Take Control with These Time Management Activities

Take control of your time with these time management activities. Our clients say these time management skills boost their productivity by getting them to work smarter rather than harder.

Perhaps you feel that no matter how hard you work, you just can't get everything done?

If so, then you are not alone!

One of the most common causes of stress is not having enough time.

Our clients tell us that these activities make a big impact on their use of time.

Well the same principle applies to time.

A first step to better time management involves analyzing how you spend your time now. To do this, download your time management log and for the next 5 days keep track on your time.

Note down the time you start your activities, what you are doing, and the time that you finish.

Put a star next to your top priority items - those tasks which were most important to you.

Perhaps it was spending time with your family, working on that proposal, or the quite time you spent by yourself.

Once you have put a star next to your highest priority items, add up how much time you spend per day on these most important activities.

For the next week, try to spend more time focusing on the activities that have most value for you.

By focusing more on the activities that are important to you and less on the low priority stuff, this time management activity can help you to live more effectively.

Now put an A, B or C next to them. The A’s being your most important activities, and C being your least important activities.

Looking at all of your top priority items, now put them into a weekly calendar and schedule a time for them.

Look at the things that you have done (in activity 1) if you need help in determining how long different tasks took you.

Block these most important times out in your diary – this doesn’t mean you can’t change them – but at least you have a plan and a direction for the next week – which can always be adjusted.

When doing this here is another time management tip.

Try to identify periods of time in which you are likely to be full of energy for your high priority items – there is no use in being half asleep on your most important job.

For me, I am a morning person, so I try to schedule my most important activities in the morning – before 11am.

What this activity does is it harnesses the 80/20 rule, ensuring that you do you spend your high energy time on the most important activities.

The 80/20 rule comes from an Italian economist, Pareto, who observed that 80% of results come from 20% of our activities, and conversely that 20% of our results come from 80% of our activities.

So to maximize your results, this tasks ensures that you execute your top priority tasks first.

Do you have a great time management activity? Please share it!

Do you have a great time management activity? Please share it!

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