Are you searching for simple time management tips that are not only practical, but realistic?
Looking to make a positive change in your schedule in just a couple of minutes?
Managing your time doesn’t have to be complicated.
In fact, some of the most effective time management tips are downright simple.
In this post, you’ll find several time management tips that are short, sweet, and easy to apply to your daily routine, right away.
Give yourself a break
A quick question for you: what do you do when a meeting is postponed or when an appointment is cancelled at the very last-minute?
Do you hunker down to finish up an assignment? Maybe you run errand or fill the space with another meeting?
Chances are you try your hardest to fill that newly formed free time with something else.
What if you took another approach? What if you actually pressed the pause button on your day, gave yourself a little break, and took that time…just for yourself?
Taking a short break from your routine won’t derail your schedule.
Besides, you won’t be any worse off than if the previously scheduled event took place.
Cancellations and postponements only happen once in a while. So, you might as well make the most out of the situation at hand.
The next time a cancellation comes across your calendar, why not go for a brief walk, meditate, or enjoy a hot cup of tea?
Overestimate your travel time
One of the easiest ways to make sure you arrive on time to meetings and appointments is to simply budget more travel time for yourself.
Think it will take you a minute to travel from the 2nd to the 15th floor in your office building?
Realistically speaking, you need time to gather your belongings. You also need to walk to the elevator bank, take the elevator, and walk to the conference room.
And that’s not even adding in a chance meeting with a colleague in the hallway, a trip to the restroom, or waiting for a local elevator.
How about taking two minutes to walk from your home to the closest bus which is actually a quarter of a mile away? Yeah, it will probably take you a bit more than two minutes to walk to the bus stop.
If any of these scenarios sound all too familiar, you might want to test out your travel time or recalculate your time estimations.
Remember, the only things you have to lose in overestimating your time are frustration, anxiety, and worry.
Worst case scenario? You’ll arrive to your destination early, with some time to spare.
You can catch up on emails, listen to some music, or prepare your mind for your upcoming meeting or appointment.
Tackle tasks at the right time
Your ability to discern important versus urgent tasks is a vital one when it comes to managing your time.
Over the course of any given day, you need to decide whether or not it is in your best interest to complete a particular task at a particular point in your schedule.
Here’s an example for you. Let’s say you need to prepare for an upcoming doctor’s appointment at home.
You’re getting ready to put on your shoes and collect your personal belongings. You suddenly decide it would be a good time to sort through a giant stack of postal mail on the hallway bureau.
Now, it’s not as if the postal mail is unimportant to you. You’ll have to tend to the mail eventually.
At that particular moment, however, it’s not in your best interest to sort through envelopes; that is, if you want to arrive on time to your appointment.
Need to make an immediate decision when it comes to time? Think about how it will affect the rest of your schedule.
Are you focusing on the right task at the right time? Will a non-urgent task slow or hinder your ability to arrive to an appointment on time or finish a project before your deadline?
Learn Simple Time Management Skills For Life
Time management skills have a big impact on everything in life, from your business, your career, your personal life, and beyond.
If you want clarity around honing time management skills in your business or life, schedule a free 30-minute video strategy session with me today.
How about you? What do you find to be the most difficult aspect of applying time management tips to your daily life? Join the conversation and leave a comment below!
Ran late sooo many times by convincing myself I could fit one more task into my day before I left…. and forget spending a “minute or two” on Facebook….
Oh, yes, the “one more thing” train of thought can be a tricky one! It’s great that you are able to recognize exactly where and when the “one more thing” train of thought appears in your schedule. Knowledge certainly is power.