7 Tips for Time Management to Boost Productivity At Work

Wish you could make more time? These tips will help you optimize the work hours you have. Let’s work smarter, not harder!

Time management is one of the most important aspects to nail in your work life. You become a better business owner when you can prioritize well and work efficiently. The art of making a to-do list that you can actually complete is part of it. These 7 time management tips will further help you economize on your time to get the job done.

Here’s What We’ll Cover:

1. Learn to Timeblock Your Calendar

2. Track Your Time

3. Try The Pomodoro Technique

4. Optimize With Outsourcing

5. Discover how your energy works

6. Manage Your Workload

7. The 80-20 Rule

Key Takeaways

1. Learn to Timeblock Your Calendar

Time Blocking is very popular for many people. The principle is that you set a certain amount of time for each task and schedule them into your calendar app. It’s like setting a meeting for a task so that it definitely gets done. The best way to timeblock is to schedule meetings and phone calls first. Then schedule breaks and lunch times. Organize your daily tasks around those for effective time management.

2. Track Your Time

How many hours do you work? No really. Have you ever measured your work period? Track time you spend on specific tasks on a timesheet for a week. It is incredibly illuminating. A complete time audit helps to see exactly how much time you spend doing certain tasks. You can then predict more realistically how long it will take you to do your daily schedule. Using a time tracking tool in real time is the best way to do this.

3. Try The Pomodoro Technique

The pomodoro technique is my favorite productivity hack. All you need to do is set a timer for 25 minute intervals. You work for those 25 minutes and then take a 5 min break. Continue doing this until you get to the 4th break. The 4th break should be longer. 15 – 30 minute intervals work well but it’s up to you. There are plenty of pomodoro apps online to help you do these. Working to a time limit helps to eliminate distractions and keep you focused during short bursts of time. Frequent breaks have a huge impact on productivity. If you’re a chronic procrastinator, this is one of the most effective time management strategies for you.

4. Optimize With Outsourcing

Delegating as a small business owner or freelancer is so important. We can do all the things but we can’t do them all well. Imagine the time you’ll get back if you outsource tedious admin tasks or social media management? Even at a personal level, delegation is key. Paying for someone to do your laundry could give you an hour back in your week. You may even achieve some semblance of balance!

5. Discover how your energy works

Are you an early bird or a night owl? Many productivity gurus will suggest that you wake up early and do your most important tasks (MIT) in the morning. A MIT morning isn’t for everyone. Measuring your energy levels from day to day is a good way to discover your best work schedule. I know for myself that my biggest burst of energy is at 5am. After 4pm I am practically a zombie. I use this information to figure out my prime time.

6. Manage Your Workload

We are all guilty of taking on far too much. If we were truly honest with ourselves, our to-do lists would be half as long as they actually are. I think we write to-do lists every week assuming that life doesn’t happen. That we’ll be functioning at superhuman optimum performance all day every day. I’m certainly guilty of this! Creating a shorter list of tasks for your weekly schedule will dramatically improve the quality of your work.

7. The 80-20 Rule

The 80-20 rule was coined by Joseph M Juran. It’s also named the Pareto Principle. The idea is that 80% of your results come from 20% of the effort you put in. Or rather, work and outcome are not linear. This rule is all about simplicity. Reduce your task list down to 5 feasible tasks per day?

Key Takeaways

We hope these 7 tips were helpful in learning how to manage your time better. The art of time management is to know yourself as best as possible. What distracts you? When do you feel the most energized? What drains your time the most. Figuring those out will help you make a work plan with greater chances of success.

For more productivity hacks, head over to our resource hub.

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