At its most basic form, time management comes down to how to effectively manage your time. That may have been obvious, but knowing how to have good time management skills is a much more challenging goal.
These skills will make you feel more energized, more organized, and will make your days more efficient. Time management can be life-changing, so continue reading to learn useful time management skills that you MUST know!
Learning time management skills is one of the best ways that you can become more efficient and improve your day-to-day life. This article goes over some of the most important skills that you need to know.
Time management is not the easiest thing to pick up. I struggled for years to figure it out, you get to skip ahead by reading this article to learn these skills right away.
These skills will help you transition from a time management beginner to a pro in no time.
This post is all about time management skills that will help you become a more efficient and accomplished person!
Time Management Skills You MUST Know
1. Think about what your future self would be proud of
One of the most effective ways to manage your time more wisely is to put yourself in the mindset of your future self. You should think, “What would my future self be proud of?” Typically, that answer is something that is a good use of your time.
For example, what if you were deciding whether or not to hit the gym before work. It can be very hard to choose to get up in the morning versus sleeping in for that extra hour. Interestingly, choosing to get up for the workout often wins. Why is that? Mostly it comes down to the thought that your future self will be proud that you made it to the gym in the morning. Consider your future self the next time you find yourself with a choice between being intentional or being inefficient with your time.
This time management skill will help you make better decisions more often. Since you will be considering your present from the perspective of the future, you will have better insight into what the best decision is for you.
2. Weigh the pros and cons
Time management is all about choices. Choices between the gym or the couch. Choices between staying up late or getting enough sleep. I could go on and on. One of the most effective ways to make choices is by weighing the pros and cons of each side. It sounds simple, but boiling a decision down to a pro-con list in your head can help you decide quickly.
For example, staying up late could give you the chance to finish that movie you have been wanting to watch, but at what cost? Maybe you won’t be able to make it to that morning run your friend invited you to. Or maybe you won’t perform as well at work that day. On the other hand, maybe this is your last chance to finish the movie. A pro-con list like this can be incredibly effective at helping you make a decision about your best use of time.
In the business world, a pro-con list is often referred to as a “cost-benefit analysis,” where the costs represent the cons and the benefits represent the pros. The main difference here is that in a cost-benefit analysis (CBA), there is a monetary value assigned to each choice. This can make each decision feel more grounded and like it really matters. You don’t have to assign value in this way, but it does help to understand another way to analyze the pros and cons.
However you choose to go about it, weighing the pros and cons of each decision is one of the best time management skills you can develop!
3. Consider what you have coming up later in the week
Another part of time management that is important to consider is what may be coming up later that day, week, or even month. Let’s say I want to go for a run sometime this week. I could just push it off and decide day of that I am going to run, but this could easily go wrong.
Maybe I have a big deadline on Friday, so I may have to work a little extra on Wednesday and Thursday. If I think ahead about what may happen later this week, I may realize that it is best to get that run done on Monday or Tuesday. Or maybe I have an appointment on Wednesday right after work, but I also want to get my Wednesday workout in. Maybe that appointment will finish early enough, but if it doesn’t, I will be disappointed. In that case, I should get to sleep early on Tuesday so I can get up early on Wednesday and work out before work to eliminate the risk of missing that day. It is all about thinking ahead with time management.
The best way to be able to understand what you have coming up is to use a calendar. I have a calendar in my kitchen which I fill out each week so that I always know where my time is going. Using a calendar sounds simple, but you will be surprised about how easy it is to keep up with your schedule. Just a few quick notes for each day will do the trick.
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4. Value your time appropriately
By valuing your time, you will gain a greater appreciation for time management. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “time is money”, but nothing will change unless you truly believe that. I thought this only mattered for millionaires and business owners, but this mindset can help anyone. Valuing your time allows you to really take control of your life. It will allow you to do the things you really want to do. Before committing to any plans, you should think about what kind of time commitment that might be. Even if it’s only a short time, it can add up. This is especially true with any type of recurring plan.
For example, something that may have started as a 30-minute commitment a couple of times a week can add up to 4 hours per month. Maybe that commitment is important to you, and if so, that is a great use of your time. If not, this means you may have missed out on 8 coffee runs with a friend or maybe 4 hour-long workout classes.
In addition to making commitments, it is important to recognize the time that disappears. I’m sure you know the feeling of getting lost in some rabbit hole on your phone and finding that somehow an hour went by. To help with this, I personally use the time limit function on the apps that take most of my time.
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5. Create a routine
Creating a routine is the best time management skill I have found. It also happens to be the broadest one! Routines are a simple idea but are challenging to implement. Once you get a routine started, you will be able to use your time more efficiently, since you will not have to think about what you need to do. It could look like this:
- Wake up – 6:00-6:15 AM
- Go to gym – 6:15-7:00 AM
- Shower – 7:00-7:15 AM
- Eat breakfast – 7:15-7:30 AM
Something as simple as this eliminates the need to think about your plan and allows you to be efficient with your time. Routines like this do not just have to work for the morning either. Your routine could extend to the entire day, or you could have a series of routines based on where you are at a certain time of day.
Personally, I like to have a morning routine similar to the one above, and an evening routine that helps me get started for the next morning. Usually, the evening routine involves things like packing my lunch for the next day, getting my breakfast tools (pans and spatulas) set out, and picking my clothes for the gym. Small routines like this will make your day move much more efficiently and effectively. Give it a try! Check out some of my other articles about routines starting with the one below!
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Hopefully, these tips can be a starting point for you to improve your time management skills in the future. If you have any questions or ideas, feel free to send them to us at ourteam@wellroundedyou.com. Thanks for reading!
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