Time Management Principles

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By Juliet du Preez

Want to get more done in a day? Well, you need to manage your time. There are many aspects to time management and everybody is different in terms of what truly works for them, but here are 7 time management principles that will help across board for making more happen in your day:

Prioritize Your Tasks

First, know what you want to achieve for the day. Next, know what you must do in order to reach your targets.

Once you have a to do list, don’t just start doing, decide on the order of doing.

This means you have to prioritize. The aim is to get the order of activities right so that you maximize your efficiency and get round to completing all of the critical bits.

Prioritizing means you won’t get to the end of the day and find that you haven’t done the most critical elements for the completion of the day’s goals.

Estimate Time Accurately

You need to have an idea as to how long each item will take.

If what you have set out to do is impossible, revise your goals and priorities rather than pull the wool over your own eyes, hope for the best and start.

Identify Your Productive Time

Do you have more energy in the mornings? Is that when you should tackle the difficult tasks?

What gives you energy and how can you bring that into your day?

Are there certain times when you find particular tasks easier or faster to achieve?

This is all important in making sure you are most efficient.

Find Short Cuts

Perhaps there are parts you can leave out or you can learn a faster method. Perhaps you can delegate?

Batch Tasks

You will maintain momentum as you don’t have to switch your frame of mind from one task to another.

Reduce Stress

Build flexibility into your schedule. If something unexpected comes along you need to be able to handle it and you need to be able to handle it with minimal stress.

Added stress will take away energy. You possibly may waste time fretting and also reduce your sense of success at the end of the day.

Plan for the unexpected and take it in your stride if it occurs.

If you base your time management system on these principles, you are going to have a strong foundation for success. This means you’ll get more done in the day and more of what you want done in the day.

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