There are successful time management habits and there are unsuccessful time management habits. Some time management habits are successful for some people but just don’t work for others. Habit is an important word in time management. It is estimated that up to 90% of our daily activities are habits e.g. the time we get up at, the times we eat meals at etc. It stands to reason that if you want to improve your time management, you need to improve your habits. You need to identify the time management habits that don’t work for you and replace them with successful time management habits.
Bonus: Click on the image below to learn 62 Time Management Strategies to drastically improve your productivity.
10 Successful time management habits
Not all time management habits are successful for everybody but from my experience, the following successful time management habits will work for the vast majority of people.
1. Don’t be late
If you’re the culprit who is always late for everything, it’s time to stop this annoying habit and take responsibility for yourself to be on time – always. Being late wastes your own time, and others!
First, you must identify the cause of your lateness. Sometimes the answer is clear and other times you may not realise you’re setting yourself up for it. Pay attention to your patterns and the history of your tardiness. When preparing to go to work or other places you need to be on time. Then, begin to consider appointments and other set times as non-negotiable.
Begin with one appointment or set times such as arriving at work on time. Prepare or do everything you must do to get there on time and when you achieve that goal, think about how you felt. When you realise the benefits of being on time e.g. you are not rushed and you are better prepared; you will see that it is both easier and more effective to be on time.
2. Practice singletasking
There has been a trend over the past twenty years for people to try and do as many things as possible at the one time i.e. multitasking. People seem to think that by working on more than one thing at a time, they get more work done. The problem with this myth, and it is a myth, is that people don’t actually test to see if they are getting more done.
Here is the simple truth about multi-tasking; you can’t do it. Nobody multi-tasks. What you are actually doing is rapidly refocusing. You are moving between tasks but each time that you do, you have to refocus on the new task before you can get going with it. In reality, very few people are good at this so they lose time every time that they switch tasks. Over the course of a day, this can add up to a lot of time lost.
Not only does multitasking actually slow you down; it impacts on the quality of your work. In order to do your work to the best of your ability, you must be able to give a task your full and undivided attention. You cannot give two tasks your full and undivided attention at the same time.
3. Get enough sleep
If you are having serious problems with your time management, one of the first things you should check is your sleep habits. Are you getting sufficient quantity and quality of sleep? If you are not sleeping properly, you are going to be tired throughout the working day. This impairs your ability to perform to your best which in turn slows you down.
No matter what type of work you do, your daily activities take their toll on your body and mind. Sleep is your body and mind’s opportunity to recover from your daily exertions and prepare for the next day. It is imperative that you maximise this opportunity to recover.
4. Small changes
Once you get bitten by the time management bug, you will be forever considering new successful time management habits. You may experience an urge to implement them as soon as you discover them but this can be detrimental to your efforts.
If you make too many changes in your life at one time; your life can become chaos. Your whole life can be thrown out of sync. Rather than help you, this can hinder you as the time management habits which were working for you are cast aside in an attempt to embed the new habits. As you struggle to manage the major changes, you are likely to give up on the new habits and you may even give up on the habits which were working for you too.
When making changes to your habits and routine, it is far better to make one or two changes at a time. When those new time management habits have become part of your routine, you can then add the next habits. It may seem a lot slower but you will find that it is a lot more successful.
5. Turn your phone off
Mobile (cell) phones are supposed to make our lives a lot easier. They mean that we are contactable at any given time; unless we choose to make ourselves uncontactable. And, that is a point that is often overlooked; we can choose not to be contactable.
The poor management of mobile phones is becoming a major time waster. As I write this article, I want to concentrate solely on the article. I have turned my mobile phone off. I am not worried about missing a call as I have voicemail and my phone notifies me of any missed calls as soon as I turn the phone back on. It is highly unlikely that somebody is going to die because I have my phone turned off.
I have had to make a choice about what is more important – a potential phone call or the article. I have chosen the article. Not only can a phone call, text message or email disrupt you; there are so many things you can do on your phone that it becomes a constant source of distraction. If you are working on something important and, you are not expecting an important call, turn your phone off while you get the work done. You will get the work done quicker and you can then be contactable again.
