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Get the most out of each day.
By Diane Quintana — Last updated on Apr 06, 2023
Do you know what you want to do tomorrow? Is there an idea in the back of your mind of what you hope to accomplish? How long is your list of things to do?
Thankfully, with some time management tips, you can organize and prioritize everything you need to get done.
If you’re anything like me, you're always doing something. But sometimes, the list of things I want to do is longer than time will allow. Other times, I accomplish everything with time to spare.
As a certified professional organizer, I can honestly say that organizing my day is integral to accomplishing my tasks. And it's all possible with proper time management.
What is time management?
Time management is the ability to use one's time productively. The concept explains how one coordinates tasks and activities within their day to maximize their efforts.
There are multiple benefits of proper time management, including:
- Less stress
- Better work-life balance
- More free time
- Better focus
- Higher productivity
- Less distraction
- Avoids burnout
Unfortunately, there are negative side effects to having disorganized days that lead nowhere in terms of productivity, including:
- Lack of structure and control
- Increased stress
- Sleep issues
- Being easily distracted
- Depression or other mental health issues
- Workplace burnout
- Procrastination
Luckily, by making a few lifestyle changes, you can learn how to organize your time for a more constructive and rewarding feeling.
10 Best Time Management Tips To Organize Your Days
1. Understand and acknowledge the most important things in your life.
Everyone has things that are important to them. So, what’s important to you?
I’m not asking what's on your to-do list. Instead, I'm asking you to identify what you want to attend to on a regular basis. For me, it includes my family, my dogs, my home, my faith, my plants, and my business. Every day, I give a little time to these aspects of my life.
Whatever they are, these are the things you will attend to on a daily basis, even if just for a few minutes. To better organize your day, acknowledge that time will be given to the things that matter most to you.
2. Think about what you're working on each day.
No one can pay attention to everything that's going on in their lives every day. We all have more than a few things that are asking for our time. There are volunteer activities, friends and neighbors to check in with, routine household chores, projects, and our work.
Decide where you're going to focus your attention today. Remember to place your focus on things that support the way you want to live.
It can be tempting to place your focus on something that your peers think is important. Resist that temptation, unless it also aligns with what matters to you. Pick one or two things in addition to scheduled appointments and routine tasks.
3. Divide your day.
To better organize your day, divide it into segments. Morning, afternoon, and evening are the segments that work for me. You may have a different idea and that is completely fine.
I schedule one area of focus for each segment of the day. Sometimes, life gets in the way and the things I want to focus on during that time either get pushed to another time or another day.
When that happens, I make a point of rescheduling the task I had originally planned to do. Remember that "later" is not a time. When you're rescheduling a task, pick a specific day and time.
4. Know yourself.
When do you do your best work? Admit to yourself the time of day during which you make your best decisions. Are you a morning person? If so, organize your day so that you do the most taxing brain work in the morning and physical work in the afternoon.
People who take a little longer to wake up may schedule brain work for midday or evening. I'm an early-morning person. Most of my brain work is done before noon. I leave the afternoon for other things that also matter to me.
Take advantage of your personal strengths and better organize your day so that you do your hardest, most challenging work when you know you are at your best.
5. Make room for free time.
There’s no such thing as "free time." When I was in school, the expression "free time" meant an unscheduled time during the day. I was free to do whatever I wanted.
Allow yourself "free time" to reset your brain and your soul. Free time lets our minds wander, which in turn invites creativity. It feels good to have nothing pressing during that time.
It doesn’t have to be hours of free time — it can be 10 minutes. Close your eyes, or if the weather is lovely find a place to be outside, stare into nature, and recharge.
6. Organize your day the evening before.
At the end of the day, I take stock of what it is I have accomplished and what's left to do. It's not about how much you get done in a day or what you have accomplished, it's truly about how you feel.
I make a point of noticing the things that have gone well and learning lessons from those that haven’t. Then I look at my calendar, review my appointments for the next day, think about which segments of the day I can schedule a few tasks, and decide my focus for the next day.
Planning my day in the evening lets me unwind and relax. When I get up the next morning, I expect how the day will unfold. This is not to say that everything always runs smoothly, it does not. By organizing my day this way, I know what I can let go of, what I can reschedule, and where my flex time is.
7. Try different methods or strategies.
There are several time management techniques and methods that can help, so try a few different ones to see which works best for you.
Here are a few popular techniques to get you started:
- Timeboxing: This is a goal-oriented technique where you complete tasks within "timeboxes," meaning you give yourself a time limit to complete a task. It helps break down bigger tasks into smaller, easier steps.
- The Pomodoro Method: This technique involves scheduling out to-do tasks with mini breaks in between each.
- Eat the Frog: The Eat the Frog method s where you tackle your biggest or most complex tasks first before turning to smaller ones.
- Pareto Principle: Opposite of Eat the Frog, the Pareto principle is where you complete quick tasks first before diving into bigger projects.
8. Stay organized.
It can be easy for a day to get away from you, so make a plan and stick to it. Things always feel more manageable when they are organized. When it's not, you may feel overwhelmed and chaotic, which only causes more stress.
Keep your day and tasks organized so you can tackle your day one step at a time. A calendar or daily planner is your best friend on your journey to better time management skills.
9. Avoid multitasking.
It may seem tempting to get as many things done at the same time, but this can actually cause you to digress in productivity. It leaves you with several unfinished tasks that day, rather than completing just a handful of them.
Finish one thing at a time and see it through to completion. You will feel more productive and won't get sidetracked by other tasks.
10. Group similar tasks together.
Grouping similar tasks together will get you in the groove . If you have to clean the bathroom and kitchen, do them one right after the other. They are similar and require many of the same tools.
This allows you to breeze through these tasks because you won't waste time putting items back and finding other tools, focusing your brain on another very different task. Your mind is already in the correct setting to start your task if they are similar to one another.
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Diane N. Quintana is a Certified Professional Organizer® ,a Certified Professional Organizer in Chronic Disorganization®, Master Trainer and owner of DNQ Solutions, LLC and co-owner of Release●Repurpose●Reorganize, LLC in Atlanta, Georgia.
This article was originally published at DNQ Solutions. Reprinted with permission from the author.