Developing Time Management Skills

Who doesn’t want more time? Have you found yourself contemplating all that you would accomplish if only you had more time in a day? Perhaps, the better question is: how is the time you have being utilized? Psychology Today suggests asking yourself the following questions to determine if you are having issue with time management: “Are you constantly at war with deadlines? Do you procrastinate? Maybe you underestimate the amount of time a task will take to complete? Perhaps the way you manage your time is the problem. Learning this skill can save you a lifetime of headaches by allowing you to prioritize and plan tasks efficiently.”

The American Psychological Association has provided some tips to assist with time management:
1) Take the first 30 minutes of the day to plan your day.
2) Create a schedule in order to keep self on task.
3) Minimize disruptions, like your phone and email. This is likely to improve your productivity. The suggestion also lends toward reducing social media scrolling that reduces your task completion.
4) Stop multi-tasking. We perform tasks more efficiently when we dedicate ourselves to one task at a time, complete it and move to the next.
5) Prioritize. Start with your most important task. Focus your energy on getting the most urgent needs addressed first while your attention and energy is in its prime. OR You may choose to get the easiest tasks done first in order to feel motivated to continue with your workload. You may choose to prioritize the sequence of your tasks based on you past efficiency and personality.
6) Leave a buffer in between tasks (5-10 minutes recommended). This allows for flexibility in your schedule and periodic breaks.
7) Create own organizing systems. Find ways to organize tasks that increase efficiency in finding the needed resources, materials or going through your the incremental steps in reaching your goals. Putting similar tasks together may be helpful in this endeavor.
8) Sleep. This impacts one’s ability to concentrate, focus and energy levels among several other benefits. (See also previous blog on this website in order to get more information on how sleep improves stress management.)

If at school or at work, check with your academic resource centers or your Employer Assistance Programs (EAPs) in order to see if other supports are available to you if you have significant difficulties with managing workloads. You can take stress and time management tests here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/tests/career/time-management-skills-test & https://www.mhanational.org/get-involved/stress-screener Please also see the resources section below for other links about time management tips, procrastination, etc.

If you or a loved one you know is experiencing stress, mood changes, relationship difficulty, or other major concerns, please consider reaching out to a mental health provider or doctor. There are online mental health screening tools available to help you determine next steps. 1Alliance CPS therapists are also here to address stress management concerns in a safe therapeutic setting. For other general tools, check out: https://www.mhanational.org/self-help-tools