Recipe for Success: How to Improve Time Management Skills

At least 89% of people waste time every day. 

With only 24 hours in each day, we don’t have time to waste. In fact, wasting too much time could lead to missed deadlines and impact your professional and personal life.

Keep reading to find out how to improve time management skills.

Create a Plan

We waste the majority of our time because of a lack of planning.

To avoid this, use a schedule maker to organize your day-to-day tasks. With this simple tool, you can be at ease knowing that your tasks will be efficient and structured.

It will help you prioritize your work, personal life, and appointments. You’ll know what is urgent and shape your other to-dos around those tasks.

Start by creating a list of everything you need to accomplish in a week. From there, write down deadlines and important dates that you can’t miss.

Keeping the end goals in mind, break down each task into small steps. For example, if you have to turn in a report next Tuesday, you can segment your schedule into researching, writing, and editing throughout the previous week.

That way, you don’t have to tackle the entire task at once and you won’t procrastinate. 

 

Set Healthy Goals

Setting goals helps build your motivation. Plus, it allows you to allocate a reasonable amount of time to get a job done.

It doesn’t have to be daunting. Start with setting small goals for your day. For example, you can set a goal of waking up 10 minutes earlier to enjoy your morning coffee without feeling rushed out of the door.

For work-related goals, create small steps rather than expecting yourself to accomplish something big. This keeps you from getting burnt out on what you’re working on, allowing you to tackle each part as you feel energized and focused.

Give yourself a small reward each time you’re successful. This can be as simple as taking a break and going outside.

By getting in the habit of setting small, healthy goals for ourselves, it becomes easier to accomplish what we’re setting out to do. As the old saying goes “if you wish to climb the mountain, you must do it one step at a time”.

Manage Stress

Another reason we waste time is that we’re stressed about everything we need to accomplish.

To overcome stress, focus on one task at a time rather than trying to do several at once. Studies show that 98% of people don’t multitask well, meaning that we aren’t able to focus on and complete anything we’re working on. 

Another way to prevent the daunting feeling of stress is by getting a head start on projects. This gives you a buffer in case of unforeseen circumstances. By starting ahead of time, you can take charge of your day and feel more self-empowered. 

Managing your stress helps you manage your time better. As a result, you’ll end up having more energy to focus on what’s important on your to-do list, since you’ll complete tasks quicker and more efficiently.

That’s How to Improve Time Management Skills

With these tips on how to improve time management skills, you can make the most of every day.

Create and stick to a plan, set healthy goals, and manage your stress so that you can be a master of time.

Keep reading our blog for more ways to improve your life.