Time Management

Hello there! Happy New Month!

Can you believe it’s February already? 2022 seems to be on the run.

We spent some time in January talking about goals, goal setting, as well as tracking and achieving your goals. By now, your 2022 goals should be ready and waiting to be achieved. I will be looking forward to celebrating your wins at the end of the year. If you missed the January articles, you can find them on our profile.

In February, we would be exploring the concept of time and time management, and I am very excited to dive in.

Have you ever wondered why time is measured? Why is understanding the concept of time-critical to every facet of life and work?

Much more than what is being read on the clock. Time is an indication of the difference between start and finish. This multi-perspective concept gives various meanings to people. for instance; To a 9-5er, time can be the difference between the first day of work and their next promotion,

To a student, it is the difference between the first day of school and graduation,

• To a writer, it is the difference between a blank page and a finished body of work.
• To a grieving family member, it is the difference between intense pain and healing
• To a business person, it can be the difference between expense and profit/Income.
• To a fitness enthusiast, it is the difference between being unfit and having a healthier body.
• Physicists define time as the progression of events from past to future, and whose unit of measure is ‘change’.

It is important that we maximize the use of time and steer its resulting changes to achieving our goals, dreams, and aspirations.

Why should I manage my time?

Have you ever wondered how certain people are able to complete multiple tasks, achieve their set goals, and juggle several projects all at the same time, while some of us struggle with finishing one task for several days? They are simply better at managing their time than the rest of us.

Time management is the conscious planning and control of the amount of time spent on specific activities to improve effectiveness, efficiency, and performance.

It requires effectively matching and managing your limited time with the numerous demands for it. 

When a person manages their time effectively, they have “control” over how they spend their time and how they manage their activities.

Before now, time management only applied to business or job activities, but the term has gradually expanded to cover personal interests as well.

To achieve our lifelong goals, we must be able to take control of our time and use it as judiciously as possible. There are a variety of skills, methods, and approaches that can help with time management and we will discuss them subsequently.

Time management tips

Managing time can be a big challenge, however, the trick lies in using multiple tips and techniques to achieve mastery.

Everyone’s goal is to be highly productive whether at jobs, businesses or in personal life. our productivity is heavily reliant on how well we are able to manage our time.

Here are a few tested and trusted time management tactics to help you to improve your time management skills.

1. Make a day-to-day schedule

The earliest, finest, and most established time management approach is planning. For starters, it aids in the proper organization of your job. Second, it provides you with a clear overview of all tasks. it gets easier once you can arrange your daily, weekly, or monthly responsibilities.There are numerous methods for planning and organizing your work such as:

• Calendars and personal organizers; either digital or printed.
• Apps and tools for time management.
• To-do lists.
• Post-it notes, notepads, bullet journals, and other time management tools

To perfect time management, you can mix, match, and adjust any of these options.

2. Identify your productive zone

Some folks are night owls, while others are early risers. We are all unique and prefer to work at different times of the day… or night.

If you’re most productive in the morning, get up really early. Alternatively, if you like to work in the dark, stay up late at night. However, don’t force yourself to modify your routines just because it’s been suggested that people are most productive at certain times of the day.

Find and stick to your most productive hours. It’s possible that whatever time-management tactics work for others will not work for you. Don’t forget about the deep work phase, which is a period of time during which you concentrate solely on important activities.

3. Set your priorities straight

“If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.” –Mark TwainPriorities are important

for maximizing the use of our time. Start with the most important activities and work your way down to the less important ones. It will assist you in better organizing your workflow and increasing your efficiency. That’s all there is to it!

Time Management Techniques

We will be also be discussing a few notable time management techniques to enable you to improve your time management, describing what they are, how to put them into practice, and to who they are most beneficial to.

1. Pomodoro Technique: Here, a timer is used to split your work into intervals with each time period referred to as a Pomodoro.

Here is how it works:

• Choose a task that needs to be completed.
• Setup a timer (e.g., for 20 mins).
• Focus your attention on the task.
• Put a marking on a piece of paper when the timer goes off.
• Take a break for a few minutes to rest your brain
• Steps two through five should be repeated: You can start taking longer pauses as you complete the tasks.

This method mostly benefits creative thinkers and those who feel overwhelmed by a lot of work.

2. Eisenhower Matrix (a.k.a, the urgent-important matrix): Divide your worklist into four quadrants, classifying them either as important vs. unimportant and urgent vs. not urgent. Urgent jobs are ones that we believe must be completed right now. Tasks that contribute to your long-term objectives or ideas are important. Only work on tasks in the urgent and important if possible; the rest should be delegated or removed.

Critical thinkers and people in leadership positions benefit the most from this.

3. The Blocking Method: Elon Musk, the inventor, is recognized for his productivity. He is so great at managing his time that he can work more than 80 hours a week and have enough time for himself. What’s the key to his success? Time Blocking. Here is how it works:

• Assign each time block in your day to a task from the minute you wake up. Anything from having breakfast to studying for a test might be included in these chores. Elon Musk’s time management strategy is as follows:
• Make two columns on a sheet of paper. Write down each hour of the day on the left and divide it into blocks of time, such as half-hour or hour chunks.
• Estimate how long each of your chores will take to accomplish and put them into your time slots.

Allow for modifications during the day by including buffer durations between each time block. This method benefits people who think analytically and working students and parents.

4. The Rapid Planning Method (RPM): RPM could stand for ‘Rapid Planning Method’ or ‘ Result, Purpose and Massive action plan’. It was established by Tony Robbins, a motivational speaker, as a means to train your brain to focus on a vision of what you desire in order to make it a reality.

Here is how it works:

• Organizing: Make a list of all the chores you need to do this week.
• Chunking: Group your jobs according to their commonality. What objects are considered personal? Business-related? Career-focused?
• Make your own RPM blocks by following these steps: Make three columns at the top of a new piece of paper: the task, the result you desire from finishing the assignment, and your reason for accomplishing it. After that, make a list of the steps you can do to get there.

Make a role for yourself that empowers you: Anything that will motivate you to achieve your objective. This method benefits parents or workers and people who have long-term goals.

How To Select A Time Management Technique That Is Right For You

Being better at time management skills is essential for living a balanced life, whether you’re an entrepreneur, a 9-5er, or both.

• Use Parkinson’s Law or the eat that frog approach if you have a habit of putting things off until the last minute.
• Try the Pomodoro technique of working more intently in short periods if you’re having trouble focusing on the subject at hand.
• Use the blocking methods if you are easily distracted
• And finally, use the RPM method if you struggle with finding clarity of your tasks

Please reach out to me and the Uthrive team if you have any issues with time management. We will be looking forward to hearing from you as always!

Until then, keep Thriving!

Coach Ekhoe.