time management tips / Time management at work / Time management tips for work

6 time management tips to get the work-life balance you've been aiming for

. 4 min read . Written by Vanshika Goenka
6 time management tips to get the work-life balance you've been aiming for

Let us guess, you’ve got 99 problems and they’d all be solved if you had more time.

Well, think about it this way, what’s the one thing that you and Beyonce share? Nope, it’s not your shower-singing skills. It’s time. When it comes to time we’re all equal.

You’ve got the same amount of time as the top business executives, the Presidents of the world, and a busy new mom. The secret to how all these people get so much done in the same amount of time as you is time management.

One way you can spend your time productively is by investing in PowerPass. You will have access to countless hours of flexible online courses that gear you up for skills that are relevant in the industry today.

According to a study mentioned in Clockify, 26% of work ends up being done outside of office hours. People attribute this to an overload of work, but at the same time, it has been found that 21% of employees spend time on entertainment, social media, and the news during work hours. When you take these two figures into account, the numbers add up.

So if you’ve been a victim of work overload, or if you’re guilty of getting lost in a never-ending scroll through your Instagram feed, we’re here to help you be more productive and #RaiseYourPower.

Here are a few things you can incorporate into your life because these “tips don’t lie” when it comes to maintaining the work-life balance you’ve been aiming for:

1. Start every day with a schedule

Whether you choose to do it the old-school way with a pen and paper, or the modern way with Evernote or Basecamp, you need to plan your tasks for the day to efficiently maintain time management at work. Write a list of the tasks you need to do and assess how much time each task will take to complete. Keep time slots for meals, breaks, and social catchups.

Once you understand how much time a task takes, you can set a realistic schedule and complete them on a priority basis, instead of overloading yourself with everything in one day.

2. Lock your task list

Once you’ve estimated how much work you have to do in a day and added the task list to your schedule, lock your task list. Essentially this means adding a limit. This is a key tip for effective time management at work. Sometimes we tend to add more work to our plate till this becomes unmanageable, and we end up bringing the office into our homes.

If more work happens to come up during the day, assign the unimportant tasks to the next day. End your work day at a fixed time and don’t let it leak into the evening. Try the method of ‘timeboxing’ and allocate a certain task to particular hours of the day, so you are aware of exactly where your time is going.

3. Say NO to distractions

I think we’re all guilty of getting distracted and listening to the latest Ranveer Singh news (or shall I say ‘nudes’) or reading the next Stranger Things theory on “Why Vecna is Eleven’s real father?” during work hours. No matter how juicy the topic is, we have to say no to these distractions.

You need to identify time stealers like social media, Youtube, an email notification, a sale, etc. We live in a generation where FOMO is rampant. We convince ourselves we are missing out on something if we don’t check that mail or reply to that comment - but, in reality, we are just procrastinating.

4. Keep a slot in the week for ‘me-time’

After a tiring day of work, we can get caught up in household chores or social activities. However, you need to make time in the week that is just for you. Take this time to engage in activities that you love whether it’s reading, playing music, drawing, running, dancing or even just Netflix and chill. Remind yourself that you are not a robot that can constantly pump out work everyday, and you need a break too.

If you have ever wondered how to maintain work-life balance, start with writing down the things that you enjoy and make you calm. Set an allotted time for these activities, and this will give you a break from the everyday monotony of work.

5. Delegate your work

Many of us are too used to doing the work ourselves because we have a certain way of doing things, or we don’t realise we can ask for help. The importance of practising time management in the workplace is impossible without delegating work efficiently. Delegate tasks to your colleagues or team members, and take up the most important and urgent tasks yourself. In the same way, split the household chores among the members in your house and communicate when you can’t get the work done.

6. The Pomodoro method

There are a few methods that have statistically proven to develop time management at work. The Pomodoro method is one of them. Set a timer to complete a single task within 25 minutes and after this, take a break for 5 minutes. This counts as one Pomodoro. After you complete 4 Pomodoros, take a longer break of around 30 minutes and then start again. This makes sure that you make the most of those 25 minutes to finish that task, and you get a small breather in between as well.

Effective planning and time management will give you the work-life balance that you need. When we take time out for ourselves, it reduces our stress levels and helps us be more productive during work. Maintaining a work-life balance will help you get what you want out of life instead of feeling like just another cog in the machine. Try to incorporate these tips into your everyday schedule, and we’re sure you’ll see a difference.

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Knowledge is power. At Kool Kanya, we urge you to Raise Your Power by learning things you never learnt in classroom. Get your PowerPass now, and build a career you love.