With only 24 hours in a day, sometimes we all wish that we had an extra hour in a day to finish doing stuff. But since that is impossible, effectively organizing these hours that we all have will not only add value to your work, but it also come with other hosts of benefits.
8 Steps to Effectively Organize Your Time
1. Set goals
Determine what tasks you wish to accomplish (what is achievable) and write them down.
2.Prioritize the goals
Sift through your list above and know which ones are of highest importance. Without priorities, you can work very hard, but you may not achieve the results you desire because the urgent and trivial tasks are intertwined.
3. Use to do list
This makes you visualize tasks that you plan to do each day or each hour. Do not just put things on the list to look busy. Organize your list in a way that your high priorities items get done first. I love TTD-list I have one in the car, one on my desk at work and several in the house. But again, having this list is useless if it doesn’t help you organize your time. Download things to do list template here.
4. Use calendars & reminders.
This may sound archaic but it’s astonishing how many people do not use the free tools they have at their disposal. Use your phone calendar to arrange your day. With tech gadgets getting even more complex your can sync your personal calendar from your personal email to your phone in real-time.
5. Manage distractions
Distractions and interruptions are part of life; however, knowing what to do to minimize the interruptions you face during your day is vital to managing your time effectively.
6. Avoid procrastination
This is a huge subject that we will possibly discuss here some other time. In a snap, it is the “I’ll get to it later” mentality which is an enemy of many people. Usually after too many “laters” the tasks piles up so high that even the trivial task seems unsolvable. This can be caused by fear, laziness, too much at hand and other things.
Sharon Juden in mindtools states that procrastination is as tempting as it is deadly. The best way to beat it is to recognize that you do indeed procrastinate. Then you need to figure out why. Perhaps you are afraid of failing? (And some people are actually afraid of success!)
7. Make smart decisions.
There are some decisions i have made in a day that really ‘messes’ up the whole day. For me therefore, this begins with the understanding that I need God to guide my decision making process every day. So I begin my day by asking God for strength to make sound decisions.
8. Do it
Now that you have your goals organized in priorities and written down on things to do list; you also have them synced to your i-phone or whatever the gadget you use, you have a plan to manage distractions, and pumped up to finish all the things on your list. Just go and do it.
Benefits of managing time effectively
- Reduce stress and frustrations
- Get a sense of achievement and satisfaction
- Get rejuvenated
- Get more of quality time
- Prevent burnout
Many stressful situations can be avoided with effective planning and organizing techniques. When you have properly organized your day it is possible to ‘take it easy’ and not run on overdrive. This in turn reduces anxiety level, and risks of high blood pressure.
Managing time effectively help you realize the goals you had set for yourself. This acts as a kicker to take on other challenges. Effective time management helps you learn to overcome procrastination and you learn to prioritize.
You will experience much higher energy level when your mind is free of undone or unfinished ‘projects’
According to time management guide“ The undone things circulating in your mind cost you much more time and energy than the things you have done or are doing.”
Managing time effectively helps you ‘create’ some spare time that you can spend with your family, learn a new hobby, participate in community service, personal wellness, or to just relax. Call them ‘enjoying life moments’.
Without properly managing time, I feel like I am constantly running at a target that moves faster than me. This feeling is overwhelming and you certainly want to avoid.
More resources on Time Management
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Thanks buddy, this messege is very educative and thought provoking. It has really help me in managing my time.