Key Points in Creating a Time Management Worksheet
Time management has proven to be a very beneficial practice in handling activities, be it personal or business. Various methods have been presented in helping you control your use of time, one of which includes creating a time management worksheet.
A time management worksheet is a time management tool that breaks down your daily activities in segments of time, noting the importance and the period span of each activity. This allows you to analyze your time management habits and point out parts that may need changes. But how exactly can you make use of such a tool that is effective? Below are key points to consider when creating a time management worksheet.
Identify your obligated activities and their corresponding time
Generally, a time management worksheet can either be in a tabulated or bulleted form, where the former features a table with rows and columns, having headings for the days of the week and time. This gives a better breakdown of your daily activities and the time you allot for each. It also provides an easier way of pointing out important parts.
Obligated activities are that which take up most of your time and are important for you to accomplish daily. If you're a student, one of your obligated activities may pertain to your classes; on the other hand, if you're already working, then it may be your job. Although these may occupy your topmost list, other general obligations that may follow include activities such as commuting, other appointments, meal times, and a set time for sleeping.
By identifying the time for such daily actions, it lets you calculate the amount of time spent for each and the level of priority for each action.
Identify your free time
In each day, there usually is an allotment for free time where you can insert any activity that may help you in your obligated activities or allow you to rest. Marking out in your worksheet your usual free time helps in figuring out what part of the day are you most likely free.
Breaks, study time, watching television, going out are included in identifying free time. Essentially these activities are not obligatory since they may or may not be acted upon, and depend mostly on your schedule or personal preference.
Examine your situation
After breaking down the activities and allotment time in your time management worksheet, examining each part is necessary. This is to help you analyze whether the time spent for each activity is not enough, enough, or too much. For example, if you're a student, analyzing your time management worksheet may lead you to realize that your study time is not enough, or that the time you spend in taking a bath is too long.
Other than that, the worksheet may open up ‘hidden time' that you didn't know existed or is spent in doing nothing. This examining then would lead you to figure out what changes you should apply to your schedule or the improvements that have to be made to it, so that it would, overall, help in managing your time better.
