Time Management Tips and Practices

"Time is your most precious gift because you only have a set amount of it. You can make more money, but you can't make more time. When you give someone your time, you are giving them a portion of your life that you'll never get back. Your time is your life." - Rick Warren

Time management is one of the main topics on improving productivity. I summarize 10 time management tips and an exercise to enhance our skills over time. ​​

Key Takeaways 

1. Pay attention to how to spent time.
2. Decide what to do and not do.
3. Make a plan get thing done efficiently.​

Time is one of the limited resources we own and can be in our control. No matter what we want out of life, we have to use this precious resource right and wisely. Here are some tips. 

Time management mindset
We have to have the right mindset of time before managing it. First, (1) time is our own asset. We can take our time and choose to do things important to us. Second, we need to be mindful of time to (2) protect this valuable asset, use it wisely, respect others' time, and not waste time. 

What to do and not do 
It's essential to set our personal goals to direct our energy to the right place. If we choose not to do it ourselves, we can (3) let it go or delegate the task. The important is to set our boundaries with others to keep quality of work and stay on the right path. If we decide to take action, we can (4) create a to-do list, organize or group tasks for batch processing, and use methods such as the Eisenhower Decision Matrix (5) to prioritize. We also need to (6) make these decisions promptly. Otherwise, we will also waste time making choices.​

When to do 
It would be best to find the right time to perform a task. The 2-minute rule tells us it is more efficient to (6) complete a job right away when we can get it done in 2 minutes. Otherwise, we would (7) block time to start work with no procrastination and (8) plan a daily routine to work at the most efficient moment. We need to (9) avoid multitasking and stay focused one task at a time. Based on Parkinson's Law, we can (10) set a time limit for each assignment to avoid procrastination and ensure efficient execution. ​​​

Practicing Time Management Meditation
To become productive is a mindset change. We can use a 1-minute medication in the morning to remind ourselves of the most valuable productivity tips. ​The animated gif can lead us through meditation by recalling one productivity tip every 5 seconds. This visual can also refresh our minds during any of our break times. ​

Mastering a new ability takes time. Give a try to the discussed tips, and let us know if this can help you stay productive. ​

Editor's Notes: As a project manager, you will plan and manage our team members' time. You will often find yourself playing a role in mentoring team members for better time management. You will help the team on the right path, complete tasks on time, and guide the team to perform action efficiently. So, become an expert in time management first. ​