Time Management Techniques to Increase Your Productivity

Whenever missing deadlines, being late in appointments, and feeling drained without tangible accomplishments are common occurrences in your work life then you have to admit that there is a big problem. Fortunately, this problem is not big enough that good time management techniques cannot handle.

What are time management techniques that will ensure productivity? 

Once you start practicing the following time management techniques you can see for yourself how productive your work day would be:

• Be realistic on your “to-do” list – there are people who have a daily to-do list that is so long you will wonder if the items could be accomplished in a month! Do not be this person. Try to come up with a “processed” to-do list. This means that you have already gone through all the tasks you need to accomplish and you are now going to prioritize the items on the list based on their necessity and value. In other words, your to-do list for the day should only contain tasks that you have to accomplish during that day (necessity) and those that will help you advance your career (value). Four items would suffice since in reality you only have about five hours in a day to actually spend working. If you are not able to finish everything on your list, move the unfinished items on the next day and complete the five tasks again. 
• Avoid tasks that waste your time – if you are in a habit of glancing at your Facebook or other social media accounts every now and then, stop it. If your colleagues are always dropping by to chat, close your door (if you have your own room) or say politely that you have to urgent work to finish. Every time you get interrupted at work, you have to spend extra time trying to get back to the “work mode” you initially have. 
• Have one complete organizer or personal calendar – time management techniques will do you no good if you have no clue what are the things that you need to do given the time that you have. There individuals who maintain different calendars for different aspects of their lives. For example, they have a calendar for their social activities, for their work appointments, and another for personal engagements. This system does not work. The only way you can manage your time wisely is by organizing every little thing that you do in a day. By maintain one organizer/ personal calendar for everything you can readily see, at a glance, if you still have any more available time for other things. 
• Set specific time to finish every task – if you have a specific time deadline in mind your brain and whole body will work with urgency. That is why you need to put time limit on every task and you force yourself to stick with it. You should only adjust these time frames when absolutely necessary like your boss called for an emergency meeting.

Proper observance and application of the above mentioned time management techniques will undoubtedly make your work day more productive. But aside from that, it will also relieve you of stress and tension since you know that you are not helpless but fully in control of your day.