How did you perfect your time management skills?

Time management is not something that comes naturally to anyone; it’s not a talent nor is it necessarily part of your DNA. Instead, think of it as a skill you can improve by practicing it every single day. When you do it that way, it will become almost like a habit.

  HR in SAP   Apr 6, 2024   101  Add to Reading List
How did you perfect your time management skills?

For me, it’s mostly focusing on these 3 things:

  • Looking at the time on my mobile phone or watch on a regular basis
  • Using a timer for most tasks
  • Keeping track of how much time I invest in something and writing down what I’m working on and for how long

Time management is not something that comes naturally to anyone; it’s not a talent nor is it necessarily part of your DNA. Instead, think of it as a skill you can improve by practicing it every single day. When you do it that way, it will become almost like a habit.

I’ll share 3 time management habits that have helped.

???????? Writing an outline of work in a bullet journal.

Have you ever tried bullet journaling? It’s a great way to map out each day, week, and month. Think of it as your master planner where you can write all the different things that are coming up, both small tasks and really large things like exams and major work projects. Once it’s down on paper, it’s more manageable to do. For me, the daily task entries are the most useful, and I can organize my entire day with checklists and reminders to stay on track. I recommend getting a separate notebook and starting a bullet journaling practice to make your work life easier. Here’s a good video with an overview of the process.

???????? Starting the day with this question: What is the one thing I am committed to completing today?

It’s a cognitive technique I use all the time and it encourages me to think strategically about the day and which task is of the utmost importance compared to the others. This keeps me focused on goals, forces me to prioritize, and serves as a personal promise to myself. The key is in asking it first thing in the morning. How can you start this habit? Put it in writing — write it in big letters on a sheet of paper and hang it on your bedroom or bathroom wall. Read it out loud as you start your day, and come up with an answer immediately. Then, as you go through the day, make sure you’re working on completing what you’ve identified as your one thing.

???????? Doing “deep work” early in the day.

Whenever possible, I don’t leave the most complex tasks such as brainstorming, problem solving, critical thinking, analyzing, or writing for later in the day (or worse, for the evening). According to scientific research, the brain’s peak performance time happens 2-4 hours after we wake up, so if you wake up at 7 your peak time is until 11 a.m. When you work early on cognitive tasks, you allow the brain to focus fully on the problem at hand, with fewer distractions and more energy that you gain from a restful night. I’ve been trying to wake up a bit earlier (30 minutes at a time, which requires going to bed a bit earlier as well) so that I can maximize those early hours when it’s quiet and there aren’t as many distractions.

???????????? Speaking of time management skills, here are three books I’ve found useful on this topic; they have quite a few ideas and practices you can try out.

It explains the importance of deep work: the ability to focus on cognitively demanding tasks in order to achieve more in less time. The author explains why maintaining focus is a challenge in the 21st century, and provides practical suggestions for mastering your deep work.

One of my favorite books on building positive habits, this is an in-depth practical guide to structuring your mornings and making the most of those early hours so that you can accomplish things early in the day. It’s full of great ideas to create positive habits to make every day count.

It’s a comprehensive collection of life experiences, tools, and techniques compiled from a series of interviews Ferriss conducted with world-class leaders in diverse fields of expertise, from top athletes to Special Ops commanders and best-selling authors.