Get a Grip on Time

1. Create a Daily Plan – Planning is essential to time management, and you can do this by creating a plan for every day – either the night before or in the morning before your day starts. This keeps you focused and keeps you from indulging in other activities that aren’t necessary, unless they are emergencies and unforeseen circumstances that are totally unavoidable. If you forget to put an activity in your daily plan, then fix it into the plan for the next day.

2. Use Time Limits – Set a time limit for each activity. If you are going Christmas shopping, clearly state in your Daily Plan that you will shop from 1pm to 2pm, and make sure you stick to that. The same goes for meetings, tasks at work, and tasks at home. Time limits help you focus as they identify time wasters.

3. Know your Deadlines and Be on Time – A deadline is supposed to be that time you can’t go beyond on a certain task, not the time you should target to finish your tasks. Being conscious of deadlines makes you more efficient and effective, and it is always better to be done before the deadline than being ‘right on time’. The same goes with attendingmeetings or other events: always aim to be early, not ‘right on time’ or late. Leave African Time for others: you should strive to be better.

4. Get a Calendar and a Clock – A calendar isn’t telling you how little time you have left to round up 2018. It is showing you how much time you have left to still achieve some goals and finish the year strong! And while you go about being intentional about the rest of 2018, always have a time piece nearby, so that you can keep track of time, and not let it get away from you. Set alarms on your phone to remind you of critical things to be done at fixed times.

5. Focus! – You have your Daily Plan, calendar, clock, and you have set time limits and deadlines. Now you need to buckle down and focus. Multitasking is a myth that makes you slow and less efficient. Focus on the task at hand, finish it, then move on to the next one.

6. Cut Out Distractions – There will always be things clamoring for your attention. Social media is the biggest culprit, and you can’t always give in to it. Part of focusing on the tasks at hand means cutting out all distractions. If it means switching off your phone and turning off the TV, do it.

7. Prioritize – Make sure you know what is most important to you and should be done first. Just as time is finite, you also have limited abilities. Trying to do everything at once tends to result in nothing being done. Prioritize your goals and focus on achieving them one at a time. This way, you can achieve something this year, which will make you enter the New Year with more confidence, purpose, and a sense of accomplishment.

8. Delegate – Don’t try to do everything yourself – separate what needs to be done from what needs to be done by YOU. Learn to know what others are capable of and trust them to deliver. Delegating tasks is an effective way to manage time and finish strong, so you must pay attention to this.

9. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff – While being a perfectionist isn’t bad, it could hamper your efficiency and productivity. When it comes to the little details, don’t spend time worrying about them. Look at the bigger picture and be proud of what you have done. So what if it took you two weeks instead of 12 days? What matters is you have finished it: congratulate yourself, promise to do better, and move on to the next thing.

10. Rest – Effective time management is supposed to create some resting time for you. Set breaks between tasks, and make sure that you schedule periods of rest for yourself. You are more productive when your body, soul and spirit have had some quality time to rest.

Signup now and receive an email once I publish new content.

I agree to have my personal information transfered to MailChimp ( more information )

I will never give away, trade or sell your email address. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Finishing Strong!

Purposeful Living

You may also like