Time Management Hacks Nobody Talks About
Nobody enjoys working overtime or a minute longer than they’re required to, no matter how dedicated or committed they are to their work or a specific project. However, more often than usual, people struggle to get things done on time and maintain a proper work-life balance.
The truth is times have changed. We live in a post-pandemic digital age where we have more on our plates than ever before in the same timeline due to increased competition, changing consumer demands, and the influx of new technologies and solutions. As a result, conventional time management strategies and tactics will no longer cut it.
Therefore, in this post, we’ll share six powerful time management hacks for the new normal that will make you feel like there are more than 24 hours in a day.
Six Time Management Hacks Successful People Don’t Want You to Know About
1. Avoid the Tech Rabbit Hole
Have you noticed that the same technologies and devices we use for work (laptops, smartphones, the internet, etc.) are also our main sources of distraction? Think about it.
We use the same smartphones to communicate with our teams or bosses when working remotely to communicate with our friends and family during work. Similarly, we use the same computer to complete our daily tasks and spend a considerate chunk of our time browsing products on Amazon, scrolling through social media, or indulging in other non-work-related activities.
As our reliance on technology to get things done grows, we’re more likely to drift down the tech rabbit hole and lose hours of productivity. Although the nature of most technologies is to enable constant and instant connection, you have the power to avoid this rabbit hole and limit unnecessary usage.
This attitude begins with understanding why technology is one of the leading causes of distraction. From a psychological perspective, technology offers an escape route for people as the human mind is naturally drawn to more enjoyable tasks or experiences.
Therefore, scrolling through Facebook, watching a video on YouTube, or playing a mobile game while working is quite common. However, this behavior becomes a problem when a video turns into two or three, or 15 minutes of gameplay turns into an hour away from work.
This is where you need to intervene. Fortunately, there are many ways you can do this. For instance, you can:
- Turn off email, text, instant messaging, and social media notifications when working.
- Put your phone beyond reach for a couple of hours or more, especially if you don’t need it for work.
- Set unique ringtones for colleagues and work notifications when working remotely.
- Be intentional about time management during work by designating technology time (lunch, graveyard shifts, etc.)
2. Start Your Day Early
Did you know that over 50% of self-made millionaires worldwide wake up at least 3-4 hours before their workday begins? According to a 5-year study by Tom Corley, most c-level executives and professionals in leadership and management roles wake up earlier to plan their day to ensure everything is streamlined according to their requirements.
Many also include contingencies in their daily to-do lists in case things don’t go their way or if they have to deal with emergencies or urgent tasks, while others get a head start to finish early or avoid clocking out late.
In contrast, some consider these extra hours their “me time” and indulge in all other activities that would’ve otherwise affected their time management. For instance, they get up early to exercise or go out for a run.
Working professionals with school-going kids use this time to spend valuable time together as a family. Meanwhile, others run their daily chores to avoid distractions during work. However, what your plan is, you need to ensure you get sufficient sleep, and the only way to do that is to sleep early.
These two habits can make a huge difference to your overall time management and help you get more done in 24 hours than before.
3. Create a Priority-Based To-Do List
This is by no means a new time management hack. For years, if not decades, creating to-do lists has been a popular practice among professionals who write or type out all their tasks or activities for the day or week and cross them off the following completion. The only problem is that traditional to-do lists don’t necessarily tell you the order in which the tasks need to be completed.
Here, priority-based to-do lists come in to help users organize all their necessary tasks according to their order of priority and workflow. In many cases, starting with the easiest or quickest tasks won’t work if you miss out on completing a more critical task or spend too much time on it.
Either case can result in anxiety, frustration, and fatigue, among other adverse effects. Therefore, a great time management hack to prioritize tasks involves choosing the top three most important tasks of the day and ranking them based on urgency, complexity, overall value, and the possibility of extension or delegation.
This approach will help you pick the most productive times of the day to work on them. Choosing the most straightforward task will also help you avoid procrastinating unnecessarily, enabling you to complete it at a single pace without distractions.
However, in many cases, you might have to eat the frog and deal with all the unpleasant or most complex tasks just to get it over.
4. Set a Task Alarm
In most cases, the time required to complete a particular task varies depending on length, complexity, and priority. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t anticipate the completion time, especially if you’ve worked on a similar task or project. Set a task alarm to help you develop a deadline for completion.
This action creates a psychological environment that prompts workers to increase their focus and think of their tasks as exams that need to be completed before the timer rings. Thus, they work faster and get more done compared to their typical routines.
More importantly, it can prevent them from working more than their required hours by realistically breaking down their tasks according to their shift schedules.
5. Summon Your Inner Fortune Teller
No, you don’t need to get crystal or teller cards for this. However, in-depth knowledge of your tasks, schedules, and projects would help. If you use task or project management software, that’s a bonus. Summoning your inner fortune teller is about activating your inner state of consciousness and living one work day ahead at a time.
For instance, if you know your schedule or plan for tomorrow, you should picture how you’re going to start your day and plan all your non-work-related activities around it. More importantly, anticipating both good and bad outcomes can help you plan for emergencies and even prompt others in case of a delay, schedule change, or delegation.
In the modern age, being a good time manager is being proactive, even if you cannot get everything done.
6. Create a Proper Work Space and Environment
Whether working from the office or your bedroom, you need a dedicated, uncluttered workstation with everything you need in one place to minimize distractions. From a psychological viewpoint, this provides the proper environment to get things done quickly and effectively.
More importantly, it mentally shields workers from non-work-related tasks or activities, so they know what that space represents. From a time management perspective, creating a proper workspace and environment involves proactively preparing it for the task at hand. For instance, if you need more working space, you might need to clear your table of electronics and other items.
In remote environments, it may involve having everything ready to move at all times to ensure you don’t have to deal with packing or other activities that lead to unnecessary delays. For instance, many workers opt for a bag with all the essentials they need to work from anywhere, including stationery, a power bank, a charging brick, and an internet device.
Wrapping Up
So, there you have it – 6 incredible time management hacks nobody talks about. With these techniques or tips, you can get more done in less time and maximize your productivity. Of course, adopting these hacks and making them a habit won’t happen overnight. However, change always begins with the first step.
So, assess your routine and lifestyle to see how effectively you manage your time and activities. Don’t be too shocked to learn there’s room for improvement. No matter how skilled or experienced you are, there’s always room for improvement.
