Time Management Techniques
                     
1. Complete most important tasks first. This is the golden rule of time management. Each day, identify the two or three tasks that are the most crucial to complete, and do those first. Once you’re done, the day has already been a success. You can move on to other things, or you can let them wait until tomorrow. You’ve finished the essential. 2. Learn to say “no”. Making a lot of time commitments can teach us how to juggle various engagements and manage our time. This can be a great thing. However, you can easily take it too far. At some point, you need to learn to decline opportunities. Your objective should be to take on only those commitments that you know you have time for and that you truly care about. 3. Sleep at least 7-8 hours. Some people think sacrificing sleep is a good way to hack productivity and wring a couple extra hours out of the day. This is not the case. Most people need 7-8 hours of sleep for their bodies and minds to function optimally. You know if you’re getting enough. Listen to your body, and don’t underestimate the value of sleep. 4. Devote your entire focus to the task at hand. Close out all other browser windows. Put your phone away, out of sight and on silent. Find a quiet place to work, or listen to some music if that helps you (I enjoy listening to classical or ambient music while writing sometimes). Concentrate on this one task. Nothing else should exist. Immerse yourself in it. 5. Get an early start. Nearly all of us are plagued by the impulse to procrastinate. It seems so easy, and you always manage to get it done eventually, so why not? Take it from a recovering chronic procrastinator — it’s so much nicer and less stressful to get an earlier start on something. It isn’t that difficult either, if you just decide firmly to do it. 6. Don’t allow unimportant details to drag you down. We often allow projects to take much, much longer than they could by getting too hung up on small details. I’m guilty of this. I’ve always been a perfectionist. What I’ve found, though, is that it is possible to push past the desire to constantly examine what I’ve done so far. I’m much better off pressing onward, getting the bulk completed, and revising things afterward. 7. Turn key tasks into habits. Writing is a regular task for me. I have to write all the time — for school, work, my student organization, my blog, etc. I probably write 5,000 – 7,000 words per week. The amount of writing I do may seem like a lot to most people, but it’s very manageable for me, because it’s habitual. I’ve made it a point to write something every day for a long time. I rarely break this routine. Because of this, my mind is in the habit of doing the work of writing. It has become quite natural and enjoyable. Could you do something similar? (Read “The Simple, Powerful Guide to Forming Any New Habit“) 8. Be conscientious of amount of TV/Internet/gaming time. Time spent browsing Twitter or gaming or watching TV and movies can be one of the biggest drains on productivity. I suggest becoming more aware of how much time you spend on these activities. Simply by noticing how they’re sucking up your time you’ll begin to do them less. 9. Delineate a time limit in which to complete task. Instead of just sitting down to work on a project and thinking, “I’m going to be here until this is done,” try thinking, “I’m going to work on this for three hours”. The time constraint will push you to focus and be more efficient, even if you end up having to go back and add a bit more later. 10. Leave a buffer-time between tasks. When we rush from task to task, it’s difficult to appreciate what we’re doing and to stay focused and motivated. Allowing ourselves down-time between tasks can be a breath of fresh air for our brains. While t



Time Management 
Techniques


Complete most important tasks first.
This is the golden rule of time management. Each 
day, identify the two or three tasks that are 
the most crucial to complete, and do those first.
Once you’re done, the day has already been a 
success. You can move on to other things, or you 
can let them wait until tomorrow. You’ve finished 
the essential.


Learn to say “no”.
Making a lot of time commitments can teach us 
how to juggle various engagements and 
manage our time. This can be a great thing.
However, you can easily take it too far. At some 
point, you need to learn to decline 
opportunities. Your objective should be to take 
on only those commitments that you know you 
have time for and that you truly care about.


Sleep at least 7-8 hours.
Some people think sacrificing sleep is a good 
way to hack productivity and wring a couple 
extra hours out of the day. This is not the 
case.
Most people need 7-8 hours of sleep for their 
bodies and minds to function optimally. You 
know if you’re getting enough. Listen to your 
body, and don’t underestimate the value of 
sleep.


Devote your entire focus to the task at hand.
Close out all other browser windows. Put your 
phone away, out of sight and on silent. Find a 
quiet place to work, or listen to some music if 
that helps you (I enjoy listening to classical or 
ambient music while writing sometimes).
Concentrate on this one task. Nothing else should 
exist. Immerse yourself in it.


Get an early start.
Nearly all of us are plagued by the impulse 
to procrastinate. It seems so easy, and you 
always manage to get it done eventually, so 
why not?
Take it from a recovering chronic 
procrastinator — it’s so much nicer and less 
stressful to get an earlier start on 
something. It isn’t that difficult either, if you 
just decide firmly to do it.


Don’t allow unimportant details to drag you 
down.
We often allow projects to take much, much 
longer than they could by getting too hung 
up on small details. I’m guilty of this. I’ve 
always been a perfectionist.
What I’ve found, though, is that it is possible 
to push past the desire to constantly 
examine what I’ve done so far. I’m much 
better off pressing onward, getting the bulk 
completed, and revising things afterward.


Turn key tasks into habits.
Writing is a regular task for me. For eg: you 
can write and complete your work  by letting 
it your habit — for school, work, my student 
organization, my blog, etc. 


Don’t be addicted to TV/Internet/gaming time.
Time spent browsing Twitter or gaming or 
watching TV and movies can be one of the 
biggest drains on productivity.
I suggest becoming more aware of how much 
time you spend on these activities. Simply by 
noticing how they’re sucking up your time you’ll 
begin to do them less.


THANKS