5 Time Management Tips for Planning Your Life and Work
Your day, like everyone else’s, is only 24 hours long. Somehow, though, some people seem to be able to do more than others. Their secret? Time management — the way you plan, prioritize, and produce, day by day. You may not be able to create more time, but handling it wisely will make you happier, healthier, and more productive.
Time management depends largely on your unique circumstances, but a few simple tips can help you better plan your life and work, greatly improving your time management skills — no matter what your plate.
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Look at the big picture
You know that old saying, they couldn’t see the forest of trees? It is almost impossible to produce if you are unorganized and immersed in detail. All you need is a bird’s eye view of your entire program and activity; hold fast to the big picture. Only with a clear view of everything where you can fit right into the nitty-gritty and make things happen.
Power Tip: Connect Evernote with Google Calendar to better visualize your work and break it into manageable pieces. This brings your schedule and notes together, and linking your notes with events makes it easier to organize.
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Get your priorities straight
Setting priorities is a wise way to ensure a productive day. You need to know what to do first and why, as well as a general sense of what will happen next. That should happen before your day begins, with a thorough evaluation of what needs to be accomplished and how long it will take to complete.
Specifically, you should aim to:
Put all your activities into one column and divide them into months, weeks, or days.
Separate important or urgent tasks from those of the lesser ones once
Build your day, address the most important tasks first and save the less important tasks you will do later.
Power Tip: Tasks in Evernote help you keep your day on track by planning and presenting tasks that you will be able to complete once you are done. Download details for each of your activities: project, deadline, time commitment, and other details. Organize yourself as needed to prioritize your workload and develop a system that meets all of your responsibilities.
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Include information
Accessibility is the key to managing time effectively; the time spent hunting for information is the time spent. Make your life easier by combining all your notes, tasks, and schedules in one place. You will be able to step back and get a clear, concise, detailed picture of your situation, and prioritize what you need to do — and you will not miss important hours tracking important information.
The easier it is to access the information you need, the sooner you can act on it. If you have to constantly go back and forth between apps to get the data you want, it will greatly affect your time management ability and cause a lot of frustration.
Power Tip: Tasks + Notes connect the tasks you need to do and the information you need to complete them. This way, nothing is missing from the show. Try combining Calendar + Tasks + Notes to:
Create event notes quickly and get instant access later, from the Home calendar widget.
Prepare for meetings easily, in advance, or immediately. Set a structured note with just one click; complete with event details and action item options and notes.
Search for event details — such as the date, venue, and attendees — so it’s easier than ever to find the information you need.
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Set deadlines — and stick to them
The most important part of any job is its deadline, whether you are responsible for it or not. The deadlines provide a timetable and an idea of how much time you will need to devote to each task.
Most people plan their day by drawing a checklist and deleting each task when they are done. Unfortunately, this method is not compatible with time management and can actually prove to be counterproductive. Simple lists fail to account for the expected time of each task and are rarely prioritized. Instead of focusing on your to-do list, plan your activities for the last few days. Remember, however, to allow projects to take up extra time.
Follow these four rules to better manage your tasks:
Make it urgent. If you have all the time in the world to complete a task, it is easy to postpone it. In addition to the sense of urgency, it is tempting to focus on the small, tax-paying jobs that are often unrelated to your job. Give yourself an early deadline to stay on track and motivated.
Make it fit. The way you manage your time is personal, and the activities in your life match its unique rhythm. Plan your schedule so that you can accomplish those tasks in a way that works for those patterns, rather than trying to force it on a set schedule.
Make it work. Don’t just consider what you have to do. Imagine what you will do and what you will need. Then you are ready and ready to complete your task.
Make it meaningful. The deadline needs to be addressed, and you need to be accountable, both to yourself and to your team.
Power Tip: Use Evernote to set (and meet) deadlines and stay on top of everything by combining activities and notes in Tasks. With Tasks, your activity stays within your notes, filled with important flags, deadlines, and reminders.
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Take smart breaks
Fear of losing a product often prevents people from taking a break when they need it. However, breaks are not only healthy but are necessary for a successful workday. They work best when they meet the following criteria:
Vacation should focus on a job that is very different from the one you just worked on.
It should keep you in a work-related mood, allowing you to get back to work faster.
Any break is useful, as long as it is taken when you really need it.
The health benefits of well-planned breaks every 45-90 minutes are well documented. They provide a sense of well-being by reducing stress and allowing you to focus more on your work when the holidays are over.
Power Tip: Try using notifications in Evernote to customize your break schedule. Then, when you receive a reminder to take that necessary breath, allow yourself to pause. It is not a waste of time and you will be very productive overall.
Time for order
Epidemic-driven operating systems — such as remote and mixed applications — have caused a great deal of damage to the way people manage their time, and the inability to establish a healthy balance of working life can lead to disaster. Problems in one area may extend to another, resulting in procrastination, a lack of goals, and even fatigue.
It is a universal struggle: you try to be productive at work and at home, but demands, last days, and distractions seem endless. You need to do more in less time and keep producing more, but how?
With so many important changes, it can be difficult to stay on track, but with Evernote, you can better manage your time, stay on top of tasks, plan ahead, and be more productive. Home, Calendar, and Tasks all work together to build on existing features and help you do more.
Tasks + Notes come together to help you reach your goals faster, to close the gap between what you need to do and the information you need to do it.
Calendar + Notes + Tasks charge your meetings, speeding up your preparation time with all the information you need with just a click.
Home + Notes + Calendar + Tasks organizes your day in a structured dashboard that combines what you need to know with what you need to do. Your most important notes, most urgent tasks, and the latest schedule appear together in a single integrated view. Managing time means making the best use of your time and doing the right thing at the right time. Wise time management gives you the ability to be more productive and make progress in different areas of your life while controlling your stress and energy. Understanding the importance of your time means that you do not usually carry heavy loads and you can enjoy every job or moment of your full life.