Time management is essential for any employee, no matter what industry you’re in. But it can be a tough concept to wrap your brain around, because it includes so many different skills. If you’re ready to work on your time management, start practicing these specific skills.
1. Dividing Up Projects
The overall point of time management is getting more done in less time, which means you’ll need to work more efficiently. To do this, you need to learn to divide projects into smaller goals and milestones. Set a timeline for each, and attach a small reward to keep yourself moving forward. Plan a larger reward for when the whole project is done.
2. Setting Priorities
Most of us are swamped with the things we need and want to do, and there aren’t enough hours to accomplish them all. That’s why prioritizing is a key part of time management. Be realistic about how long each task will take to finish, and make sure you know which things are the most urgent. Keep the 80/20 rule in mind: Don’t schedule more than 80% of your day, because the other 20% will be eaten up by the unexpected.
3. Time Blocking
Once you’ve mastered the basics of dividing up projects and setting priorities, you’re ready to try your hand at time blocking. Instead of just putting tasks and goals into your calendar, time blocking means mapping out each day. For example, you might schedule 30 minutes in the morning to check your email while sipping your coffee. Next up is a 45-minute meeting with your boss, followed by a 15-minute stretch break. It sounds complicated, but time blocking is actually pretty easy once you’ve mastered prioritizing.
4. Learning to Delegate
Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, and it doesn’t necessarily make sense to waste your time dragging yourself through tasks that fall squarely into your weaker areas. Delegating means giving someone else responsibility for specific tasks that play to their strengths. When done properly, delegation can speed up an entire project. There is an art to delegating, but you will get better at it over time like anything else.
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