Last month was very bad for me in terms of posting blogs . I was very busy(???) with the presentation of a research paper . I presented it successfully on 4th July. Three days have passed after that but still no blog post .
I am a stickler for time . I want to utilize every second , but still I could not write a blog post ! I have written so many posts about time management , but I failed myself this time. Even while preparing for the presentation, I could have saved time. I lingered on it unnecessarily, changing a period here and a hyphen there ! Remember Parkinson's law ? " Work expands itself so as to fill the time available for its completion ". How true this is !
You know, it is easy to say certain things but we have to sustain doing it. In this post today, I want to remind revise and refresh my time management skills. Hope this tips helps you too to do the same .
- Where are you headed ? If we do not know the answer to this ? we will never be able to prioritize . If we are not able to prioritize, we will never be able to focus. If we cannot focus we will waste time and will be waylaid away from our goal .
- Do it Now ! The best way to do tough , challenging jobs or boring jobs is to do it NOW. Just jump into it without thinking or procrastinating. When we know that we have to do it, then why delay
- Sleep over it . This is just the opposite of the previous point. Sometimes, when we keep on trying to do something which is just not getting through or we are going dry on ideas, just leave it for the day. Sleep tight. And the next day ... magic ! We strike upon the most amazing solution for the task and it gets completed successfully in a giffy. Yes. This has happened many times with me. Actually, our subconscious mind keeps on working on the problem even when we sleep !
- Work when you are the most effective . All individuals are unique. We all have our circadian cycles and specific time periods in the day when we are the most productive. We should identify this golden time period and utilize it for the work which is of the utmost priority.
- Perfection... good or bad ? It depends. For me what works is that the output should be good enough (not perfect) and a little bit extra. Slogging away to do a task till you are 100% perfect (apart from few tasks like heart surgery or rocket manufature etc. )is usually not needed , neither very productive or noticeable.
- Beware of Time thieves ! There are people who will try to steal away your time. For example , a phone call which is not related to your work, or some mindless whatsapp message or looking at social media. Beware of these and try to protect your time like a new born baby. Yes , it is as precious !
- Exercise and stay healthy and fit ! If you feel sluggish or tired , your productivity goes for a nosedive. So , keep moving, eat healthy, energize your mind and stay positive. Believe me, it saves time !
- Use your travel / wait time. I find this very effective. I have a list of people with whom I need to talk. While driving , I utilize my time to catch up on social talks, calling my parents or my daughter. Yes, I do try to see that I am not disturbing their schedule ! I can concentrate quite well on my writing while I am travelling on train. Also, I keep my kindle handy with me so that I can catch up on my reading whenever there is any traffic jam or I have to wait in a queue !
- Learn to say "No " . Yes , at work or at home, you will be bombarded with activities , tasks or adhoc requests . I know we cannot say "No" everytime to our boss, but sometimes even that is needed. First and foremost, I am the slave of my own tasks. There are ways we can say no, without being rude.
- No to too much of multitasking. I am a big victim of multitasking. I want to do many things together. As a result of that, I am spread across too thin and none of my work gets done in the time frame that I want to and I get the feeling of being unproductive. So, folks, I have started reducing my tasks . I am trying to focus .
What about you ?
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