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Time is limited and precious. One cannot increase time; instead, one can only manage the events in a 24-hour day. Efficient time management can make space for much work in less time.
How you use the given time of day depends on planning and self-control. Properly taking advantage of time, planning, and scheduling while considering a person's working energy and current living conditions is crucial.
Why is time management critical?
Time management is crucial for several reasons. It conserves energy for other tasks and provides free time, reducing stress and allowing for hobbies.
Effective time management enables individuals to accomplish more and enhances self-esteem. Employees with good time management skills are more creative, energetic, and relaxed, reducing stress and fewer absences.
Conversely, poor time management results in delays and excuses, negatively affecting work efficiency. Efficient time use facilitates the achievement of life goals and maintains quality while boosting confidence.
Challenges of time management
According to experts, there are two kinds of barriers to time management. Internal barriers such as lack of self-control, procrastination, feeling demotivated, anxiety, and people-pleasing behaviour often lead to time waste.
External pressures can also hamper time management. Excessive workload, job-related stress, and distractions such as social media addiction and video games are major time killers.
Time management techniques
Make a schedule
Maintain a calendar to schedule the activities for a whole month. What times of day are you most likely to be most productive? Make a daily to-do list so that nothing goes undone. Write everything down and categorize by priority.
Use productivity apps
Productivity apps can make planning and scheduling easier. These apps include time trackers, time savers, task managers, and habit developers. They will help you remain aware of your time spent.
Set priorities
Question yourself how you want to spend your time. Do you want to spend it with friends, on entertainment, family occasions, or self-development? Figure out the amount of time you want to spend on achieving things that are important to you.
Limited communication
Phone calls often take more time than instant messages or a short email. Properly setting communication priorities can save a lot of time. Busy people tend to gossip less, not without a reason.
Learn to say no
Say no to more work than you can handle. Instead, delegate those tasks to someone eligible to complete the job with more time than you.
Time-blocking technique
Try the time-blocking technique. It divides a day into different blocks or sectors to make getting work done easier. A good sense of the time required for routine tasks can help you plan realistically, leaving you with an estimated amount of time for other activities.
Avoid procrastination
Be mindful of procrastination. Make sure to let a single application writing take your whole day. Do not be too confident, thinking you can finish it at the last minute.
Be organized
Become more organized and stay focused on your job. Clumsiness often leads to terrible time management, as messy people try to multitask and get nothing done.
Reduce bad habits
Reduce spending unnecessary time on phones scrolling through social media for hours. Stop wasting excessive time on leisure and stay focused on your goals.
Prepare for unexpected events.
Try to save some time for unexpected events; for example, unexpected visitors can take 2-3 hours of your day, or you may need to visit a sick person. In Bangladesh, traffic is unpredictable and can take away much of our scheduled time.
The Eisenhower matrix
Try the Eisenhower Matrix to set tasks according to importance. The matrix uses four boxes, do, defer, delegate, and delete. Do the urgent tasks, defer the comparatively less critical ones, delegate others, and delete the least important ones.
Efficient time management brings personal satisfaction and boosts confidence.
Proper dedication and proper time management strategies can make a 24-hour day feel longer. Make sure to adopt those strategies that work perfectly for you.