Is Time management a myth? The difference between hard work and smart work?

You may definitely have heard people complaining to themselves “I don’t have much time to complete my work” or “I’m Busy”. Obviously, you may have said these to yourself as well. For some, they have fruitful hours while some don’t. But everyone has 24 hours per day and experiences the same pace of time. So, is time management a myth?

The reality is, time management isn’t really about managing time at all. It’s about managing yourself. That’s the main reason why some people are able to complete all the tasks of the day with a calm mindset and some are not able to complete a single task and keep worrying. Here are 5 steps which you can follow to manage yourself with the 24 hours you have per day.

1.Identify what you have to do: simply prepare a to- do list.

Most of us are not used to this, people just keep all the to- dos inside their brains and complete them when they pop –up. This has been one of the main reasons why people are not able to manage themselves with time. If you write down all that you need to complete on a piece of paper, you will never forget the tasks you have, all that you have to do is to take that paper and read what you have written. At least this method will reduce your time memorizing your tasks, and reduce stress.

2.Prioritize the list

This is the most important point of self-management with time. This is where successful people become successful and others don’t, prioritizing your work. A simple method to identify, prioritize your work is mentioned below.

All that you have to do is allocate all the to-dos which you prepared in step 1 in to four buckets, which are

1.Important and Urgent

2.Important but not Urgent

3.Urgent but not important

4.Not important and not Urgent

It guides you through the day’s activities in order of importance, ensuring that the tasks that matter most are dealt with first. Once you achieve the important and urgent tasks first, then you can achieve the rest of the work peacefully and efficiently. The usefulness of prioritization can’t be overstated—without it, we often end up focusing on work that’s pressing but not actually that important, simply because a deadline is looming. Prioritization is your most effective defence against the lure of urgent-yet-inconsequential tasks. The important fact is, all of these four categories are linked to one another in order to maintain the procedure of managing yourself with time consistently, you have to complete all four categories. An example would be watching TV and listening to music. Though it comes under not “important and not urgent” category with other tasks you have, it doesn’t mean that you don’t need to watch TV or listen to music, because when you allocate the tasks for the week, you definitely require a rest in order to achieve the tasks which you have allocated for the rest days of the week.

3. Keep Distractions at Bay

It would definitely be a waste of time and energy if you complete all the planning and preparing stuff but if you don’t stay sticked with the plan. Despite our best intentions, we all get distracted due to various reasons. Actually, getting things done with a calm mind is almost always harder than it should be. According to researches its mentioned that it takes about 23 minutes to refocus after an interruption, the productive cost of our daily distractions quickly adds up. So, you need to effectively manage your distractions in order to protect your pace and focus. While some distractions are easy to identify, many people aren’t aware of numerous pressures that fracture their days. Once you have identified the source, you can set controls in place so you decide when to let notifications in. Common culprits like email, meetings and Slack can be effectively managed with the help of a clear communication framework.

4.Bound your tasks with time

This tip helps to achieve all the tasks which you have allocated for a particular day or particular week. If you allocate time only for the Important and Urgent & Important and not Urgent stuff, the time to put head towards the rest of the two is less. But by bounding with an achievable time in order to achieve tasks in each category you can achieve all the tasks with a good quality.

5.Track your time

Ultimately, you can’t improve how you use your time, without understanding how you actually use it in the first place. Tracking your time is elementary here—it provides insight and self-awareness to make effective changes, surfacing hidden time drains, highlighting inefficient processes and laying out your productive patterns. You can also use it to ensure you stick to see how you perform against your time-blocked schedule.

By practicing this method, a number of times, the efficiency of managing work with time can be increased. But we always have to keep in mind that this is just a method for self-growth, this isn’t life. You have to be in touch with your friends, watch TV and do all that undoubtedly falls under “Not important and not urgent “category in order to enjoy life.

Written By: Rtr. Hayshan Kankanamge

Edited By: Rtr. Dulithi Jagoda

Design By: Rtr. Nethmi Hasna Fernando