How To Manage Your Time

     Despite the fact that clocks and alarms are available to us in both our pockets and on our wrists in the form of phones and smartwatches, we often struggle to manage our time when it comes to day-to-day activities. Whether it comes to balancing your free time and work time, or making certain you get where you need to go every day when you're supposed to, it is very important to learn to manage how you spend your days, hours, minutes, and seconds. In business, this is referred to as productivity and efficiency.

     Productivity or efficiency may not seem like very important concepts to many, but in reality, these are crucial in our daily lives. Without them, we would be unable to function as a society. Progress, in whatever form you may see it, is derived from productivity and efficiency, which is why we have to maintain it, despite what many may believe in today's day and age.

     So how can we maintain our productivity and efficiency through time management?

     Logically, of course, we can choose to schedule our days to the point where every single second is bound to an activity or task. This strategy will work for some, if not many, because of their inherent ability to remain on task and follow an assigned schedule or routine. For people like this, there is very little need for this writing, outside of the recommended daily routine schedule for effectiveness below. But for others, for those who have difficulty staying focused and concentrated on a task or activity at hand, this article will hopefully provide some useful insights into managing your time and increasing your success.

     Regardless of whatever type of person you may be in terms of time management, it is extremely useful to provide yourself a schedule to follow every day or week. It doesn't have to be as specific as minute-by-minute scheduling, nor do you have to fill it with pre-planned events. Quite the opposite, in fact, especially if you tend to enjoy spontaneity more than planning. Instead of mapping out your days and weeks with events and plans made far in advance, block out periods of time by hour, and give them a basic label. For instance:

   Weekly Schedule

     Scheduling like this gives you both flexibility and rigidity in your routine, and permits you to choose your activities while remaining within the constrains of your time. It forces productivity, but in no way is that productivity constraining. It permits you free time, and also time to work and stay in physical shape. There is a perfect balance between rigidity and flexibility, and whether you are a student, a young professional, a corporate executive, or anything in between, this system of scheduling may just provide the boost to productivity, efficiency, and time management that you need.