Time is arguably the most important commodities on earth. It’s something you can never really have too much of. You can spend time in a variety of pursuits and activities, and easily monetise it. As such, anything we can do to spend our time more wisely and efficiently is probably going to be worthwhile.

For this reason, there’s a whole range of activities designed to help us get the most from the time we have available in a given day. We call these, collectively, ‘time management’. But time management is something that too many of neglect. Let’s take a look at some of the reason to pay attention to these skills, and to develop them.

Efficiency

If you’re able to make good use of your time, and waste less of it, then it follows that you’ll be able to do more stuff, more quickly. There’s a word for this: efficiency. Often, the difference between an efficient worker and an inefficient one stems from their ability to manage their time.

Faster Results

Manage your time well, and you’ll be able to promise that personal and professional targets will be met, safe in the knowledge that they will be. Faster results means that you can more quickly onto the next project, and, generally speaking, get more out of life.

Stress Management

If you know exactly what you’re doing with your time at any given moment, then you’ll find it less easy to become overwhelmed by your responsibilities. You’ll know how much time a given task requires, and you’ll be able to react to changes in your circumstances.

Reduces Procrastination

When you have every hour of the day allotted to one task or another, you’ll find the temptation to procrastinate that little bit less enticing.

Self-Confidence

Once you’re able to get more done with your time, you’ll find that you get the warm glow that comes with being productive. This doesn’t just relate to your professional life, but to the time you have available to devote to leisure and spiritual pursuits.

Managing your Time Better

Time management isn’t something you can pick up overnight. It requires a whole range of behavioural changes, and habits that you’ll need to get into. Let’s look at some of the more important tweaks to make.

Sleep

Getting enough sleep will help you to attack each day, and get ahead of the schedule you set yourself. Get to bed in time, and make sure you set aside an hour of relaxation before you turn out the light.

Scheduling

Having a digital calendar or productivity app will help you to keep track of your appointments and deadlines. Set it to notify you of what you have to do in a given day. For example, when you book your MOT test, you can set the date in your calendar so that there’s time available elsewhere, too.

Avoid Distraction

By cutting out distraction, you’ll be amazed at how much time you free up. Remove toys (and phones) from your workspace, and get distracting websites blocked using the right app.