If someone asks you, "How well do you manage your time" can you answer with a straight face? Like most people, you probably find it challenging to answer that question. It's better to think about your time as an asset, not as a burdensome thing that you have to figure out how to use.
By taking time to understand how you spend your time, you can make significant steps to control your time better and improve your efficiency and productivity.
But it's easier said than done. Learning how to manage your time is hard work and demands a lot of dedication, especially if you're working from home and have a flexible job. However, seeing the benefits of your improved time management will increase your motivation to keep at it.
5 time management mistakes you might be making:
1. Procrastination:
This pattern is one of the biggest time-wasters of all. Procrastination ruins the day. You're always behind schedule if you constantly wait for things to happen. You can't get things done on time because you never get started.
Being on time is essential to time management. Procrastination kills productivity. You become irritated and frustrated, which increases your stress levels. Time seems to fly by when you're always behind. And your blood pressure rises.
You also spend a lot of energy trying to keep up. And it feels impossible to do anything right. To work on your procrastination, categorize the things you have to do.
- Write everything you have to do, and then divide them into what's urgent, not critical, and optional. Do what's urgent first. Then, do what's not vital, and finally, do what's optional.
2. A lack of personal goals:
Where would you like to be in the next year, five or ten years?
A person who lacks personal goals will go through life doing whatever they want. That can lead to procrastination because you're not working on things that are truly dear to your heart.
A lack of personal goals affects your time management because you don't have a target to reach. You end up putting in minimal effort because there's no reason to push yourself.
3. Dealing with distractions poorly:
Distractions are bound to happen, and if you're not good at dealing with them, then procrastination will overtake you. All the time you're getting distracted, you're preventing yourself from achieving your goals.
- When you can't focus on what you want to achieve, you will limit your productivity.
Spending time on social media is one of the worst distractions. You're no longer focusing on the task because you're distracted by what everyone else is doing. And some of those lives on social media aren't real.
4. Failing to plan your day:
You can't accomplish anything without a plan. If you spend 10 minutes writing out what you want to achieve that day, you'll be able to stay focused in the workplace and at home.
- A plan doesn't have to be complicated. You can accomplish those tasks as long as you know what you should do. Also, you don't need to plan your day down to every minute of the day.
You don't have to list every activity you're going to do. But simply incorporating a few important tasks into your day is better than randomly going through your day.
5. Not delegating:
If you're trying to take care of everything by yourself, you will not have time for everything. If you try to do everything by yourself, you'll feel overworked. And when you have too much on your plate, you will be stressed out.
Learning to delegate is the way to elevate your game. By passing on, you'll be able to focus on strategy and critical parts of your business.
If you need help with your tasks, you should get one of our virtual assistants to help you! We offer nearshore VAs that will get you the support you need for a fraction of the cost of a US-based employee. VAs are essentially an extension of your organization and can help you in several tasks and industries. Check out our frequently requested positions or our guide per industry to learn more about how a virtual assistant can help you.
- At work, delegate tasks to your VA, and you'll be able to clear your schedule.
- At home, delegate household tasks such as laundry and cooking.
Time management is just a matter of honing your skills. And the more you learn, the better your time management will be and the more you can do in less time. Being efficient with your tasks will leave you more time to spend on the things you enjoy!
We know completing your tasks isn't easy when it feels like there are not enough hours in a day, but we're here to help you! Read our article How to Improve Time Management for more information.
If you are interested in our virtual assistance services, read more about our offer. If you have any doubts, contact us!
