The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.”— Michael Altshuler Time management is critical to get the most out of your day and remaining productive. Time management is about staying focused, changing your behavior for the better, and devoting attention and effort to each task. Efficient time management will help you improve and progress throughout your career in your professional life. Organizing each day to complete your tasks on time, staying engaged and focused during important meetings, and being creative in your studies are key ways to manage your time well.

Along with our professional life, time management allows us to manage the work-life balance in a perfect ratio without disturbing either of them. Thanks to time management, after leaving the workplace satisfied, it is easier to spend time with our friends and family without being stressed about work. In contrast, being unable to manage your time correctly will leave you overwhelmed and stressed, along with a tight work schedule that you are behind on. Below are habits that will help you manage your time exceptionally well. Set The Goals Right Away Achieving your goals at the right time is a core part of time management.

When it comes to time management, setting the right goals is crucial. Start with small goals, and that is not breaking larger goals into smaller ones. Setting those small goals will help you achieve them immediately, giving you a head start and motivating you to do more. Prioritize Work When prioritizing work, it is better to list all your tasks and then prioritize them—set reminders about priority tasks and why you have made them your priority. Use post-it notes to help you with the functions.

Audit Your Time For Seven Days Straight Auditing and taking accountability is an excellent way to manage time. Assess how you spend your time daily and record it. Split the day into hours and analyze where you have worked and where you might have wasted your time. Reduce time wastage and increase work in any deserving area. By the end of the week, you will have the numbers in the form of working, time-wasting, relaxing, etc., which will make it easier for you to make changes.

Start With Your Most Important Task. Starting with the most critical task increases your productivity because there are fewer distractions and interruptions in the morning. In addition, we feel more motivated and focused on work early in the morning rather than later in the day. Finishing the critical and challenging tasks would motivate you to do more, and finishing smaller studies later would feel like a reward. Avoid Multitasking If you want to get more work done in a lesser time, stop multitasking.

As good as it sounds, multitasking is an inefficient way of completing your tasks as you will not focus entirely on one charge. On the other hand, mono-tasking is an efficient and productive way of handling your tasks. Taking one job at a time will have your complete attention and focus, leading you to make fewer mistakes. Delegate Work Delegating work means handing your workload to someone else and giving them the authority to complete it. This method is available to people in a management-level positions and above.

This time-saving method allows you to hand off some of your workloads to your subordinates and focus on the critical tasks yourself. Take Regular Breaks Taking small and regular breaks allows us to relieve our stress and tension productively. It allows you to boost your concentration level and increase your focus while working. You also achieve effectiveness and efficiency by taking healthy time short breaks. However, only engage in planned breaks; unplanned breaks only act as interruptions and distractions from work.

Schedule Email Response Time Emails are critical and a fast and more convenient way to communicate than phone calls, especially in your professional life. However, opening hundreds of emails daily is no small or easy task. Set aside time to respond to emails, as managing that poorly will hinder your productivity. Organize your inbox in different folders, labels, and categories to help you efficiently select and work on emails. Manage To-Do List Notes A to-do list lists all the tasks you need to carry out in the day or week.

At the top are the priority tasks, followed by low-priority ones. By making a to-do list, you ensure you have all your tasks written down in one place and do not forget anything important. You can assess which task needs your immediate attention and which job you can do later. Once you get the hang of these habits, time management will come naturally to you.