Time Management and Organizational Skills

As a student we never run out of assignment and work to do. We have very little time to complete all the tasks given. In order to manage our time properly so that we can complete our work, we need to have our time managed wisely. This is what we called as time management and organizational skills.

1. Understanding The Difference Between Urgent and Important

Urgent tasks demand you immediate attention but whether you give them may or may not matter while important tasks matter, and not doing them may have serious consequences for you or others. Understand how priorities really work.

   *this is how you can divide your work based on the type of the task.

   


      2. Planning

There will often be times when one task cannot be started until another task is finished. Your schedule will also be impacted by the schedules of others. These factors need to be considered at the beginning of each project and, monitored throughout. Failure to do so can lead to delays and missed deadlines. Planning is one of the essential time management skills because it allows you to foresee all of the tasks which will be required to complete a project and, how they will best fit together. A well made plan will save you a great deal of time. 

      3.  Don't Procrastinate

If a task is genuinely urgent and important, get on with it. If you’ve found yourself putting off important tasks over and over again, you’re not alone. In fact, many people procrastinate to some degree, but some are so chronically affected by procrastination that it stops them fulfilling their potential and disrupts their careers.

Here are some useful indicators that will help you know when you’re procrastinating:

·        Filling your day with low priority tasks from your To Do List.

·        Reading e-mails several times without starting work on them or deciding what you’re going to do with them.

·        Sitting down to start a high-priority task, and almost immediately going off to make a cup of coffee.

·        Leaving an item on your To Do list for a long time, even though you know it's important.

·        Regularly saying "Yes" to unimportant tasks that others ask you to do, and filling your time with these instead of getting on with the important tasks already on your list.

·        Waiting for the “right mood” or the “right time” to tackle the important task at hand

 

      4. Self Motivation

You will have days where you do not want to do anything. You may be sick, tired, bored or simply lacking motivation. On days like this, there is little that anyone else can do to get you going. You need to be able to motivate yourself to take action, even though you’d rather not. If you have improved your self-awareness, you will have a great deal of the information that you need to motivate yourself. In addition, as you move up your organisation or, if you go down the path of the entrepreneur; there will be nobody standing over you to hold you accountable on a daily basis. You will be totally responsible for your own results. You could have all the other time management skills but if you lack the ability to motivate yourself, you will soon experience large amounts of pressure and stress. 

     5. Decision Making

It would be nice to think that you could just sit down and do your work without having to put any serious thought into it. Alas, there are few jobs that fit that description. You will have to make important decisions e.g.:

• Which task to do
• Which tasks do not get done
• When a task is completed
• Which meetings to attend
• Who you can or cannot help, etc.

If your decisions only affected you, it wouldn’t be such a big deal but few tasks are performed in isolation. Almost every task has a knock on effect on another person, or task, which means that every decision that you make has consequences both for you and for others.

p/s : Remember to use your 24 hours wisely !