Did you know that 20% of adults are chronic procrastinators? Yes, that’s right! Most of them are in urgent need of tips and hacks to strike a work-life balance. Like adults, students also struggle to complete their academic targets within a limited time frame because of poor time management. Do you wish you had an extra hour or two to get more work done in a day? Are you looking for ways to free up time for relaxing and self-care? Well, we have just the tips to help you take control of your day-to-day work and enhance your productivity. Read on to know more.
What is Time Management?
Time management is strategically planning how to optimize the use of time. Effective time management requires proper planning, organizational and prioritization skills, and a good sense of realistic time needed for completing the to-do list. A lot of students think, “I wish I had my homework writers to plan and do my work” because they lack the sense of time and the skills to complete work within a specific time limit.
Why is Time Management Important?
If you feel pressed for time – all the time and rely on academic tools like a summary generator or essay maker to complete your pending work, take it as a sign and work on your time management skills. Here are the biggest advantages of proper time management:
- Eliminates chronic stress
- Improved focus and concentration
- Better work-life balance
- Achieve your goals faster
- Ability to control workflow and meet deadlines
- Increased confidence
- More quality with family and loved ones
- No room for procrastination
- Improves farsightedness to plan for a better future
How to Build Strong Time Management Skills?
Let’s now explore some tried and tested tips for improving time management and work productivity.
1. Start with a plan:
To get more work done within the available time, start your day with a plan. The easiest way to create a plan is to note what you have to do for the day and organize them based on priority. Now, you may get intimidated by the length of the list. The best way to boost your motivation levels is to cross off each task once you complete it. It will give you a sense of accomplishment and refuel your energy to complete the other tasks.
2. Learn to prioritize:
Prioritization is an important skill to optimize the use of your time and give more focus on completing important tasks. Here’s what you should do to prioritize:
- Pick out three important tasks you to complete
- Sort the tasks based on their level of importance: high, medium, or low
- Rate the items on your to-do list on a scale of 1-10, and order them accordingly.
- Get started with the most important task.
3. Break larger projects into smaller sections:
One of the common reasons students tend to procrastinate with their tasks is that they feel overwhelmed. To avoid such a feeling, the best thing to do is to break the task into multiple parts. By looking at the smaller tasks, you get motivated to start the task. Also, when you approach a task one chunk after another, you will make faster progress and improve your overall time management skills.
4. Eliminate distractions:
Distractions are common. Whether it is a social media update, group chat alerts, random thoughts, or daydreaming, countless things can divert your mind from the main focus. As hard as it may be, there are things you can do to block distractions. For instance, if you easily get distracted by social media, use tools like BlockSite, Freedom, and Stay Focused to block it temporarily. With distractions out of the way, you can complete your work faster and achieve your target.
5. Avoid multitasking:
When you have multiple assignments to complete, you are tempted to multitask. However, trying to complete two tasks simultaneously can affect your productivity and delay the entire process. If you want to make good use of your time, complete the task at hand before switching to another. Nevertheless, if you want to multitask, layer tasks. Let’s say you have to do laundry and have to listen to a lecture recording. You can plug in your headset and listen to it while doing your laundry. That way, you can strike off two tasks and move to the next.
6. Block slots on a digital calendar:
It’s easy to miss deadlines, events, or seminars when you manually note them in your diary. Use a digital calendar such as Google Calendar or Calendly to block time for different deadlines, events, tasks, classes, exams, or other activities. Set reminders to get timely alerts. Blocking time off on your calendar will make it easy to check your upcoming tasks based on their deadlines and allow you to plan your time accordingly.
7. Don’t hesitate to seek help:
We all need help, and there’s no shame in admitting it. But if you remain stuck with complex tasks and don’t get the necessary support at the right time, you will waste a lot of time and will likely miss the deadline. That’s why whenever you are stuck with complicated assignment requirements, reach out for prompt solutions. We know a lot of you are hesitant about seeking help from your subject professors. You can consult online tutors instead. Countless subject matter experts are available on various digital platforms to offer comprehensive support in various assignment requirements at all study levels.
8. Take time to relax:
At some point, your brain will be exhausted with constant hard work. Both your body and mind need sleep and rest to function well. Unfortunately, due to jam-packed routines, most students and professionals are overworked these days. Understand that when you are burnt out, you won’t be productive. Make time to relax and decompress. With enough rest and sleep, you can process your lessons faster, channel your pressure healthily, and become more productive.
9. Review and reflect:
The “one size fits all” concept doesn’t work when it comes to time management. Some tips may work for you; others may not. That’s why it’s important to analyze the effectiveness of each strategy and determine what needs to change. Adjust strategies from time to time based on the close analysis of their efficiency and effectiveness. Continuous evaluation will help you find the best ways to manage your workload.
Then what are you waiting for? If you truly want to bring about a positive change in your routine, start practicing these tips right away.
All the best!