How to Improve Time Management skills and Boost Productivity

Time management is an essential skill but at the same time tough to learn. 

In today’s era, there are so many distractions that students find it very difficult to achieve proper time management skills, this article will help you find out some perfect time management tips that will help you achieve that goal. 

TOP TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS FOR STUDENTS 

Students have so much on their plate to do that they often find themselves in need of more and more time. Effective time management helps them contribute their time to all the activities along with some rest evenly. 

Managing school and extracurricular activities becomes so hectic for students, so here are some tips to manage time and increase productivity – 

1. Maintain a to-do list.
2. Maintain specific time frames for all your tasks and try to complete them in time. 
3. Be realistic about the tasks and plan accordingly
4. Improve your sleeping and eating schedule
5. Take proper rest in between tasks and eat healthily. 
6. Avoid multitasking and minimise distractions. 

BEST TIME MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES FOR WORKPLACE

Managing time at work is very important as there are many distractions. People often feel unproductive throughout the day as they spend too much time on tasks that are not that important. 

This is why we need proper plans and strategies, so here are some points: 

1. Preplan your week on Sundays. 
2. Create lists of work to be done and work done 
3. Priority setting is also very important. Identify important tasks and complete them first. 
4. Create time limits for all the tasks.
5. Stay organised 
6. Create SMART goals 
7. And lastly, don’t forget to rest and reward yourself from time to time. 

HOW TO IDENTIFY AND SET PRIORITIES

What is priority setting and why is it important? 

Priority setting means to find out what is more important and what can be skipped for some time. 

Setting priorities ensures constant growth towards your goals while being a little less stressed and tension-free. It is very important in both personal as well as professional life to set your goals with priority. 

Let’s understand priority setting with the help of Eisenhower’s Matrix of priority setting: 

Draw and categorise all your tasks as shown above. 

• The tasks which are most important and need your attention immediately go in the top left box. 
• The tasks that are important but can be done later or the ones with a little late deadline go in the top right box.
• The tasks that occur immediately and are urgent but do not require your time or skills and can be delegated to others go in the bottom left box.
• The items that are not at all important and waste your time go in the bottom right box. These tasks can be skipped or deleted from your list. 

Make your priority list according to this matrix and it will help reduce your stress without affecting your growth!

HOW TO OVERCOME PROCRASTINATION

Almost every working individual faces the problem of procrastination. They want to work but feel lazy and lack motivation. 

It’s normal to procrastinate sometimes but if it becomes a habit, it causes a lot of damage and a sudden decrease in your growth. 

But with the right time management skills and a little effort you can easily work effectively. 

STEPS TO OVERCOME PROCRASTINATION

1. Identification and understanding – Ask yourself the reasons you feel lazy. Be honest with yourself. Identify all your habits that could possibly lead to procrastination. 
2. Assess and modify perspective – After identifying the causes, assess them deeply and think about how you can change them. Sometimes we tend to get stuck to our primary perspective but it might be possible that now the surroundings have been changed. So regularly assess and modify your perspective. 
3. Choose your surroundings wisely and take action – As you might already know the environment you stay in will affect your workflow. This is in fact true. The place you choose to work in should be free of all the things that will distract you or make your mind wander. It should be peaceful enough to give you motivation to work and also enjoy what you are doing. So, pick a place that works for you because only you know what that is. 
4. Realistic goals with an achievable schedule – Whenever you have to set a goal for yourself then ensure that they are not built on dreams like wanting to do days work in an hour and give yourself enough time to achieve them. For this, you will need to prioritize tasks and then work your way towards implementing them. Having something achievable for you with enough time and motivation will help with your time management and productivity. 

MANAGING WORK AND SELF-CARE

For your own betterment perfect work-life balance is very necessary and it is possible only if you have good time management skills.

To achieve that, I have listed some tips that you can follow. 

1. Take small breaks after every few hours.
2. Get up from your workspace, roam, and spend time with yourself. 
3. Even in your busiest hours don’t forget to steal a few minutes to pamper yourself. 
4. Don’t prioritise work above your health. 
5. Never compromise on your sleep.

MONITORING AND ADJUSTING STRATEGIES

We often think that once a plan or strategy is made, we will stick to that. However, this is practically impossible. It is not certain that you will get the same environment every day so small changes and flexible strategies are necessary. 

Time-to-time monitoring of your plans and strategies is also very important for effective and stable growth. 

We should also keep a track of time while doing a task so that we do not spend too much time on one task and forget other important ones. This is the most common mistake almost everyone makes.

CONCLUSION

Effective management of time helps you grow. By applying all the above tips and tricks, I believe you will be able to achieve your goals and create a balance between your work and personal life. 

Always remember not to over-exhaust yourself. The priority is you above anything. 

Stay focused and enjoy your journey to achieve your goals.