Wednesday, 17 July 2013

Time Management Tips: 5 Strategies To Reduce Your Study Time

By Lachlan Haynes


If you're reading this it's quite likely that time management is not your strong suit. You probably feel over-worked, over-tired and over it all!

But there are plenty of things you can do to make sure you use your time effectively - and actually save yourself some time in the process. And creating more free time to use as you please is by far the best part of managing your time well.

Tip number one - to-do lists are your friend. If you want to know what you need to get done, then you need to actually write it down and assign a priority to it. So write down all the things that you want to complete and start putting them in order of their importance. People love listing items and then ticking them off as they go. It's very satisfying! It's also important that your to-do items are specific and it's easy to understand when you have completed it. Don't create items like "make a start on my history paper" because "making a start" is too vague. Instead, break the tasks down into simple tasks like "write the first sentence of my history paper." Makes sense doesn't it?

Tip number two - actually prioritize your tasks. Going to back to tip one, you should understand which tasks always come first and which tasks can always be put off. Think of them in terms of air, water and food. You can last seconds without air, days without water and weeks without food. So how quickly will you die if you don't do the task? That should help you clear up the priority level of the task and also creep you out a bit.

Tip number three - tackle procrastination head on. When we look at things we need to complete we have a tendency to look at them as one big ugly task. Instead of doing this, you need to break any big task down into much smaller pieces. For example, in order to write a 2000 word essay you first need to write one word, then one sentence, then one paragraph, then one page, and then 1000 words. By then you are half way done! By it's the breaking it down and getting started that makes the most difference. It's easy to feel overwhelmed and concerned and do nothing. But the smart thing to do is break the task right down and get started on something small. Once you actually start you will realize the task is easier than you thought.

Tip number four - eliminate all distractions! If you wanted to, you could be in a constant state of distraction. The world is full of things and people trying to interrupt you. The real challenge is blocking all that out and focusing on what matters. Distractions can truly account for hours of your time each and every day. That's hundreds if not thousands of hours every year. Instead, you need to focus purely on what you want and then make a beeline for it. Turn off all distractions and get to work. Once it's done you can switch all your distractions back on and prepare to waste some serious time! Woo!

Tip number five - focus on one thing at a time. When you focus on multiple things at once there is a strong tendency to start all tasks but get nothing completed. Not only that, but your work also tends to be of a lesser quality because you are not focusing. That is a poor use of time. Just complete the tasks one after the other in a sequence and you'll find that things get completed quicker and with more awesomeness.




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