How many times did you have a goal to have a productive day, but you ended up in your bed, procrastinating? Everyone may have low days but it is important to remember that you hold control for what you do and you hold responsibility for delaying your tasks. It can be difficult to find the balance between having fun and doing work despite all of us on this planet having the same 24 hours in a day. 

So what’s the solution? One is that you need to manage your time more effectively. So, in today’s article, I wanted to share a few tips on how I manage my time more effectively to make the most out of it. I hope it helps :).

Figure out whether you are a morning person or a night owl.

Do you prefer waking up really early and completing your work before leaving the house or do you prefer working in the evenings with a mug of hot tea? After finding out, incorporate this into your routine.

Plan a routine.

Now after figuring out when you like to work best, and when you have free time, you can plan a weekly overview of how your week should look like. Take into account your work time, free time and even extracurriculars. You can choose how detailed you want this routine to be.

Have a planning system that will track all your tasks.

Whether it is bullet-journaling, an academic diary, a digital app or even a simple notebook, find a place to jot down your to-do lists and keep track of your past, present and future. As said in the quote “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail,” make sure to plan daily.

Prioritise your tasks. 

This will help you to know which tasks you should do when and set out the day in order of tasks importance.

Practise good, consistent habits.

It can then take quite some time to get used to this routine but have the self-discipline to keep striving to do your best. You may see the long-term effects of feeling more put-together and may even have more time in your hands. One healthy habit I would suggest for students is to always pack your backpack and tidy up your uniform for school the night before.

Set timers for each task.

To manage your time, you need to keep track of it. The simplest way to do this is by setting timers for each task. If your phone, however, distracts you while doing so, then it is best to buy a timer which alerts you (optional). This will help you to put you in a time constraint and make sure you are not spending too long on one task. By setting timers, you also challenge yourself to complete the task quicker.

Remove distractions.

When performing tasks, especially important ones, it is crucial to remove distractions so that you can focus on your task and get it done quicker. For example, if you keep using your phone while doing your Math homework, it will probably take you longer than doing it without any distractions. 

Be in the present moment.

This may contradict what I said earlier about planning, but it really isn’t. Being in the present moment means that when you are doing a task put all your focus, energy and concentration on that task. For instance, when you study, try not to fade away thinking about something unrelated to it.

Take care of your sleep, diet and organisation.

As much as these three things can be forgotten, they do still play a huge role in your time management. A bad diet and lack of sleep can lead to low concentration levels and high-stress levels which can be wasting your time. Get enough sleep and take time off to have your regular meals too as health is important.

Allocate different spaces for different tasks. 

Your desk should be for work-related tasks whilst your dining room should be to relax. That way, your brain knows which places are for what and can act upon it. 

These were some of my easy time-management tips. I hope this helps (try it out if you want) and for me, it works better the more I practise them. Please share it with your family and friends. 

Please also check out my other articles:

http://surobiscribbles.com/category/lifestyle/l-i-f-e-l-e-s-s-o-n-s/

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!