The most productive people don’t have superpowers. They don’t necessarily work harder than the rest. They aren’t sacrificing one aspect of their lives for another. The most productive individuals are just better at time management strategies because they know that’s the secret to productivity management.
We all have the same 24 hours every day. When you get better at managing your time, you will understand that those are, in fact, enough. Figuring out how you can be better at time management can make you more successful and productive in your professional and personal life. To make it easy for you, here are seven time management strategies that will help you be better at your job.
7 time management strategies to make you more productive at work
If how to manage your time is a priority for you, these seven actionable steps will go a long way in making you better at time management.
- Figure out how you’re currently spending your time
When you’re juggling multiple tasks, roles, and responsibilities, it can become easy to lose track of how much time you spend on each task. To improve your time management skills, begin by writing down all the things you do throughout the day in addition to your featured tasks.
If you recognize any task is consuming a disproportionate amount of your time, like email, incorporate a task management system with a messaging feature for quicker, more efficient use of your time.
- Create a schedule utilizing time blocking
A ‘workday’ is an abstract concept. Telling yourself that you will get it done during the day is an inefficient way to manage your time. What you need is to divide your day into various time blocks that are designed for specific tasks.
Time blocking allows you to focus on a single task without worrying about anything else. This also lets you move from one task to the next, with a sense of accomplishment.
- Plan for breaks
To be effective, it has to be plural. You need multiple breaks and not just one break after lunch. This can be difficult to incorporate when you start. But once you have blocked your time for specific tasks, you can take 5-10 minute breaks between those blocks.
Breaks are crucial for managing your time and staying focused. Figure out how long you can concentrate on one specific task before needing some time to step away and recharge. Listen to music, go for a short walk, stretch, or call a friend during those short breaks.
- Use your whole week and prioritize
Those who excel at time management don’t just manage their days. They see the week as a whole and plan for it. Once you start doing it, you will be able to prioritize tasks in terms of their importance and the time they would take.
At the start of the week, figure out the most pressing tasks. Position them according to their deadlines and the time you would need for them. Doing this will make sure that you won’t be hard-pressed for time and will be more relaxed throughout the week.
- Set a timer or track your time
To get better at managing your time, you need to know how you spend it. You can do this by setting a timer for your tasks and measuring how long you take to complete each task.
A smarter option is to use an advanced, intuitive, and user-friendly time tracking tool that will give you a better understanding of how much time you spend on tasks. This helps you allocate time for future tasks.
- Audit yourself regularly
Time management will be easier and part of your routine if you regularly measure your performance. A practical way to do this is by conducting quarterly audits of how you spend your time.
This is another reason to use a task management system because it will give you accurate data. Utilizing your task management system, time tracking tool, and messaging tool can help you get a true account of your performance.
- Delegate or outsource when needed
If you want to be good at time management, you need to understand that not every task is important, and not every task needs your time.
If you recognize a task is consuming a lot of your time, but doesn’t need to be on your plate or shouldn’t, figure out a way to delegate or outsource that task. Make sure that your time is spent only on the most important tasks.
Time management is not an easy task. Learning how to manage and prioritize time is a challenge for even the best professionals. HeyCollab has features like time tracking, messaging, and task management to help you better manage your time and improve your productivity. For more on HeyCollab or to learn more about our features, click here.