1. Respect your need for sleep by getting 6 to 8 hours of sleep
2. Do a weekly review of the past 7 days
Learning how to do a weekly review is one of the best time management habits to develop. The Weekly Review is a concept created by David Allen, author of the classic productivity book Getting Things Done.
Review your calendar, look for loose ends, meetings and other matters that need further attention are also part of Taskworld project management’s features.
3. Focus on a single task at a time
Once we’re at work, we often find ourselves drowning in a sea of distractions. We’re overwhelmed by e-mails, phone calls, meetings and deadlines. In other words, multitasking is a wasteful way to work.
You’d better allocate one hour in the morning to work on a proposal for a client, then give yourself a short break.
4. Accomplish large projects by breaking them down into smaller tasks
The ability to accomplish large projects is one of the most important time management hacks.
Get started by writing a plan and asking for advice from people who have accomplished similar projects.
5. Set a maximum of three priority tasks per day
At the beginning of the day, it is easy to come up with a to-do list with dozens of items. Unfortunately, unplanned phone calls, requests from the boss and others quickly overturn the best plans. Instead, simply choose three important tasks per day.
6. Learn to delegate tasks effectively at work
Effective managers (and successful professionals) routinely delegate tasks so they can focus on their work better. The basic steps of effective delegation: describe the task and deadline, explain it to the person who will perform the task and ask to be kept informed.
7. Set deadlines for every task
Giving deadlines is one of the best ways to stay organized.
A task without a deadline is likely to frustrate you after all. If your boss gives you a deadline for Friday, you may want to get the work done on Thursday instead so that you have time to review it.
8. Put a proven productivity system like ‘Getting Things Done’ into action
You don’t have to come up with every aspect of time management all on your own. Instead, invest the time to read a great time management book like Getting Things Done by David Allen and put the ideas into action.
9. Put personal rest and relaxation on your calendar
If you are driven to achieve results, it is easy to neglect yourself and work all the time. That’s why it you should always have time on your schedule for enjoyable activities.
10. Admit mistakes quickly and move on
Covering up mistakes wastes everyone’s time including your own. You can achieve much more in life if you admit your mistakes, solve the problem and move on.
Most managers are willing to forgive mistakes, especially if you are honest and work hard at preventing the mistake from occuring again.
