Time Management Fundamentals: Why Is It Insanely Crucial For Success?

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Time management is a crucial skill for success. But many people still ignore it.

Research by Zippia found that the average worker spends 51% of the time on low to no-value tasks. And that’s understandable since 82% of people don’t even have a time management system.

So, who’s doing the work?

I’m not saying people are not working. But they delay, procrastinate, and break tasks so often that it takes them hours to finish a task they could have ended in a few minutes.

According to the American Psychology Association, 20% of adults regularly delay their tasks. While the typical employee is only productive for 2 hours and 53 minutes daily, says VoucherCloud.

These statistics are disturbing. But the problem is that we got used to this working methodology. We got used to multitasking, no prioritization, and distracted work. And we spend 9% of our annual work switching between apps.

So, how can we fix this?

The answer is simple — you need a better time management system (or a new one entirely).

I could give many definitions of time management. But let’s try finding one that can include everything it does. I would say that:

Time management is the ability to prioritize and schedule tasks to make you more efficient, flexible, and stress-free and allow you to use all available time.

In this sentence, you can already see what time management does ( prioritize and schedule) and which are its main benefits (efficiency, flexibility, and less stress).

But is it that important? Couldn’t you do your tasks as you always did until today?

I faced problems with time management the moment I got to high school.

I have always been a fast learner (you can hate me for that if you wish). And until then, I never had to study that much because I paid attention in class and remembered almost everything. But high school was different.

There were too many things to know, and they weren’t easy. I needed practice and study to remember anything. But I was not used to it. So I spent my first year on books day and night.

I was unorganized. I jumped between subjects without any breaks. And my friends kept distracting me, asking me to go out all the time.

When I finished my first year, I was exhausted. And I promised I would never make the same mistake again. But I ran it down again the second year and the third.

In the last two years ( here in Italy we have five years of high school ) I finally recovered. My math teacher told us to schedule our study sessions once , and I wanted to try. Luckily, it was enough to get me out of high school.

I struggled to manage my time efficiently in the past. But as I started doing it, I noticed many benefits that boosted my productivity. I was working and studying better. And I had more time to nourish my hobbies and relationships.

Here are ten benefits I got from learning to manage my time.

Scheduling all my tasks and moving them around on my calendar gives me a sense of control and empowerment. Even when short on time, I feel in control and powerful. So I am more motivated to do my tasks.

I can allocate tasks in an efficient way that considers my other commitments of the day. Also, I can work on the tasks that matter the most and leave anything unnecessary for later.

I work in 30-minute to 2-hour slots. So, I break down my goals into small steps that I can achieve easily. Completing those small steps boosts my motivation and sense of accomplishment.

I can create dedicated blocks of time to focus on a specific task and leave out any distractions. I am more productive because I don’t switch contexts between activities. So I can focus on high-priority tasks and get the most out of my productive hours.

I am responsible for the success of my schedule. I manage the consequences of any missed deadline. And responsibility makes me more disciplined, committed, and proactive to work on my goals.

I can use my free time to start new hobbies, attend events, and network with like-minded people. And I don’t feel ashamed because I am confident in my schedule. I know I can do anything I planned.

My task estimation skills increased after a few repetitions of the same task. So I can allocate my work better and get more free time out of my schedule.

My procrastination often came from the uncertainty of what to do next. But now, I know what my schedule contains. So I can jump from one activity to the other more efficiently.

I don’t have to spend my free time finishing tasks I procrastinate or forget about. I have more time to focus on my private life and nourish my relationships.

I rarely miss my deadlines, procrastinate, or work in rushes. I plan all my tasks and leave free slots for any last-minute commitments.

I can allocate time for physical and mental exercises. I couldn’t do it before because I finished working too late and was exhausted. But now, I can prioritize my health.

I appreciate my time more because I understand its value and scarcity. I can make more conscious choices, prioritize, and avoid procrastination.

You can use many strategies to improve your time management skills. But usually, people focus on three main points:

• Prioritization — find and complete the essential tasks on your list.
• Goals breaking — split your goals into simple tasks you can complete in a few hours.
• Batching — put similar activities in the same batch of time to reduce the effects of context switching.

Prioritization is the first thing you will have to learn if you want to improve your time management skills. And it will be the biggest challenge because, in the beginning, everything seems necessary. But you will soon notice some things matter the most for your success and things that don’t matter that much.

I already discussed extensively about prioritization and we will see more of it in the upcoming ebook. But for now, you can check out these articles on the topic:

• Discover Your Life Priorities in Three Easy Steps
• Mastering Prioritization: How to Use The Simple Big Rocks Theory

You can’t achieve effective time management without the ability to break down goals into small pieces. And for that, you could use techniques like SMART goals that help you create:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• And time-bound goals.

Here’s a complete guide if you have never heard of them: How to Write SMART Goals (with examples).

Time batching is an advanced time management strategy that helps you reduce the context-switching cost of your tasks.

When you split your goals into batches, you work on specific topics for longer sessions. You put everything together, even if there is more than one task. But this organization helps you work more efficiently.

I wrote an article about batching (How To Boost Your Content Output Every Day With Batched Tasks) that can help you take your first steps. Or you can wait for the ebook, where we will discuss more in-depth about this technique.

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