5 Tips for Managing Your Time

Do you ever find yourself wondering how people can get seemingly ten times as much work as you can with the same number of hours in a day? The only difference between you and them is that they have the ability to manage their time. And if you’re not currently managing your time properly, here are some tips to change the way you’ll live your life:

1. Accept that time is finite.

We have to realise that most times, no matter how efficient you can be, there just isn’t enough time to do everything that needs to be done. Additionally, a large number of people have said that they can only consistently focus on a single task between 15 to 30 minutes at a time. So how is there hope to get anything done? Well, lets keep this in mind and move on to the other tips to see how we can do it.

2. Identify your priorities.

This might be the most difficult part for some people. Take a step back and look at your responsibilities. Look at how long they might take. Try to rank them, maybe even physically on a piece of paper, in order of most to least important. But just remember, your list is your list, and there’s no scenario where two people’s lists will match perfectly. So, don’t think your priorities have to match that of some standard. Although, for a lot of us in some of the most significant years of schooling, it’s likely that schoolwork and studies would be placed high up on that list. Do be careful though, because if you just spend hour after hour knocking priorities off your list, it can get pretty taxing. Both physically and mentally. So how can you get the best of both worlds?

3. Take. Breaks.

Remember what was mentioned about focus? Well if you’re only able to stay focused for half an hour at a time, studying for 2 hours is useless if you’re distracted for three-quarters of that time. The problem is that a lot of cultural influence from parents and teachers has stigmatized the concept of breaks. You shouldn’t feel guilty for taking a break when you need to. You just have to be careful when resting. Because while breaks are necessary for fulfilling your responsibilities while maintaining a healthy life, they can also be your greatest downfall. Finding the balance can be difficult, but you can trick yourself into being productive during mental down time. For example, let’s say you find Physics and Chemistry more difficult than Maths. In that case, try placing Maths work in between Physics and Chemistry as a sort of “pseudo-break”. That way, you can cool down from the heavy work while staying productive.

4. Organize your surroundings.

This step is extremely underrated. You can’t understand difference between an organized workspace with minimal distractions and an unorganized workspace until you do it yourself. Not only does it make your work easier, but it also makes switching between work and rest easier. Unfortunately, for most, getting organized isn’t the problem, it’s staying organized that is. If you find yourself to having trouble keeping it tidy, try to make a habit of cleaning your space at the end of every day. That way, it’s always ready for you the next morning.

5. Use the resources at your disposal.

If you’re still having trouble, maybe what you need is some help visualizing and/or managing your schedules and timing. Luckily, we’re living in a time where we have access to countless tools. Maybe a simple spreadsheet or to-do list would be enough for you. Or perhaps you’re in the market for something a little more advanced. One popular tool is ProofHub, which has a myriad of features tailored to help you manage your time better. If you don’t like that one, don’t fret, there are hundreds other like it you can try out.