Organizing and managing time: here are my 4 key points

Today I want to share a post that I hope will help you improve the management of your time.

I know, I have addressed this topic several times on my blog, dwelling on several aspects; recently, while updating the content of my training course, I re-read the posts written in the past and realized that I covered some topics and neglected others.

Well, I am going to rectify this by summarizing the 4 guidelines that help me every day in organizing and managing my time.

Here they are!

1) Think about what time represents for you

• Life is made up of the time we live: the way we use it determines the quality of our existence
• Time cannot be bought, produced, or stored; the one we lose cannot be recovered in any way
• You are not multitasking; no one is, not even computers. Resign yourself that you can do well one thing at a time
• Technology is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it provides you with the tools to effectively organize your time; On the other hand, it urges you to constantly change the focus of your attention

2) Organise your work

• Learn to make a distinction between important and urgent activities. Not all important activities are urgent and, more significantly, not all the urgent ones are important. And beware that if the important ones also become urgent…
• Give a structure to activities and projects by arranging their flow. The Eisenhower method and Kanban board will be helpful (any search engine will provide you with information and tools for managing them)
• Keep the flow of your activities under visual control, don’t rely on memory. You may get exhausted and increase the risk of making mistakes

3) Manage your tasks at the right time

• Devote the morning hours, when you have the most energy, to the most challenging activities
• Do right away the things you can do in two minutes; you will feel lighter
• Get your least favourite tasks out of your way. Continuing to postpone them will take their toll on you throughout the day
• Cross off from your plan what you have already done. Seeing your workload decrease will certainly improve your mood
• Group similar activities and manage them sequentially; avoid “jumping around” between quite different things. This will help you use your energy in the best possible way
• Take breaks to give your head the chance to recover energy. The Pomodoro technique may help you.
• Never make decisions in the evening, because tiredness does not help you make good decisions. In short, do like Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind, because in the morning the world always looks differently

4) Work with the awareness that time is not an infinite asset

• Allocate time to handle each task. Not treating time as an infinite resource will help you be more efficient
• Never create an “overfilled” plan: leave yourself room to deal with any emergencies
• Don’t be interrupted by emails, messages, or notifications of various kinds. You decide how to direct your attention, don’t delegate your smartphone
• Don’t do two demanding things at the same time. Talking to a colleague while writing an email or attending two simultaneous virtual meetings will increase the chance of making mistakes and will only give you the illusion of saving time

What do you think? Can this post help you manage your time better?

If you are in doubt, I invite you to reflect on a critical point:

time lost is lost, and you cannot get it back.

And if the quality of your life depends on the quality of your time, would it be worth throwing it away?

Want to know more?

• Time management: define your strategy
• Getting things done!