5 Why to do list is important for time management
You don’t really have 24 hours in a day.
To-do list is a great way to organize your tasks and priorities. But if you don’t have the time to do any of them, your list is pretty much useless. Dividing your time is equally important, so learn how to weave time management into your to-do list.
Table of Contents
Lists, lists, and more lists
One of the reasons that to do lists have become so overwhelming is because they tend to contain a random mix of everything. You might be working on multiple projects, and it can quickly become confusing trying to save reminders to view upcoming event profiles and notes about finding vendors for the event. No wonder you feel overwhelmed.
To take control of your to-do list and get the most out of your work, consider creating multiple lists in your to-do list app, such as separate lists for personal and team collaboration projects. For example, make sure each project or major initiative has its own list. Additionally, consider creating a list of tasks you can complete immediately, another for future project ideas, and a third for personal tasks, such as a shopping list. This allows you to open a to-do list related to the work you’re doing so you can better focus on what needs to be done.
1. Preparing a To Do List
Start by downloading our free template. Then follow these steps:
Step 1:
Write down all of the tasks that you need to complete. If they’re large tasks, break out the first action step, and write this down with the larger task. (Ideally, tasks or action steps should take no longer than 1-2 hours to complete.)
Note:
You may find it easier to compile several lists (covering personal, study, and workplace, for example). Try different approaches and use the best for your own situation.
Step 2:
Run through these tasks allocating priorities from A (very important, or very urgent) to F (unimportant, or not at all urgent).
If too many tasks have a high priority, run through the list again and demote the less important ones. Once you have done this, rewrite the list in priority order.
2. How you’re currently spending your time.
To optimize your personal time management, you first need to figure out where the time is going. Try diligently logging your time for a week by tracking your daily activities. This audit will help you:
- Determine how much you can feasibly accomplish in a day.
- Identify timesucks.
- Focus on activities that provide the greatest returns.
As you conduct this time audit, it will become pretty clear how much of your time is spent on unproductive thoughts, conversations, and activities.
You’ll gain a more accurate sense for how long certain types of tasks take you (which will be very helpful for executing on a later tip). This exercise can also help you determine the time of day when you are most productive—that way, you know when to work on your projects requiring the most focus and creativity.
3. Learn to say no.
You’ll never learn how to manage time at work if you don’t learn how to say no. Only you truly know what you have time for, so if you need to decline a request in order to focus on more important tasks, don’t hesitate to do so. And if you take on a project that is obviously going nowhere, don’t be afraid to let it go.
Rather than doing a lot of tasks that yield little or no value, complete fewer tasks that create more value. Remember the 80/20 rule—80% of your output comes from 20% of your inputs. Focus your efforts accordingly.
If you can’t say no, delegate it. While delegating can be a hard skill to learn, it can work wonders for your personal time management. You’ve put together a talented team, so determine the tasks you can pass on.
4. Better time management depends on skills, not techniques
At the end of the day, if you don’t have good time management skills, no “pro tips” or calendar tools are going to magically make your time management problems go away.
Harvard Business Review identifies three key skills that differentiate time management success from failure:
Awareness: Think realistically about your time and understand that it is a limited resource.
Organize: Organize goals, plans, schedules, and tasks to make the most efficient use of your time.
Adapt: Regularly monitor how you use your time to perform activities, including adapting to disruptions or changing priorities.
Use the tips above to develop these skills and develop effective time management habits
5. What is time management?
Time management is the art of planning time effectively. This enables you to complete required activities and tasks efficiently and productively within the appropriate amount of time. Time management also includes prioritizing your to-do list so that you complete urgent or important tasks before others do. This avoids missing important appointments or rushing through important tasks.
and time management is all about these 7 skills: Prioritization, Goal setting, Planning, Delegation, Setting boundaries and saying “no”, Focus and last is Automation.
For that we need using to do list to help us manage our time.
