4 effective time management strategies you need to master

Time is the most valuable resource anyone can have. We bet you’ve heard this so often it already sounds like a cliché. However, that doesn’t make it less true. At the end of each day, it’s hard to escape that niggling feeling that you didn’t do enough, whether you’re an entrepreneur or office worker. A recent workplace survey in the UK revealed that the typical office worker averages less than three hours of productive work time every day. If we all could become masters at using time effectively, we would definitely achieve a lot more. Below are 4 effective time management strategies you should adopt in order to make better use of your time.

Know what your daily routine looks like

The first step towards using time effectively is finding out the tasks that waste your time in the first place. You can do this with the help of applications like Toggl or RescueTime. Track everything you do in a typical day over the course of one or two weeks. At the end of the time period, you’d be amazed at how much time you spend going through your Instagram feed or grabbing a cup of coffee while at work. Once you identify your weak points, you may then work on them.

Have a daily to-do list

Admittedly, writing down everything you wish to achieve in a particular day requires a great deal of mental effort. However, you’ll reap the rewards if you can muster the discipline to do it consistently. First, you’d know how to measure your productivity at the end of that day. Once you leave numerous items unticked, you’d know something else is taking the bulk of your time. If the implicated activity is neither important nor urgent, you’d do well to strike it out of your daily routine. Furthermore, having a clear idea of what you wish to achieve keeps you on your toes. You’re less likely to procrastinate or spend a lot of time on frivolities when you know you still have a lot to do.

Multitask selectively

Not everyone possesses the ability to multitask. If you’re one of those with the talent, great. And if you’re not, it’s equally fine. The key is knowing which side of the divide you belong and making the best of your abilities. Studies have actually shown that taking on too many tasks at a go could make you spend more time on each of them. If you have the ability to multitask, you should be shrewd enough to know what you can and can’t combine. If you don’t have that ability, don’t bother trying. Rest assured, knowing when and when not to multitask is a simple time management technique that could help you a lot.

Leave time for non-essential activities

Let’s face it, the internet and social media have become an essential part of our lives. Shutting them out is next to impossible. The best we can do is to control how much time we spend surfing the net or checking our news feed on social media. When you allot a particular amount of time to non-essential tasks, you’ll have perfect control over how much time you spend on them. You’d also feel guilty when you pick up your phone to chat outside the allotted time. All you have to do is cultivate the discipline required to keep to the allotted tasks. We can bet that sounds simpler than it is. The craving for more time is independent of employment status or cadre. We all wish we could have more than 24 hours but if anything, we know wishes are not horses. The best you can do for yourself is to maximize your productivity during the little time you have. You have a high chance of achieving just that if you can follow the simple time management techniques shared above.