Time Management

On the way to school today, I managed to chat with one of my JC mates, Yuan Leng and it was nice as it was the first time in a long long time that I’ve seen her and spoken to her. I was sharing with her what I’ve been doing in the area of Internet Marketing as well,as coping with my studies. Inevitably, the crucial question came, “How Do You Manage Your Time?” from her. For a moment, it took me some time to really think and evaluate myself about it. Well, like most people, I live a very busy life. I wake up in the morning, get to school, study, blog, and before I know it, bedtime at 1.30am is here again. 

But how do I manage to squeeze in the millions of things that I have to do within the 24 hours that I have a day?

Well, this is how I do it.

1) Write out a daily schedule

>> Manage your time better by having a daily routine and note every hour of the day starting from the time you get up until the time you go to bed. Schedule meal times at regular intervals because it keeps you productive and healthy. Always plan at least 6-8 hours of sleep a night. This will get your body and brain enough time to recover, especially from a long day.  

2) I write out all of my priorities for the day.

>> At the start of the day, note what are the most important things that you have to get done every day?  These priorities should be the things that are the most important in YOUR life and you should put these priorities in order of importance. Manage your time and complete those tasks that have top priority and the closest deadline!

3) Plan and incorporate your priorities into your schedule.

>> Firstly I can’t live without my organiser. That’s where I write down all my priorities and well, plan when I’m going to accomplish them. Determine the time of day that you are at your best and schedule your most important projects there. 

 4) Don’t overload for a day.

>> Never try to do everything in one day. Because by doing so, it makes you stressed and anxious to complete everything and in turn, your work performance suffers. Schedule them out over the period of a week or more. You can schedule an hour each day to work on individual projects.

5) Always have time for leisure activities.

>> Keep some free time every week for activities such as relaxing around the house or going out to a movie. Moreover, plan time for your household chores too. It doesn’t have to be daily but you should schedule in enough time through the week to get things like laundry and cleaning done.

6) Check those items when they are accomplished.

>> It gives you a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment. It makes you feel less stressed by knowing that things are getting completed in a timely manner. It gives you an opportunity for you to reward yourself after accommplishing the task!

It helps for you to plan ahead and gets you psychologically ready for all your tasks and the schedule for the times ahead. Do remember to schedule tight and do not waste any time between projects. Be flexible and adjust your schedule whenever you feel that it’s not maximising your time and effort. Be adaptive to changes too, because life is just so unpredictable!

5 responses to “Time Management”

  1. Desmond Ng Avatar

    This is a very constructive article. Its all about time management.

    I used to be a slug. I spend my time so fast and always end up completing nothing everyday.

    Ever since I took up a Plan-your-next-day-tonight. Everything seems so easy. Finish what you need to do for the day and enjoy. Its so much easier to plan daily then to plan your life!

    Remember to give yourself breaks in between the day and in between weeks.

  2. Calvin Avatar

    Hey Patricia darling!

    nice points you have raised up regarding time management! Anyway, another thing to take note is to raise the level of one’s productivity. You see, everyone of us has the same amount of time each day. So why is it that some people can accomplish so much more in a single day?

    Think about a day of a CEO in a huge corporation. He has so much more responsibilities and problems to manage. So if he is able to find time, why can’t us?

    Alot of my friends like to complain they got no time as well. But the question is what are they spending their time on? I look at their life and realize they are spending their time on unproductive stuffs.

    Since you can’t increase the amount of time you have, focus on increasing the productivity instead.

  3. -:-queen pat-:- Avatar

    Hi Desmond! I’m glad tat u took up the daily planning routine which is definitely easier than planning your life. Haha! Keep planning what you gonna do tomorrow then u’ll have tomorrow to look forward to!

    and to Calvin dear.. yep, it’s important to remain focused and aim to be productive each day. But for certain things we can leverage them in order to maximise our 24h, right?

  4. Calvin Avatar

    hi dear,

    yup yup leverage. it’s definitely a very powerful tool..

  5. Aaqil…

    Thank you for your great post, i am always looking to improve my home for my familiy, and your post have given me some inspiration, thank you very much …

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