21 time management tips

8/19/2019 21 Time Management Tips

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Synopsis“Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, asteur,!ichaelangelo, !other "eresa, #eonardo da $inci, "homas %efferson, and &lbert 'instein.( ) H. %ac*son +rown %r. A lot of folks in our society try to be hyper-productive.You know — the people who scurry from task to task, always checking e-mail, organizing something, making a call, running an errand,etc.The people who do this often subscribe to the idea that staying busy! means you"re working hard and are going to be more successful.#hile this belief may be true to an e$tent, it often leads to mindless productivity! — a constant need to do something and a tendency towaste time on menial tasks.%nstead of behaving in this way, % choose to do things differently.

Working Smarter, Not Harder The old adage, work smarter, not harder! has become a staple in the way % go about work of any kind.%nstead of being robotic in how % approach tasks, % try to be thoughtful and always ask myself if something can be done more efficientlyor eliminated altogether.&anaging my time isn"t about s'ueezing as many tasks into my day as possible. %t"s about simplifying how % work, doing things faster,and relieving stress.%t"s about clearing away space in my life to make time for people, play, and rest.% promise you — there really are enough hours in a day for everything you"d like to do, but it may take a bit of rearranging and re-imagining to find them.

21 Time Management Tips% compiled this list of () tips to hopefully nudge you in the right direction.*emember+ There are innumerable hacks and tricks to manage your time effectively. These are some tips that % find helpful, buteveryone is different.et this list be a catalyst to get you thinking regularly about how to refine your own practices.

1. Complete most important tasks first.

This is the golden rule of time management. ach day, identify the two or three tasks that are the most crucial to complete, and dothose first.nce you"re done, the day has already been a success. You can move on to other things, or you can let them wait until tomorrow.You"ve finished the essential.

2. Learn to say “no”.&aking a lot of time commitments can teach us how to /uggle various engagements and manage our time. This can be a great thing.0owever, you can easily take it too far. At some point, you need to learn to decline opportunities. Your ob/ective should be to take ononly those commitments that you *now you have time for and that you truly care about.

. Sleep at least !"# $o%rs.1ome people think sacrificing sleep is a good way to hack productivity and wring a couple e$tra hours out of the day. This is not thecase.&ost people need 2-3 hours of sleep for their bodies and minds to function optimally. You know if you"re getting enough. isten to yourbody, and don"t underestimate the value of sleep.

&. 'e(ote yo%r entire fo)%s to t$e task at $and.

4lose out all other browser windows. 5ut your phone away , out of sight and on silent. 6ind a 'uiet place to work, or listen to somemusic if that helps you 7% en/oy listening to classical or ambient music while writing sometimes8.4oncentrate on this one task. 9othing else should e$ist. %mmerse yourself in it.

*. +et an early start.9early all of us are plagued by the impulse to procrastinate. %t seems so easy, and you always manage to get it done eventually, so whynot:Take it from a recovering chronic procrastinator — it"s so much nicer and less stressful to get an earlier start on something. %t isn"t thatdifficult either, if you /ust decide firmly to do it.

. 'on-t allo %nimportant details to drag yo% don.#e often allow pro/ects to take much, much longer than they could by getting too hung up on small details. %"m guilty of this. %"ve alwaysbeen a perfectionist.#hat %"ve found, though, is that it is possible to push past the desire to constantly e$amine what %"ve done so far. %"m much better offpressing onward, getting the bulk completed, and revising things afterward.!. T%rn key tasks into $a/its.#riting is a regular task for me. % have to write all the time — for school, work, my student organization, my blog, etc. % probably write

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15. Lea(e a /%ffer"time /eteen tasks.#hen we rush from task to task, it"s difficult to appreciate what we"re doing and to stay focused and motivated. Allowing ourselves down-time between tasks can be a breath of fresh air for our brains. #hile taking a break, go for a short walk,meditate, or perform some other mind-clearing e$ercise.

