just for the sake of impressing your seniors is not at all a good idea- even if you are sitting idle, it will cause fatigue. Finish all your tasks within the TAT (Turnaround Time) and leave office at a reasonable time to take some rest. Studies say the people who stay longer in offices are more prone to cardiac arrests and other health problems. Be a good time manager and leave the office on time.

Don’t leave the toughest jobs for later

Oh My God! This task is the toughest among all, I will see it later- this is completely a wrong approach. Never show you back to the tasks that are harder than others. In fact, the tough tasks should be dealt first- once they’re done, you will complete the other tasks with a feeling of half-battle won. On the other hand, shifting the strenuous task later in the queue will affect your productivity even while handling the simple jobs. You will always be thinking that you still need to face the monster task and hence, it will create stress for you.

Don’t run after 100% always

Don’t get it wrong- this statement never propagates the message that you should decrease the quality of your work. Being perfectionist is always nice. But sometimes you need to act smartly when your boss assigns you multiple tasks to be delivered in a very short time. In such a case, 95% also works. Try to give your best in the best possible time and deliver within the deadline. You can polish things later. Don’t make it for a habit even for the tasks with an adequate deadline. This rule applies to such situations only when you need to deliver a lot and the time is running. Going this way, you can effectively manage your time and be in the good-books of your seniors.

Wrapping Up

Implementing the above-discussed ways in your professional as well as personal life asks for self-discipline and a little practice. Once you get the hang of it, your life gets much easier with reduced stress of the job and other personal things.