Time Management

Miss Mrunalini Patra

Lecturer in Commerce
Mahamayee Mahila Mahavidyalaya, Berhampur, Ganjam
Mob: 7978551727, mail: patramrunalini@gmail.com

Time Management Definition

“Time management” is the way we decide to utilize our time in order to maximize our
productivity in achieving certain long-term goals. “Time management” is the process of
organizing and planning how to divide your time between specific activities. Good time
management enables you to work smarter – not harder – so that you get more done in less
time, even when time is tight and pressures are high. Failing to manage your time,
damages your effectiveness and causes stress.

It seems that there is never enough time in the day. But, since we all get the same 24
hours, why is it that some people achieve so much more with their time than others? The
answer lies in good time management.

The highest achievers manage their time exceptionally well. By using the time-
management techniques in this section, you can improve your ability to function more
effectively – even when time is tight and pressures are high.

Good time management requires an important shift in focus from activities to results: being busy isn’t
the same as being effective. (Ironically, the opposite is often closer to the truth.)
Spending your day in a frenzy of activity often achieves less, because you’re dividing your attention
between so many different tasks. Good time management lets you work smarter – not harder – so you get
more done in less time.

What Is Time Management?

“Time management” refers to the way that you organize and plan how long you spend on
specific activities.

It may seem counter-intuitive to dedicate precious time to learning about time

management, instead of using it to get on with your work, but the benefits are enormous:

 Greater productivity and efficiency.

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 A better professional reputation.

 Less stress.

 Increased opportunities for advancement.

 Greater opportunities to achieve important life and career goals.

Failing to manage your time effectively can have some very undesirable consequences:

 Missed deadlines.

 Inefficient work flow.

 Poor work quality.

 A poor professional reputation and a stalled career.

 Higher stress levels.

Spending a little time learning about time-management techniques will have huge benefits
now – and throughout your career.

7 Time Management Tips:

With any activity approaching, you should be thinking about how to get better at time
management and organize your days so you can strike the right balance between home,
work and university life. You should also try and eat some brain food - and no, we don't
mean crisps and energy drinks!
By taking the time to arrange your priorities, you can give yourself the best chance of
staying on track and organized during the exam period, which in turn can help reduce
stress levels, something that can be the difference between success and failure at
university.

1) What do you have to do?

The first stage of improving your time management is to list absolutely everything that
you have to do. This may sound obvious, but speaking from experience, most students
tend to leave important tasks until the last minute, which can impact on the quality of their
work and their overall grade.
Include any university deadlines as well as any shifts you work on the list, and make a
note of how much time each priority will take out of your schedule.

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2) Create a life schedule
Whether it’s a pin-up planner, a timetable or a calendar on your phone, find an organizing
tool that works well for you and add your list of priorities to it. There are many time
management apps that can help with this. Also, think about when you are most alert, so
that you can plan your study periods around these times.
Find time for socializing, but also make sure that you get enough sleep. Most people need
between 7 to 8 hours sleep every night to remain focused and alert during study periods.

3) Be flexible but realistic

Typically, allow around 8-10 hours a day for working, studying, socializing and
anything else practical you need to do. As a full-time student, you’re expected to dedicate
35 hours a week to university studies, including the time you spend in seminars and
lectures. If you only spend 15 hours a week attending tutor-led learning, you should use
the extra 20 hours for independent study.

It’s also important to remember that things often take longer than expected. So, allow a
little extra time in case you spend longer on a task than you thought you would.

4) Allow time for planning to avoid repetition

Taking the time to research, plan and think about your work is crucial for good time
management. Allow yourself the time to process new information and plan how you are
going to use it, as this can help you to avoid having to re-read and repeat any research.
One way of effectively planning before researching is to make a list of everything you
want to find out, so that you can make notes below each subheading as you go.

5) Avoid procrastination and distraction

One way to avoid procrastination is to think about the different places you have been
when studying – where were you the most focused? Where were you most distracted? Is
there anything you can do to make studying actually somewhat enjoyable?
Remember, what works for one person might not necessarily work for you. For some,
studying with friends can limit their productivity. But for others, studying in groups can
help to increase motivation and avoid procrastination.

6) Exercise to clear your head in between study sessions

Believe it or not, exercise works in the same way sleep does. It can focus your state of
mind, helping you to clear your head and boost your brain power in between study
sessions. If you’re new to exercise, aim to fit in a 10-minute run here and there, steadily
increasing the amount you do as you go on.
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7) Has your organization been effective?
Constantly reviewing and reassessing your schedule can help you to recognize whether
you need to make any changes in order to help you complete any university tasks and also
have time to relax and spend time with friends and family.

15 Time Management Tips for Achieving Your Goals:

1. Set goals the right way.

There's a right and wrong way to set goals. If you don't set your goals the right way, then
you'll lack the proper targets, which will force you to fall off track. But when you set them
the right way, the sky is the limit. Use the SMART goal setting method to help you see
things through. And when you do set those goals, make sure you have powerful deep
down meanings for wanting to achieve them.

2. Find a good time management system.

One of the tips for managing your time is to find the right system to actually do it. The
quadrant time-management system is probably the most effective. It splits your activities
into four quadrants based on urgency and importance. Things are either urgent or
important, both, or neither. Neither (quadrant 4) are the activities that you want to stay
away from, but it's the not-urgent-but-important quadrant (2) that you want to focus on.

