Top Ten Tips: Managing Your Time

Armen Karaoghlanian

5 minute read

It’s time (pun intended) to take “time management” off your resume.

If you feel like you’re always behind on your work, you should actively work on your organizational skills. We’re all very busy. In fact, the worst thing you can ever say is, “I don’t have time.” It’s not a reason. It’s an excuse. In fact, you’re better off by being honest and saying, “It’s not a priority.”

If something was important to you, you’d find a way of “finding the time.” In other words, getting work done is more about working smarter, not harder.

This is our own list of helpful tips on how you can better manage your time.

1. No Excuses

It’s no wonder why this is first on our list. The first step in getting started is to quit making excuses. This is all about prioritizing and making sure you are focused. There is always a way of making sure something gets done if that something is worth accomplishing. The excuses you’ll make along the way are just that – excuses.

2. Sleep

It’s ironic that we’re talking about how you can be more productive by including sleep on our list. The fact is sleep is important because your body needs rest. What is the point of overworking yourself if you can’t think straight or if you’ll crash? If you want to be more productive, you must set aside time for rest.

3. Checklists

We’ve all made a checklist for ourselves at some point, but do they work? The goal here is finding what motivates you. If a checklist works for you, embrace that fact and organize your schedule around them. If a checklist doesn’t work for you, stop wasting your time by creating such lists.

4. Say No

Warren Buffett once said, “The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say ‘no’ to almost everything.” In other words, free yourself up by saying no to the things that will hold you down. There is a limited amount of time each day, so make sure you are spending your time on the things that are important for you and your success.

5. 5. Take a Break

Andy Grove, who was President of Intel said, “My day ends when I am tired and ready to go home, not when I’m done. I am never done. There is always more to be done, more that should be done, always more than can be done.” It’s imperative that you work hard – no one has gotten to the places they wanted to reach without doing so. It’s equally important, however, to take a break when you need one.

6. Reduce Interruptions

Can you work an entire day without any interruptions? No. That’s insane to think about, but try and minimize outside interruptions. The focus you have should be placed on the work itself, so don’t put yourself in a position where frequent interruptions can deter you from your work.

7. Multitask

You’ll slow yourself down by doing only one thing at a time; instead, work on a few projects at the same time. If you’re having writer’s block, for instance, move onto another task until you can come back. This will keep you busy while you’re chipping away at the different projects you have lined up.

8. Think Big Picture

It’s painful being a perfectionist. It’ll keep you from doing your job and doing your job well. So, instead of getting caught in the details, you should actively think of the big picture. The priority should be doing a job well done while actually getting the job done. The small, insignificant details can be ignored if it means getting your work off the ground.

9. Hierarchy

If you’re checking off a series of small tasks, you may feel better about yourself. The fact is, however, that you should be working on the important tasks first. If you get these out of the way, you’ll free up your day because you’ve already nailed the bigger work.

10. Create Systems of Organization

The golden rule of time management is that it’s actually all about organization. The good news is there is no one way of being organized – do whatever works for you. In other words, strategize and map out your day, week, and month however way works best for you.