Time management:
The word Time refers to the continuous systematic occurrences of things or events. It relates to the past, present, and future. We can furthermore expatriate by saying that Time could be an arrangement, schedule, or plan to do something. Many people struggle to manage their time effectively. Whist the value of time can never be overemphasized. Thus, the saying “Time is money” by Benjamin Franklin shows the great value it holds.
When we talk about time in human existence, we see that it gives a certain form of structure to the day-to-day running of our lives. Human life is measured by time that is in terms of minutes, hours, weeks, months, and even years. To an extent, it helps control the sequence and regulate how we conduct ourselves to achieve our set goals. As humans, time is so important to us as we need time to regulate when we sleep, eat, and even do our daily chores. We also need time to groom our relationships with the people in our lives. Our human relationships grow better when we give quality time and attention to them.
There are more than enough reasons why time is important to our daily lives and why we should not take it for granted. We will be looking at some of them.
1. Time controls all things; As people who lead busy and eventful lives, we must remember that all things are bound by time. At a certain point, all things will age gradually, and people will get old. Even though this occurrence may vary from person to person, it will eventually happen, and if that is something we are conscious of then we will put more planning into how we make good use of our time. So, in essence, time helps us see the reason to be proactive. In investing the earlier you start investing at a young age the chance you would see the reward if you stay the course and ride all the volatility in the market. Make sure you have reliable brokerage like Coinbase which I use all the time.
2. Time wasted cannot be gotten back; time is a valuable resource even more important than money which when not utilized effectively could be seen as being wasted. What you do with your time, how you spend your time matters.
3. Skills are built when we invest our time; giving time to mastering skills will not only build confidence but will ultimately lead to success. For you to be successful in any skill you must give ample time to it. It is said that a minimum of about 10000 hours must be given to master a skill even though the pace at which people master a skill may vary from person to person.
The same can be said in entrepreneurship the longer you’re in the business your chances would be increasing in the opportunity. The same can be said in online content creation it takes a bit of time, consistency for your content to be recognized or rank in the online world. I could remember it took me almost two years to have my YouTube channel Vinneltv monetized, likewise it took me years to have my blog Vinneltv.com approved by Google. Therefore, use your time properly and use that time to put in the work and you would see the result.
4. Time helps give a sense of motivation; when you have set down goals within a certain period, setting a target on when you want to achieve them gives you a sense of motivation or driving force to want to get it down within the stipulated time frame. People will often push themselves beyond their limits to ensure they meet their set targets.
5. Time helps us plan for the future; the phrase “no one knows tomorrow” simply goes to say that we have no control over time or events that happen in our lifetime. Time is infinite (unending) and as such you cannot tell what the next moment holds but if we understand this it will help us make adequate plans for the future to help us handle unforeseen circumstances.
6. Proper time management brings success; when we use our time wisely and judiciously by channeling it in the right direction, we become successful at what we do. A person’s ability to succeed or fail depends greatly on how he or she manages their time. A person who fails to plan ultimately plans to fail.
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What is time management?
- It involves the process of planning and dividing your time between the different activities. We can get things done even under pressure. Proper time management will help us improve our productivity, effectiveness, and efficiency. It also boosts our ability to get more done within a short period.
What is productivity?
In layman’s terms, simply put productivity is the ability to effectively and timely provide or render goods and services. When we look at it from an economic standpoint, it is the efficiency of production of goods and services expressed by some measure. Also, we can say we can do what we need to do to get things done and be successful at it.
10 Ways we can effectively manage our time to increase our productivity.
- we must be effective on how to spend our time and prioritize: Firstly, we must say that keeping a timetable or log will help determine how we will use our time productively. Our ability to itemize our plans in order of priority and which plan will be more time-consuming will help us also help give us a clear path to follow in achieving maximum productivity.
- Make use of a planning tool; It is recommended that the use of planning tools such as dairies, calendars, computer programs, charts, etc., will help us focus and concentrate more on what to do at any given time. Also, proper recording keeping is nowhere way of keeping track of what is being done.
- Appropriately schedule your time; ensure the time allocated to every process is kept judiciously. Also, know the periods of the day when you are very productive and do more tasking jobs or tasks at such times. Do not do too many tasks at once, as multitasking can slow the process of being productive.
- Delegate responsibility; everyone has a certain amount of pressure they can take; therefore, it is wise that we ensure we get people involved in what we are doing. If you want to be productive you must delegate some responsibilities to subordinates. Ensure you select people who can handle specific areas and let them take charge in those areas but under your supervision. This will help give ample time to rest and in some cases handle more challenging tasks.
- Do not procrastinate; as they say, procrastination is a thief of time, try as much not to postpone things that can be done immediately. People tend to shy away from doing very challenging tasks for fear of being overwhelmed or failure however instead of procrastinating, it would be better to do them in bits. Compounding effect would work on your side before you know it that tiny effort, that little by little effort would become a massive force or output that would surprise you.
- Ensure you are healthy; a person’s ability to be efficient and productive is hinged majorly on this as an unhealthy person cannot and will not be able to give their best. You must create time to take care of yourself by ensuring you have regular medical check-ups, and time for relaxation. This will help boost both your mental and physical health. When we manage our time poorly, it can cause us to experience severe tiredness, moodiness, and eventually sickness. Therefore, we must pay ample attention to our health and emotional wellbeing.
- Reduce forms of distraction; in this age and time where a vast number of people are Internet conscious, it would be noticed that people spend a lot of time on their phones and this can hurt their ability to be productive, especially at work. It is wise to have policies that help regulate employees’ use of their phones during work periods to ensure there is less interference from social media. Some companies have regulations on phone usage.
- Have the right equipment: when the right machinery is made available the job gets done faster and saves time. A major setback to businesses is using outdated or bad equipment. This will slow the production process and overtime employees will become exhausted and when this happens the business will be affected.
- Reward efficiency; people tend to do more when they have some form of motivation. If employees are praised, encourage, and give constructive criticism it will help build confidence and a sense of fulfillment and thereby increase their productivity. Above all, always try to make your employees happy.
- Finally, to increase one’s productivity, you must undergo training in your area of expertise so that your skills do not become obsolete. Most organizations organize business training and seminars to help their staff or employees become abreast with innovations and strategies.