3 Surprisingly Simple Time Management Tips You Can Use Today

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Have you been searching for 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, I offer 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, run an impromptu errand, or try to fill that 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.

So, the next time a cancellation comes across your calendar, why not go for a brief walk, take a nap, enjoy a hot cup of tea, watch an episode of your favorite TV show, or read your favorite blog or magazine?

 

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 time for your travels.

Think it will take you a minute to get from your office on the 2nd floor to the conference room on the 15th floor of your office building? Realistically speaking, it will probably take at least a handful of minutes to get your belongings together, walk the length of the building 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 will need to decide whether or not it is in your best interest to complete a particular task or errand 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, when you decide it would be a good time to sort through a giant stack of postal mail sitting on top of 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.

Whenever you find yourself having to choose between something that requires your immediate attention and something that’s not quite as urgent, think about how your decision 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?

 

How about you? What do you find to be the most difficult aspect of applying time management tips to your daily life? Do any of the above tips resonate with you? Join the conversation and leave a comment below!

A version of this post appeared on the blog in 2015. 

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About the Author

Rashelle

Rashelle Isip is a New York City-based productivity consultant who helps successful entrepreneurs and business owners manage their time and energy so they can reduce stress, work less, and make more money in their businesses. She has been featured in Fast Company, Forbes, NBC News, The Washington Post, NPR, and The Atlantic. Get her free guide, 5 Unexpected Things You Need to Organize a Work Notebook, by clicking here.

2 Comments

  1. Betty

    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….

    Reply
    • Rashelle

      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.

      Reply

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