Effective Time Management
We all have been there when twenty-four hours a day does not feel enough at all and the clock seems to be ticking away, all so fast. We have also been hearing all our lives that everybody who has done something spectacular had the same number of hours a day to work with. Beethoven, Vincent van Gogh, Einstein, Bill Gates…Ugh! So much pressure, right?
The thing is, time is like money. It is all about how, where and when we invest it. Time management is a very challenging albeit a rewarding skill. I have had my struggles with managing my time in the past but ever since then, I have been continuously working on honing this skill.
Few months back, I got a chance to be in a time management session conducted by CloudFactory, the company where I work. I got to learn so many things, not just from our mentor Jacob Adam Wheeler, but also from all of my peers who were involved in the session. There are so many methods that aim at helping us manage our time better. All we need to do is, try them out and evolve them to suit us better. Here are some of the things that I feel are essential for achieving this goal.
1. Learn to say NO
Most of us struggle with the art of saying NO. Saying no sounds like a tough job. Yes, we do not want to hurt anybody or we do not want to come off as rude or we simply feel like we are the Warrior Prince/Princesses who need to take on everything that is put in their plates. The thing is, we do not.
When everything is a priority, nothing is.
Disciplined pursuit of less is what we should be aiming for. We need to decide what is important right now and what can be managed for later. When saying no, be polite. Mention why we are refusing, give clear logical reasons. Doing things half-heartedly or under too much pressure can potentially produce disastrous results and decrease our credibility. It also means we are not investing our time wisely.
2. Pay Attention
Always be on lookout to pinpoint the causes that hinder us in our pursuit of managing time effectively. When we are able to identify the problems, we are able to solve them. Try out ways to deal with them. The Focus Funnel is one way to help us work on our shortcomings.
3. Perseverance
All being said, becoming pro at managing our time does not happen overnight. There is no crash course to ‘Master the Art of Time Management in x number of days’. The magic happens with persistent efforts, practice and self-consciousness. Remember, this is a skill and we need to work on it to actually learn it and effectively implement it in our lives.
4. Take Care of Oneself
We might love to act tough and believe we can do anything. Confidence is good. Optimism is good. But pushing ourselves to breakpoint is not. Learn to cut oneself some slack. Invest in one’s mental, emotional and physical health. If we are not in a state to take on something, step back. There is no shame in it and we are actually saving our time and energy. But do work on oneself and get back to it with a fresher approach and clearer mind.
I am on the journey to constantly help myself grow and these ideas have helped me so far. I would love to know your thoughts on this and if there are other ideas that work for you, please share them below. I would be more than happy to learn :)
