It’s the familiar sinking feeling, watching as the clock moves faster than your imagination.
The day gets over before you realised that your nth trip for coffee was close to leaving time.
So, you rush back to your desk. Hastily pull out some pending work, clack away at the keyboard, hoping that with every action your work is magically transforming itself into a masterpiece.
And then the phone rings. It’s the call you were dreading. Your efforts get diverted into something more sinister – conjuring up excuses, looking for an escape route.
Been there, done that?
No point denying. We’ve all been there at some point in our lives. so what’s the way around?
If you’re looking for simple, easy-to-apply strategies on time management to increase your productivity, then here are 5 practical strategies to start off with.
The end result will be a more organised you who’ll be able to deliver more in lesser time, and yet achieve a lot more.
Strategy 1: Prioritise Tasks with the Eisenhower Matrix
Eisenhower Matrix should be the starting point. It’s simple to use.
Make a simple grid, dividing it into 4 blocks – Urgent, Not Urgent, Important and Not Important.
Divide the jobs for the day into these 4 blocks.
Now you know which work needs priority, and what can be postponed or even deleted.
Strategy 2: Time Blocking for Efficient Work Sessions
For those given to getting distracted easily, this strategy works really well.
Allot blocks of time for a particular task and focus on it completely.
No calls, no scrolling, no coffee break. Just you and your work.
This focused attention will reap more results than your whole day.
Strategy 3: Implementing the Pomodoro Technique for Focus
Taking it further, apply the Pomodoro Technique.
For every 25 minutes of work cover take a 5 minute break and continue the cycle for a few times before you take a bigger break.
This way, sitting for long hours doesn’t get overwhelming or boring.
The small breaks help increase your focus.
Strategy 4: Limiting Multitasking for Better Concentration
Don’t confuse the brain with too many distractions.
Multitasking is not the best way to create quality outcomes.
Focus on one task at a time.
Imagine trying to create a project report, a presentation and, preparing for a meeting with a client.
All need your focus and different skill sets. Doing all these tasks together will create a mess.
Go one task at a time.
Strategy 5: Regular Review and Adjustments for Efficiency
Try out different systems, combining time blocking, Pomodoro Technique and Eisenhower Matrix.
See what works for you.
Regular review of your systems will give you a chance to assess and realign the systems to your particular needs.
Gradually you’ll be able to figure out a system which allows you to produce quality outcomes with minimum effort, and in the least time.
Conclusion
Learning the skill of managing your time is the first skill you must try to excel. It is the secret to being efficient, and using your time optimally.
The person who learns this art of managing time has understood the secret of life and how to live it completely.
There are techniques and strategies that you can try out and tweak them as you like.
But you know what works for you best. So go ahead and experiment.
The better you get at managing your time, the more efficient you get.