3. Audit your time for seven days straight.

Spend seven days straight assessing how you spend the time you do have right now. What
are you doing? Record it in a journal or on your phone. Split this up into blocks of 30
minutes or an hour. What did you get done? Was it time wasted? Was it well spent? If you
use the quadrant system, circle or log the quadrant that the activity was associated with. At
the end of the seven days, tally up all the numbers. Where did you spend the most time?
Which quadrants? The results might shock you.

4. Spend your mornings on MITs.

Mark Twain once said, "If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the
morning. And If it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first." His
point? Tackle your biggest tasks in the morning. These are your most important tasks
(MITs) of the day. Accomplishing those will give you the biggest momentum to help you
sail through the rest of the day.

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5. Follow the 80-20 rule.

Another great time management tip is to use the 80-20 Rule, also known as the Pareto
Principle. This rule states that 80% of the efforts come from 20 percent of the results. In
sales, it also means that 80 percent of the sales come from 20 percent of the customers.
The trick? Identify the 20 percent of the efforts that are producing 80 percent of the results
and scale that out. You can do this with meticulous tracking and analysis.

6. Instil keystone habits into your life.

Charles Duhig poignantly coined the keystone habit in his book entitled, The Power of
Habit. In architecture, the keystone is the stone that holds all other stones in place.
Similarly, keystone habits help to not only solicit other good habits, but also help to
eliminate bad habits as well. Focus on keystone habits and you'll get much better at
managing your overall time by making your habit development much easier.

7. Schedule email response times.

Turn off your email throughout the day. When your email is pouring in, it's easy to get
distracted. Schedule time to read and respond to emails. If there's something urgent,
someone will call or text you. But when you have your email open, those distractions
interrupt your thought flow and it's harder to get back on track.

8. Eliminate bad habits.

One of the biggest time-wasters we have are our bad habits. Whether it's Netflix binge-
watching, excessively surfing social media, playing games, going out frequently to drink
with friends, or so on, those bad habits take away the precious little time that we do have.
Use your time wisely by eliminating your bad habits if you're serious about achieving big
goals in life.

9. Take frequent breaks when working.

One study suggests that you should work for 52 minutes and break for 17. You might not
have the luxury to do that. But you should take frequent breaks. If you're an entrepreneur
working for yourself, this is crucial. It's easy to run on fumes and not even know it. Keep
your mental, emotional and physical states at peak levels by breaking frequently.

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10. Meditate or exercise every morning.

You might not think that this will help to better manage your time, but meditating and
exercising every single morning gives you balance. Cut the toxins out of your life and get
serious by doing this and watch as your energy, stamina and mental focus takes a drastic
shift.

11. Make to-do lists in the evening for the next day.

Every single evening before bed, make a list for the next day. Look at your goals and see
what you can do to help move you closer. This doesn't happen overnight. It takes time. But
by making to-do lists, you're effectively setting goals for the day. Daily goals are easier to
achieve while helping to move us towards the longer and bigger goals. But that happens by
creating to-do lists.

12. Find inspiration when you're feeling lacklustre.

Turn to You Tube, TED Talks and any other inspirational source you can turn to when
you're lacking inspiration. It's hard to stay on track with your time when you lose that
drive inside of you. Find ways you can turn the fire back on by focusing inspiring content
and seeking out others who've achieved big goals.

13. Get a mentor who can guide you.

Finding a mentor is crucial. It's easy to get distracted and dissuaded when you don't have
someone guiding you. But when you can personally rely on someone who's been through
the wringer and can help you achieve your goals, it's easier to stay on track with your time.
Find a good mentor that can help you along your path.

14. Turn off social media app alerts.

Incessant social media app alerts aren't helping you with your time. It's definitely hurting
you. Turn them off. You don't need alerts every moment or to know everything happening
with your friends. It's not important. What's most important is to have some peace of mind
and be better able to focus on the task at hand.

15. Declutter and organize.

Studies have determined that clutter in our environment helps us to lose focus. When we
lose focus, we lose time. If you want to avoid that, declutter and organize. Don't do it all at
once. Start small. One drawer today. A shelf tomorrow. Maybe a closet the next day. Just
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one per day. You build momentum and eventually find yourself turning into an organizing
warrior.

16. Put a time limit on tasks.

Take another look at your time audit and identify tasks that take longer than you expect.By
setting time constraints for these items, you will focus more and work more efficiently.

If you still find yourself going beyond these time limits, examine your workflow and eliminate
little time-wasters like unscheduled breaks.

17. Plan your week on Sunday.

Walking into work with a plan for the week will help you focus on priorities. You can easily
transition from your carefree weekend mindset to a productive Monday morning “work brain.”

Take a few minutes on Sunday to create a plan for your whole week. Cure procrastination by
breaking down your weekly goals into daily tasks, so you only need a glance at this list while
working.

18. Create a daily plan.

Use the first 30 minutes of your day to create a daily to do list that suits your weekly plan.
Word your list items as if you’ve already completed them. Instead of “Submit Report to
Project Manager” write “Report to Project Manager Submitted.”

This little trick will give you an extra boost of motivation.

19. Block out distractions.

Use your computers “do not disturb” function when working on focused tasks. Channel your
attention by working at only one monitor and opening only one window. Going offline might also
be an option, but let's not go that far.

20. Sleep well.

Scientists have found that sleeping less to create more task-oriented time leads to trouble. Tired
people procrastinate more and get distracted easily. Give your brain at least eight hours of sleep
every night.

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