Time is our most valuable asset because it is a non-renewable resource. We can’t get back the time that is spent. Viewing time in this way encourages us to adopt an attitude of intentionality: what will we fit into this one precious life? Watch cat videos or learn Mandarin? Scroll through Instagram in bed or get up for a morning run?
In this modern world where everything is moving at light speed, it can be easy to get lost or feel like you don’t have enough time in your day.
If you are struggling with getting things done and looking for better ways to manage your time then read on, I’ll will show you the best tools and techniques that will help you reach your time management goals.
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Wake up Early
They say “The early bird catches the worm”. Maybe you don’t like eating worms (they are high in protein!) but if the advice is good for birds, it’s probably good for us humans too. In order to gain more time in your day, you can go to sleep an hour earlier than you do now and then wake up an hour early.
The power of this method is not just gaining more productive time in your day but also having more energy throughout the day.
The first hour and a half of the day are the prime working hours of your day. You should make the most out of them.
Make a To Do List
One of the first things you should start doing to achieve better time management is making a To Do list. A good list will help you prioritize the important work, stay organized, and productive, and always be ahead of tasks. Another benefit of a To Do list is that you will have a sense of accomplishment every time you complete a task.
On the other hand, a bad list will overwhelm you. Instead of getting things done, you will end up with loads of work and no time left. At this point you will be wondering how that happened. An example of a bad ToDo list is a list that consists of 25 tasks that you want to get done in a day. This will drive you crazy, A good To Do list will consist of about 5 to 6 tasks that you can complete in a day without getting burned out.
Set Time Blocks For The Day
Time blocks involve deciding in advance how long you will spend on a task. This pre-commitment avoids the pitfalls of Parkinson’s Law: “Work expands to fill the time allocated to it”. If you give yourself two months to finish a report, it will take two months. If you give yourself two weeks..it will take two weeks. This doesn’t mean you have to stress yourself out working until 2am for two weeks and barely sleeping. It means you reduce the scope of the project and sometimes even the quality 😅. It might not be perfect but it will be done soon and often that’s more important.
One of the best apps that will help you set time blocks for your tasks is Focus Bear. This cool app will help you make and manage time blocks for the whole day which will ensure productivity and more things done.
Do Hard Things First
You should dedicate the first 90 minutes of your day to work on the most important and hard tasks. This might be working on the project that will take your business or career to the next level, studying or starting a new project. During the first working hours of the day, your focus and ability to resist temptations and distractions will be at their highest, which means more focus and more productivity.
If you need help with your morning routine, Focus Bear can help.
Establish Realistic Goals
Success does not happen overnight, so setting goals like I will be a millionaire or a doctor in three months isn’t realistic at all. If you set goals like that, you will end up devastated when you can’t reach those goal in three months. The same thing applies when it comes to time management and productivity, you have to be realistic and set attainable deadlines. A ToDo list that you can actually complete in a day can help you achieve this.
Also, don’t be harsh on yourself if you fail to complete all the tasks on your list. Once in a while we all have setbacks and bad days. Just dust yourself off and keep going.
Procrastination is Your Worst Enemy
Stop procrastinating and making excuses. Nothing will get done if you don’t get up and do it, so don’t push everything to tomorrow and start working right now! Start following your dreams and maybe start that business you always said you would. No more excuses. Start today.
If you are a big procrastinator, you can use Focus Bear to help turn you into a productivity machine and help you manage your time to achieve your goals.
Set Short-Term Deadlines
Humans are lazy by default and our brains always try to keep us in our comfort zone, so when it comes to setting goals we always push the deadlines far away. This makes us procrastinate and sometimes our goals just fade away with time.
Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington explain the importance of short-term goals in their book “The 12 week year”. They redefine the year as 12 weeks instead of 12 months. They found that planning your annual goals in 12 weeks can have a huge impact on your productivity and focus. Give it a try and see how much you can get done in a (12 week) year!
Eat Healthy and Exercise
You might be wondering what exercising and eating healthy have anything to do with time management. After our time, our second most valuable asset is our body. You can’t be productive if you are always tired or have pain all over your body. By following a healthy diet and exercising regularly you will keep your body healthy and energised. This will allow you to always give your best performance at work.
If you need help with exercise, Focus Bear can help you make exercise part of your morning routine.
Hi I'm Jeremy, and I understand the challenges of living with ASD and ADHD.