Another issue which really bugs me with phones is people answering them in meetings. We can all forget to turn our phones off but to actually answer it during a meeting impacts on everybody else at the meeting. Not only is the discussion disrupted but in many cases, they have to wait for you to finish the call. This wastes time for everybody and it is incredibly disrespectful. If there is something more important than the meeting; do not attend the meeting.
6. Learn to say ‘No’
Constantly saying ‘Yes’ to every piece of work that comes your way is one of the biggest sources of stress that you can experience. Some people think that time management is just about arranging, scheduling and prioritising. However, there are some components which are just as important but don’t require you to do the work e.g.
-
- Declining work which doesn’t need to be done
-
- Saying ‘No’ to work which is not your job
-
- Saying ‘No’ to work when you know that you won’t be able to meet the deadline
- Delegating work which somebody else should be doing
In more simple terms, just because you are asked to do something does not mean that you should do it. If it is not right for you to be doing it, you should say ‘No’. This reduces your workload but over time people come to appreciate your honesty as they can find somebody more suitable for the work which ensures that the work is completed sooner and to the highest standard.
Saying ‘No’ is one of the most important and successful time management habits.
7. Exercise
Work can be a source of a great deal of pressure. When you feel that you can no longer cope with the pressures that you face, you begin to experience stress and the many negative symptoms that come with it. If you want to progress in your career, you need to be able to cope with increased pressure, so how do you do it?
Exercise is one of the best ways to improve your ability to cope with pressure. By working on your fitness and strength, you will increase your physical and mental resilience. Over time, the level of pressure that you can cope with will grow, allowing you to take on bigger challenges both in your work and personal life.
If you do not do so already, it’s time you included regular exercise amongst your list of successful time management habits.
8. Timeout
I discussed earlier how sleep is essential for recovery and preparation. However, the most successful people do not wait until bed time to get their recovery. Even during World War II, Winston Churchill insisted on taking a nap during the middle of the day. This allowed him to return to work refreshed and recharged. He was then able to perform at a higher level for the remainder of the day.
Another great way to take some time out to recharge your batteries is to meditate. I practice Transcendental Meditation, twice per day, and I can assure you that it makes an amazing difference to my performance levels.
Your body’s energy levels work in cycles. If you track your energy levels, you will see that there are times when you feel totally energised and there are a couple of periods where your energy levels dip. When your energy levels dip, your body is trying to rest and recover. By meditating or taking a nap in the middle of the day, you can actually aide your body’s recovery.
9. Compartmentalise
It is essential that you do not become too obsessed with one area of your life. It is not just your body that needs to take a break, your mind does too.
You need to be able to enjoy every area of your life. When you are in your personal life, you need to be able to switch off from work. Then when you return to work, your mind will be recharged and you will be more motivated and enthusiastic.
10. Have a plan
Recently, while waiting for my new computer, I only had access to a computer for a few hours per day. To maximise this time, I had to produce a plan for that time. I couldn’t produce a detailed plan but what I could do was make a list of everything that I was going to try to do during that time on the computer.
Once I had that list, I was able to make sure that I brought everything that I would need with me. Then, when I was on the computer, I was able to work through the tasks very quickly. I didn’t need to think or decide about what to do next; I just took a quick look at the list and moved on to the next task. This allowed me to do a huge amount of work during this very difficult period.
The type of plan that I used in this situation was as basic as it comes but it allowed me to do a lot more work than I could have if I had no plan at all. One of the most successful time management habits of them all is to have a plan for your day. Know what you are trying to achieve from the day and have a plan to make it happen. You won’t always be able to complete your entire plan but I promise you that you will get a lot more done with less effort when you have made a plan for your day.
For more powerful time management habits, check out The Organised Mind.
If you want to improve your time management, you need to implement successful time management habits. With up to 90% of your daily activities being habits, you need to get to a stage where you do the right things instinctively. It can take a lot of time to eliminate your bad time management habits and replace them with successful time management habits. But, there is some good news; because they are habits and behaviours that you do regularly, each habit you change will lead to some serious improvements. So, why delay? Pick the habit which you think will have the biggest impact on your life and start implementing it today.