How Well Do You Manage Your Time?

Time flies. We’ve all heard the saying a million times.

Sure, there are those days when the hands of the clock seem to be moving at a snail’s pace, but they are few and far between. And when we look back, the weeks, months and years seem to pass faster than the one before.

Time is perhaps the one commodity everyone wishes they had more of, yet it is also the one thing in our lives that we will not ever be able to change. So we must make do with what we have been given.

When it comes to finding success in your work day, time management is more important than many realize. If we can’t add more hours to our day, it is important to tweak the way we work to make the most of the hours we’re given.

These time management tips will help you achieve productivity in your workday while still feeling calm and collected.

Find out where you’re wasting time.

Every day, we’re bombarded by distractions. Our smart phones, filled with endless texts, emails, social media outlets, news stories and games, are practically attached to our hands. If we’re not careful, we can find ourselves down the rabbit hole of our Facebook newsfeed or answering emails, and before we know it, an hour has passed.

Spend one day taking note of what each minute of your day looks like. How many times did reach for your phone? How often did you check your email? How much time did you spend perusing useless social media sites? You can’t come up with a solution when you don’t know the problem. Once you know where your time is being wasted, implement a solution.

Take breaks to keep your focus.

It might sound counterproductive, but the attention span of the human brain is not a long time. Especially these days when we are so used to immediate gratification, our brains work harder to stay on task. And just like us, they need a break to rest every now and again.

Download the tools Focus Booster on your computer. This will allow you to set a timer for 50 minutes (or whatever interval you decide is best for you). Once that 50-minute mark is up, take a 10-minute break away from your desk. Repeat this when you can throughout the day.

Put away your phone.

I’ll say it again. Our smart phones these days are practically attached to our hands, and we’ll usually find ourselves coming up with excuses for why we need to check our phones every five minutes, but in reality, they are one of our biggest time wasters.

Put your phone on silent in your desk drawer, and make it a rule that you can only check it when you take your hourly breaks away from your desk.

Set aside time for meals.

While most workdays only include lunch, making time for all meals is important. In the mornings, wake up 15 minutes earlier to give you time to sit down and eat a healthy breakfast. It doesn’t have to be a meal fit for a king, but even those extra few minutes to relax with a piece of toast, glass of orange juice and cup of coffee can get your day started off in a calm and collected manner.

At work, take a 30-minute lunch and don’t eat it at your desk. Whether you bring it outside, eat it in the cafeteria, or go out with a coworker, try to keep work out of the conversation to give your body and mind a chance to refuel.

With these time management tips, making it home in time for dinner with the family should be no problem.

Find a routine that works and stick to it.

Aristotle once said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Cultivating a daily practice is a necessary prerequisite to achieving your goals.

Remember your time belongs to you. Don’t let distractions take control of you. Take control of your time, your day and you will accomplish all that you set out to.