0How Do I Spend My Time?
Sometimes you feel like you never have enough time in the day. You fall behind in job duties and chores until you feel anxious and overwhelmed.
It’s very important to manage our time effectively to be successful both at work and at home. One of the first steps toward successful time management is to begin to identify how we spend our time.
To get a picture how you spend your time, print the below image or create a circle like this on a piece of paper. Here, each section represents 1/4 of a 24-hour day.
Using this chart, record your day activities for 1 day. Try to include as many activities you can so as to get a clear picture of how you spend your time. Don’t make alterations for the sake of recording. If required, you can create seven charts to have an idea about the time spent for a whole week. Ask yourself, how much time is spent on:
Working, Sleeping, Eating, Playing, Social Sites, Reading, Dancing etc.
Result: “How Do I Spend My Time?”
The results will surely surprise you the way your time is spent.
Now, take a fresh sheet and write down the things you wish you had more time for. You can wish to have more time with your Family, Friends or doing your favorite work.
How to Manage Time Effectively?
Consider the results you had for “How Do I Spend My Time?”. Now, follow the below steps:
-> On a new sheet, list the tasks.
-> Make Estimation about how much time will be required to complete these tasks.
-> Eliminate unnecessary tasks by striking them out. Once this is done, you will notice that you have already freed a lot of time.
-> Learn to say No to new tasks if you are already pre-occupied.
-> Delegation is also a very important thing. Mark the tasks which you think you can delegate to your co-workers, your family or to your friends.
-> Prioritizing makes your life easier. Sometimes it’s difficult to select the importance of a task, at that time, what’s important for fulfilling your basic needs? What’s necessary for your family? Are you keeping any deadlines? Make sure you mark them appropriately…
Action Plan
After prioritizing the tasks, an action plan is required for each task. Below are steps required to create an action plan:
-> Success rate of each task
-> Steps required to complete the task should be listed out.
-> Different methods should be given a try before Establishing the best way to completing the task.
-> Multitasking can be done for time-saving.
-> Assemble people/resources required for creating the plan.
Some More tips
1. Wake Up Early: It is a productive method of rising early and consistently so as to be able to accomplish more during the day. It can make a tremendous difference in how your day is structured.
The philosopher Aristotle said, “It is well to be up before daybreak, for such habits contribute to health, wealth, and wisdom.”
2. Plan your Day: Planning for your day will be of great help. Take the first 30 minutes of every day to plan your day. Don’t start your day until you complete your time plan. You can either use a calendar for appointments and events or keep notes for it. Calendars can be used for reminders or for keeping a track of to-do lists etc. Make sure you include urgent and non-urgent items on your list. Plan to spend at least 50 percent of your time engaged in the thoughts, activities, and conversations that produce most of your results.
3. Get Organized: Organize your desk, your computer files, and your email folders so you find things easily without wasting time.
Benjamin Franklin said it best: “A place for everything, everything in its place.”
4. Reward Yourself: Time management is not entirely about work; it also involves scheduling some downtime to relax and recharge your batteries. Plan some rewards when your task is completed.
