5 Tips for Managing Your Time Better

Your life can be incredibly full and rich. There are many tried and tested ways for squeezing the most out of your time and improving your productivity.

Finish What You Start

You’ll probably be working as fast as you can most of the time, and often this will mean you start a lot of jobs but don’t finish many. Focus on a task until it is complete.

If this is not possible, focus as long as you possibly can before moving onto something else, but above all, remember to go back and finish the first task.

Make a Plan

Plan your time before you start your task list, even if it’s just in your head. Your productivity will be greatly increased if you work through a pre-planned list instead of aimlessly completing tasks. Know what needs to be done and do it. It also helps to check this list at the end of a day or a productive session, to check that you have completed all the tasks you set out to, and to confirm your productivity.

Keep Up Momentum

A good point to remember about productivity is that some of the laws of physics also apply to our minds. For example, something in motion tends to stay in motion, while something at rest tends to stay at rest. Instead of sitting down on the couch after a long day of work, keep moving and keep being productive. It takes more effort to get something moving than it does to keep something moving.

You probably find that if you start to relax, then your motivation decreases and the feeling of being tired increases. Yet, if you start doing productive things even while sitting, your energy increases and the lethargic mode disappears. You can gain a second wind when you get busy doing something.

Avoid Distractions

Be aware of distractions that will rob you of your time. Avoid checking emails, phones, instant messengers or anything else while you are working on a particular job. Also watch out for other people distracting you – learn to say no.

Television can be a serious waste of productive time. Too many people come home from work, plop down on the couch in front of mindless programs and literally trance-out. It is good for the mind to be simply entertained sometimes, whether it’s via TV or other means, but be aware of how much time is being spent in those typically buzzed-out states.

Be aware that precious time is slipping by while your passion-focus projects are sitting idle.

Manage Time into Blocks of Similar Activities

Remember Henry Ford from the automobile industry in America? He came up with one of the most efficient and productive ways to assemble cars, the assembly line method.

That’s the procedure that utilizes workstations along a moving conveyor belt. Each workstation is responsible for assembling specific parts of a vehicle. Well, you can apply a similar method to your entire day.

To do this you need to create a daily schedule and do specific tasks at specific times.

For example, if your job includes that you call people on the telephone, then block off an hour for making phone calls, say from 1 PM to 2 PM. When 2 PM arrives, move on to the next scheduled task, even if you still have other calls to make. The next day when your phone call workstation arrives, you’ll find that you are highly motivated to accomplish as many calls as you can within that allotted time block.

The main idea is to move to the next time-block and work as efficiently as possible to get as much done. This also helps to increase motivation on a grand scale.

Use the assembly-line method applied to your every waking moment. Schedule specific time-slots for particular tasks, and stick to the schedule. This will increase your efficiency, productivity, and motivation.