4 Simple & Meaningful Time Management Tips
Time Management 101
Mastering tips for time management is one of the best ways to upgrade your life immediately without making major changes. Getting to a place where you can seamlessly manage the hours of your day will improve how you feel, the work you accomplish, and the freedom you have.
But time management isn’t as easy for some as it is for others. If you’ve struggled with time management before or don’t know where to start, these tips are for you.
In our digital world, it seems like time slips by at a rate faster than ever. Distractions are always just a reach away in the form of apps, texts, emails, DMs, and notifications. That doesn’t even factor in the countless hours we spend streaming shows. Add all that to your work and home responsibilities, and it can be hard to find hours for yourself.
How many days have you spent multi-tasking, juggling to-do’s, and going to bed at night feeling like your day could have been more meaningful?
Has your lack of focus and the distractions of your life left you feeling defeated and deflated?
No matter where you’re coming from, it sucks to feel like you’re not optimizing the precious time you have. And with each day that passes when you don’t have ownership over your time, you’re less likely to move into the next day feeling confident and prepared.
Luckily, there are four amazingly simple tips for time management you can use to make the most of every day. #intentionalliving #winning
Take a look and lean into the tips that speak to you first. Then, don’t wait – put them into action in your life ASAP. You’ll absolutely notice a difference immediately.
Clarity, focus, and wellbeing, here you come!
4 Meaningful Time Management Tips
1. Set Intentions
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I usually always have a loose idea of what my day looks like two or three days in advance.
My best advice for time management is to set an intention for each day.
You may not be able to do this for every single day, but if you set an intention to direct your energy toward even some days, you’ll be in good shape. Once you have your intention set, you’ll get a better idea for how you want your day to feel. From there, you can determine two or three main tasks that you’d like to accomplish. Then it will be much easier to pepper smaller to-do’s in around them and figure out what can wait for another day.
For instance, if you have deadlines coming up, dedicate the day’s intention to work, projects, and checking in with your progress.
If it’s been a long weekend and your intention is to get back in a productive groove, your tasks for the day might be healthy eating, doing a workout, and spending time back in the office (or at home).
If you’re tired, stressed, and heading toward burn out, your intention might be to take care of self: budget, take a bath, read a book, spend time with friends. You get the idea.
Use a weekly or monthly planner to set your intentions and keep track of your tasks each day. Checking things off your list will feel good!
2. Prioritize with Lists
With all of the demands of life, it’s impossible to rely on your brain to remember everything on your plate. If you can’t keep track of the things you need to do, you certainly won’t be able to manage or complete them. Nothing’s worse than getting into bed at night and realizing you forgot something – important. Argh.
So to lists, we turn.
It doesn’t need to be something fancy. I usually grab the closest (most colorful) sticky notes I can find and
No matter how you keep your to-do’s, they’re a great way to keep track of everything on you’re responsible for – and even all those fun things you want to do.
I’d encourage you to knock out the most impactful or time-consuming tasks first. Putting off items that require a lot of focus or energy usually won’t work in your favor. If you prioritize them, you’ll get to ride the wave of accomplishment and complete the smaller, faster tasks last.
3. Tackle One Task at a Time
Whoever said multi-tasking was a skill to be admired was definitely lying. Absolutely lying (in fact, this has been proven.)
I know I feel more distracted and less focused than when I’m trying to do four things at once.
It just isn’t going to work for us! Our society trains us to feel like the busier we are the more productive we are. But this just isn’t true.
The secret to time management is focus.
If you focus on one thing at a time, you can dedicate your creativity and attention to finishing it as efficiently as possible.
Then, and only then, is it on to the next.
Light a candle, some incense, or palo santo to set a focus-friendly atmosphere, whether you’re cleaning, cooking, or working.
4. Acknowledge Your Progress
If you follow the tips for time management above, you’re going to start seeing results. There’s no doubt about it. You’ll better manage your time, complete tasks when or before they need to be done, and feel good about how you’re spending your days.
It’s like flow.
Flow is when your attention is dedicated to the project at hand and you get swept away in your awesome ability to complete it. (There’s actually a whole book about finding flow).
Take your wins seriously, no matter how small, and don’t be shy about giving yourself a few pats-on-the-back when you finish something important.
Acknowledging progress is key to your continued success! It reinforces your confidence in your abilities and the proactive steps you’ve taken to get ahead.
You’re making serious moves to change the course of your day, your week, and your life. All that wasted time of the past will be your ticket to a more intentional future.
P.S.
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