Combating Issues with Time Management Skills

With the ever-increasing demands being placed upon employees in the workplace, it is more important than ever to use and manage your time properly. Today’s workforce often mirrors and is no different than the fast pace lifestyle that is led by many people in their personal lives. Being on-the-go along with having to meet those sometimes bothersome, but unavoidable deadlines can really lead to stressful situations. By developing the skills and utilizing some great tools that are available in today’s market, will help you live stress free while meeting those deadlines and goals that are placed before you.

With the development of technology also comes the development of distractions. I’ve encountered this as have we all when trying to accomplish something that I’ve set out to do. When researching the next article which is to be written or training presentation that needs to be finalized, I’ve caught myself wandering over to Yahoo! Sports on more than one occasion. From people calling, to checking your new status updates on Facebook to everything in between, technology can help us or hinder us. And distractions can be prevalent, at home or in the workplace and can inhibit us from being on time.

Another issue (and arguably the biggest) that plagues a lot of people is, dare I say it…procrastination. Procrastination could come in many forms as well and could grow from being a minor issue to a full-blown major problem. It could take a book to explain the reasons or the psychology behind procrastination, but the important thing, here is that it is recognized as a potential issue when it comes to managing your time.

Seemingly numerous issues might surface that may keep us from being productive in our work and personal activities. Luckily, there are ways to combat these issues and the following tips could prove helpful in accomplishing that.

Either remove the distraction or remove yourself from the distraction. That unwanted phone call that occurs right in the middle of deep thought can completely bring your entire progress to a halt. Make it a point to set your phone to do not disturb so that the caller goes straight to voice mail, for example. If doing research on the Internet or working on a computer where there may be a temptation to visit your favorite website, then first try tracking the amount of time that you spend on these sites for starters. There are many tools available on the web today and can easily be found by doing a quick search for “time management tools,” “online time management tools” or something of the such.

However, if you’re as bad as I am you may need to eliminate having the ability to visit these pages in the first place. A lot of employers already do this by filtering content, but you can even do this if you are working from home or have your own business. Again, you should be able to find what you’re looking for with the searches that were mentioned above.

More so, there are other tools available all over the Internet that can assist you with things like scheduling, prioritization, goal setting and multi-tasking just to name a few. Using some of the present tools helps me to be organized even at my workplace where my employer hasn’t provided them for me by taking advantage of some of the free online ones.

If organizational skills or distractions aren’t your issue, let’s see did I mention procrastination, then you may have to develop the skills to self-manage. The old saying that “I am my worst enemy” never rang truer when it sometimes comes to putting it off until tomorrow. The fact that there’s just not enough time is really an illusion that we create for ourselves. Start by making a commitment to eliminate the blocks that are keeping you from properly managing your time. You may need to change your habits or behaviors that are associated with certain tasks by introducing “wanted” behaviors and habits. Furthermore, focusing on priorities and breaking large tasks down into smaller, more manageable tasks will help alleviate any fears that may be holding you back.

Time management starts with taking a sensible approach and figuring out what would best work for you given the tools to work with and commitment to move forward. So if you consistently find yourself crunched for time it’s always best to be aware of and recognize what exactly it is that’s taking your time away. Work in that area before you start to expand into others. You can then start to curve these time wasters, whether it be procrastination, distractions, disorganization or anything else. You don’t have to be crunched for time when you make time work for you.

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