How to make Time work for You

Staying aware of time is one of the foundations of time management. It may be that you have a bit of “time blindness,” where you don’t see or feel time passing. Without this time awareness, you may be losing time and being less productive. Let’s admit it, when time passes we feel less effective and caught off guard.

Here are timely tips to help you track time and use it as you plan. You can rely on clocks, routines, and work flow to help you be your most productive.

• Place a clock in all the important spots in your home or office. Time awareness begins with an analog clock.
• Have a work flow, not necessarily a set schedule. Rather than a packed time table, set up work times that naturally flow in the context and content of your work.
• Routines are the automation of time management. Establish routines that build success and structure for you. These routines begin and end your work day, and begin and end your daily life.
• Use the Maximum and Minimum strategy to help you know how long a task or project can take. Assess what is the most and least amount of time for these and schedule your work accordingly.
• Check out apps that can help you with time management. These include RescueTime, Toggl, and StayOnTask.
• Use multiple alarms to keep you on track. These include one day out, one hour out, and 15 minutes out from a deadline.
• Bedtime is the remedy for all time management challenges. Getting a great night’s rest solves many time management issues.
• Schedule in free time, fun time and family time. Intentional time to disconnect and reconnect makes you more productive.

Choose a simple start for yourself with just one tip from this list to make you more aware of time and more effective in how you use your minutes and hours.