Time is the most finite of resources.
There are only so many hours in a day, so many days in a week, and, if you think about it, only so many weeks in your life.
But, as Merlin Man would say, the demands on your time are infinite.
There are no limits to the things that you will want to do with your time, and with the things that will be asked of you.
Therefore, time management is an incredibly important skill.
Effective time management benefits and improves every aspect of your life, whether at work or home.
Here are just some of the many benefits of using your time well
1. Reduced stress
Good time management means less rushing to complete tasks, fewer last-minute crunches before the deadline, and fewer sleepless nights worrying over what wasn’t completed.
2. Improved productivity
With good time management, you can work more efficiently and get more work completed in the same number of hours.
3. Produce higher quality work
If you’ve managed your time well, you have had time to double-check your work, polish up details, and correct your own mistakes.
4. Reduced friction
In your work and personal life, being late, missing deadlines, and rushing around can have a negative impact on the people around you.
Your own effective time management makes things go more smoothly for everyone.
5. More free time
Having control of your time means that there is more of it to spend relaxing outside of work, taking up a hobby, or just having fun.
6. Work smarter
When you have the time to measure twice, you only need to cut once. Giving yourself the right amount of time to plan the work properly makes the execution more efficient and the results more effective.
7. Creates opportunities
When you have more time, you can adapt to new information and take advantage of new opportunities.
If you are always behind on your current tasks, chances are you won’t be asked to participate in newer or better projects.
8. Improves your reputation
Good time management makes you reliable, and that makes you valuable.
9. Greater independence
When you are managing your time, you have more control over where and how you spend it.
You have more freedom to focus on your priorities and are less caught up in details.
Aside from all these meaningful social and psychological benefits, effective time and task tracking can also become powerful data in the workplace when it’s time for a performance review or promotion.
Presenting concrete measures and metrics is a highly persuasive technique.
If you constantly find yourself on Friday afternoons with a ton of work left to do, wondering where the week went, it may be time to start doing some time management of your own.
In the battle to take ownership of their time, many people turn to personal time management software for help.
Personal time management software can improve your time management in several ways
1. Capturing all your tasks and to-dos
Keeping all your tasks and to-dos in a single place reduces your time making new or different lists, tracking down needed information and details, and keeps you more organized.
It also reduces the amount of time you spend recalling tasks and making new lists.
2. Prioritizing your time
Once all your work is captured and visualized, it’s easier to determine what is the highest priority and what can wait.
Spend less time figuring out what you should be working on now, and what you should work on next.
3. Improving focus
Keeping tasks and to-dos organized, streamlined, and prioritized helps you focus on one thing at a time, improving the quality of the work.
4. Tracking tasks through and after completion
A comprehensive workflow allows you to see work through from beginning to end.
Tracking completed tasks also gives you valuable information about your productivity, allowing you to set goals or keep concrete metrics of your throughput.
5. Status at a glance
If you are using a Kanban-style system, the visual organization lets you know the status of everything at a glance.
You don’t have to spend time finding out or reminding yourself of the status of tasks.
6. Staying on top of deadlines and reminders
Of course, no personal time management software would be complete without a comprehensive approach to both work and time.
By merging your email, tasks, and your schedule into a single, easy-to-use tool.
Finally, here are a few skills to master to help you use your time better.
7. Learn to say no
Refusing tasks that you know you can’t do correctly and on time, improve the overall quality of your work and makes you more reliable.
8. Learn to delegate
Delegating is an important skill to master and helps raise the productivity of your whole team.
Making sure that the right person is assigned to a task saves you time and shows trust.
9. Prioritize
Spend your time where it is most needed and on what is most important.
10. Take care of yourself
Getting enough sleep, healthy exercise, and restful free time are all important aspects of your overall wellbeing.
And self-care actually boosts your productivity as well.
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