Time management is one of the clefs to productivity. And productivity is one of the keys to success, both at school and in general.
However, time management is not something you can learn directly. It takes time to build, practice, and learn.
In this position, I intend to teach you how to master time management in one week. Once you have built a solid foundation by doing these things, you are on your way to becoming a more productive person.
Day 1: Enjoy
Before you recover, you need to find out what's holding you back. When it comes to time management, that can mean a lot.
First of all, you need to assess how you use your time. Do you spend hours scrolling through TikTok every day? Do you watch the Netflix show every night? Find some activities that waste your time and remember them for later.
Then find out what bad habits are keeping you from being productive. There may be many or even a few. Some common examples are:
- I work while watching Netflix.
- Put it off until the last minute.
- Check your phone every 5 minutes.
Finally, find out what objects are constantly distracting you from your work. These are usually things that shouldn't be on your desk or in your workspaces, such as video games, food, or phones (especially social networks).
Once you've discovered what's preventing you from being productive, the next steps should focus on eliminating these things.
Day 2: Learning to Prioritize
Setting priorities is a very abstract thing and difficult to control. Especially if you are hesitant, it may seem impossible to understand what is important and what is not.
But once you've mastered priority setting, it's much easier to fill out lists of things. You'll become a more efficient, less stressed, and generally more productive person.
How do You Set Priorities?
First, analyze time. There are two things you need to assess: the timeframe (how long you need to do it) and the issues (how much time you need to do it).
Second, analyze its impact. What happens if you don't complete the task? Will you fail in class? Or will you settle for just one episode of Netflix?
Finally, analyze the delegation. Do you have to complete the assignment yourself or can you ask someone to help you? Or can someone else complete the task?
Keep these points in mind as you analyze your to-do list. I also suggest that the planner monitor your day-to-day priorities, as well as your long-term goals, to help you stay accountable and maximize your productivity.
Day 3: Eliminate Unnecessary Tasks
Once you have set your priorities, you can remove unnecessary tasks from your task list.
You can use 4 quadrants to decide which tasks you need to solve first (in another way or in order of priority), which tasks you need to solve later, which tasks you need to delegate and which tasks you need to exclude.
You can download a free copy of this matrix in my exclusive free library! All you need to do is register and you will immediately receive a secret password by e-mail.
Some people are used to writing too many things on their to-do list. For some, it's useful, for others, it's overwhelming.
By learning to eliminate unnecessary tasks, you'll get rid of trivial tasks and stay on the path to super productivity.
Day 4: Planning The Month
That's right, we are planning for a whole month. It may sound scary, but it's a lot easier than it sounds.
First of all, you need a calendar. Whether it's digital or physical (I suggest you use both!), the calendar is crucial for time management.
You can write it down:
- Short term deadlines
- Long-term conditions
- Test data
- Destination dates
- Plans for these dates
- And even more!
Note all the dates above in your calendar (you can also paint them as you wish!). If you are using a scheduler with a monthly variance, you can also write reminders in the weekly variances for that date.
Once you have an overview, it's easier to go into detail and make more accurate plans.
Day 5: Plan Your Weekend
Here we will go into detail and make more concrete plans!
Just like you make your monthly plans, you need to make weekly plans to visualize the days ahead. You should do this at the beginning of each week, it should take a maximum of 30 minutes!
Write down your priorities and important dates for the week in the weekly planner and plan how you plan to meet those dates during the week.
For example, if you have a project to complete on Friday, plan ahead and allow 25 minutes each day to work on the project.
As with the monthly schedule, you can customize your system to maximize your productivity. This means color coding, bookmarking, adding stickers, and much more. Create your own scheduler to optimize it!
Day 6: Create a Morning Routine
Once you've planned the overview, it's time to act. Routine is an excellent starting point, and the morning mode is especially important. If the free morning is a good start, the rest of the day will follow.
To have a productive morning, get up early (I know, ew). By getting up early, you'll have more time to walk on time with peace of mind and without stress.
I like to maximize my morning by keeping my body and mind warm, stretching, and reading or listening to the news, and then spending some time studying or maintaining my blog.
However, it is important to remember that the morning routine is only useful if you stick to it. You need to get used to waking up and doing certain things at certain times.
A good starting point is to invest in a good old alarm clock! Smartphones don't usually work, and alarms go off when you actually wake up.
Day 7: Removing Distractions
The last day of this time management test, and another day to act! To keep the game productive after all you've done, you need to take this step.
Remember what distracted you on the first day? It's time to destroy them completely! Whether it's bad habits or distractions, you must actively try to get rid of them (metaphorically and literally).
If you find that you have a bad habit of doing several things at once during your studies, literally get rid of what needs your attention.
If you're still getting the most out of your work, make detailed plans during the week or month so you can work a little every day.
If you're always sitting on your phone watching social networks, disable all notifications and/or delete the application itself.
Sometimes you have to be a little hard on yourself to see progress and improvements. Also, no matter how hard it is to uninstall TikTok, don't forget the possibilities you discover.
Conclusion
Even if it is difficult to master time management, there is always something you can do to improve it. Start with the children's steps and you'll crush a productive game in no time!