11. 'on-t t$ink of t$e totality of yo%r to"do list.ne of the fastest ways to overwhelm yourself is to think about your massive to-do list. *ealize that no amount of thought will make itany shorter. At this point in time, all you can do is focus on the one task before you. This one, single, solitary task. ne step at a time. >reathe.

12. 67er)ise and eat $ealt$ily.9umerous studies have linked a healthy lifestyle with work productivity. 1imilar to getting enough sleep, e$ercising and eating healthily

boost energy levels, clear your mind, and allow you to focus more easily.1. 'o less.This is a tactic recommended by one of my favorite bloggers, eo >abauta. >asically, do less is another way of saying do the thingsthat really matter.1low down, notice what needs to be done, and concentrate on those things. o less things that create more value, ratherthan more things that are mostly empty.

1&. 8tili9e eekends, :%st a little /it.ne of my favorite memes depicts a gentleman casting his work aside, declaring, %t"s 6ridayB 6CDE33u this shit.! The following imagereads &onday!, and the man is stooping to pick up the papers he"d tossed to the ground.This is comical, but %"ve found that it"s amazing how doing ust a little bit on weekends can really lessen the workload during the week. Aim for (-F hours per day. You"ll still leave yourself plenty of free time for activities.

1*. Create organi9ing systems.>eing organized saves tons of time, and you don"t have to be the most ultra-organized person in the world either. 1ystems aren"tcomplicated to implement.4reate a filing system for documents. &ake sure all items have a place to be stored in your dwelling. Gnsubscribe from e-mail lists if

you don"t want to receive their content. 1treamline, streamline, streamline.1. 'o somet$ing d%ring aiting time.#e tend to have a lot of down-time where we don"t try to do much. #aiting rooms, lines at the store, time on the subway, on theelliptical at the gym, etc.6ind things to do during this time. % tend to have a lot of reading for classes, so % bring some of it almost everywhere % go and readduring waiting time.

1!. Lo)k yo%rself in.9o distractions, no e$cuses. 1ometimes, the only way %"m going to get something done is if %"m under lock and key, alone in a room. %fyou"re like me, realize it, and act accordingly.

1#. Commit to yo%r plan to do somet$ing.% kind of mentioned this already, but it"s worth repeating. 'on-t flake on yo%r on plan to do somet$ing;>e resolute. >e committed. >e professional about it, and follow through. A firm will to accomplish what you decide to accomplish willtake you anywhere.

14. 0at)$ related tasks toget$er.

et"s say that over a given weekend you need to do two programming assignments, write three essays, and make two videos. *atherthan approaching this work in whatever order you feel, group the like tasks and do them consecutively.ifferent tasks demand different types of thinking, so it makes sense to allow your mind to continue to flow with its current zone ratherthan switching unnecessarily to something that"s going to re'uire you to re-orient.25. T$e 0est =ne?There"s one final tip % want to mention. %f you remember one thing from this post, remember this+6n:oyment s$o%ld alays /e t$e goal. Work )an /e play.#e get so caught up in busyness that we forget to enoy what we"re doing. ven when we focus on working smarter, we"re still often toofocused on getting things done.This should never be the point. Always ask yourself+ #hat can % do to spend more time enoying what %"m doing:The goal should be to arrange your commitments in a way that you"re happy living out the details of your daily life, even while you"reworking.This may sound like a pipe dream, but it"s more possible than ever in today"s world. >e curious. >e open to opportunity. Hnow yourself.mbrace your passions.#onderful things will happen. >est of luck implementing these tips, and let me know if % can do anything else to help you.

Your 6riend,Iordan >ates

http://www.refinethemind.com/focus-and-be-productive/http://www.refinethemind.com/focus-and-be-productive/http://www.refinethemind.com/focus-and-be-productive/http://zenhabits.net/less/http://zenhabits.net/less/http://leobabauta.com/http://leobabauta.com/http://leobabauta.com/http://weknowmemes.com/2011/12/its-friday-fuck-this-shit-monday/http://www.refinethemind.com/focus-and-be-productive/http://zenhabits.net/less/http://leobabauta.com/http://weknowmemes.com/2011/12/its-friday-fuck-this-shit-monday/


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21 time management tips

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