Tips for Creating an Effective Time Management Schedule
An important part of good time management is creating schedules. A time management schedule aids in giving a sense of structure to your day, organizing your use of time and resources. It also helps you focus, keeping you from straying in time-wasting activities and those of which will prevent you from accomplishing your goals. Proper planning and thought is needed to have an effective time management schedule, and below are some guidelines in achieving such.
Create your schedule the night before
Planning and creating your time management schedule the night before lets you imagine how your following day is going to be like, and so leaves you to anticipate any issues or problems that might occur. It also gives you time to relax since your next day is already organized and your priorities are in check.
Group your similar activities or tasks
Create a schedule that lets you do tasks of the same nature consecutively so that you wouldn't have to go back and forth on it. This also prevents redundancy and gives more time for you to focus on other tasks.
Make time for rest, relaxation and/or recreation
All work and no play can leave one stressed, and so it is essential for you to schedule a period of time for rest, relaxation or recreation. Too much time spent on working can leave you drained and fatigued which lessens your productivity and results in poor time management schedule.
Taking a walk outside, meditating, and taking a quick nap are just some of the activities that can account for rest and relaxation. For limited time frames, a span of thirty minutes can suffice in re-energizing your body.
Keep your schedule flexible
You should always keep in mind that having a schedule isn't foolproof or will be followed down to the last second. A time management schedule only serves as a guide for you on how your day is going to be like, and a task may take more time than expected. Anticipating delays gives you a chance to be flexible in coping with time.
One issue that this tip also addresses is to avoid overlapping delay times with other scheduled tasks. This means that if a certain task exceeds another task, it should not cut that task in half but rather have the time moved so that it still has the planned allotted time.
Be aware of your limits
An effective time management schedule should not stress you out, but rather give you a good amount of time to do your activities in the most productive manner. Do not create a schedule that will overestimate your abilities, and make you think you're superman. Being aware of your physical limits lets you plan your schedule around it so that the load you will be carrying won't burn you out.
