15 Easy Time Management Tips: Master Your Time to Master Your Life

Time = Life; therefore, waste your time and waste of your life, or master your time and master your life.
– Alan Lakein

Here are my top time management tips hand-picked for you: 

My first 5 time management tips

• Tip 1) Keep a detailed Calendar or Planner. Everything you want to get done write on your calendar. Don’t just write WHAT to do, make sure you also write WHEN to do it. Meetings, work-outs, responding to emails, dinner with the family, calls to clients, studying, reading, even free time to relax and chill. Put it on your calendar and stick to it. Cut out the ‘to-do’ lists and leaving it for ‘when you get around to it’. Make calendar entries WITH TIMES. 
• Tip 2) Check social media less. Three times a day (morning, noon, and evening) should be enough. Practice what professionals call the 3-2-1 rule, 3 times a day for a total of 21 minutes.
  So much time is wasted on social media, it’s a crime. Try and cover all your social media activity in this time span. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, and even Emails that are not work-related. Of course, there will be some days that will require exceptions, but on an average day, this rule will provide you with enough time to read, respond, and tweet about your lunch.
  Studies show that by using this 3-2-1 rule, you will accomplish more in a shorter time. Also, turn off phone alerts! Picking up your phone every time it beeps distracts you from your current activity. Finish a task with focus and then attend to your messages. 
• Tip 3) Each day, have one big task you want to accomplish. Forget multitasking. If your attention is split into too many tasks, your productivity will decrease. Focusing on the task at hand is key. For example, if I want to master rollerblading tricks, I pick one trick to improve each session. “Today, I will work on my 540% spin.” If I spend an entire session on this, I will master it, one project at a time. This will also give you a feeling of accomplishment because when you work on a large project and achieve it you will feel accomplished and motivated to reach further success.
• Tip 4) Do your most important task as early in your day as possible. Your mind is clear in the morning, so it will be easier to focus, and there is less of a chance that something unforeseen will arise to inhibit your task from being finished.
• Tip 5) Wake up early to spend time on a personal goal. Something that is important to you but not urgent. Maybe an old project that you just never have the time for. When the world is asleep, you will have time for your personal goals. At 4 pm, something will always arise. Sleeping in is for the weekends and vacation. To accomplish this, you must get to bed on time. To be productive, you need to be rested and energetic.

Time Management Tips 5-10

• Tip 6) Send less emails. The more email you send the more email you will receive. Many e-mails you send, such as CC or FYI, are not necessary and increase the number of replies you receive. Cut back on chain mail and junk or spam. Instead of responding to e-mails as soon as you receive them, leave it for your allocated time on your calendar (see tip 1). Focus on YOUR agenda.

  *The Subject line can also be a useful tool. Use the subject line to write things like EMO (end of message), NRN (no reply needed), Action Required, etc.

• Tip 7) Use travel time wisely. Many of us think of travel time and/or commuting as filler time or empty time. Time to space out or listen to music. What if you USE it? Listen to audiobooks to further your education and knowledge, brainstorm, learn a new language, or contemplate and set new personal goals.

  *If you live in NYC or a city with great public transit, and don’t drive to work, get rid of your car. It may sound crazy, but unless you often travel on long trips or commute to the suburbs for work, you don’t need a car in NYC. You will save loads of time on parking, pumping gas, shoveling snow, tickets, court dates, oil changes, and traffic. Use the subway, city bus, or Uber! The best part? If you count the price of car payments, gas, maintenance, insurance, and tickets (living in NYC it’s inevitable, you will get tickets), you will probably break even.

• Tip 8) Avoid rush hour like a plague. Anytime you avoid the lines and rush, you will have more time. Don’t go to the bank during lunch break. Shop online. Go to the grocery store when you know it will be emptier. Make a reservation at restaurants. Check traffic conditions before you head out.

• Tip 9) Hang out with productive people! Productivity is contagious. You will become invigorated and motivated. It will give you the mindset to be more productive.
   
• Tip 10) Touch it once mentality. If you start something, finish it immediately! If you open an email, respond. Click on an article, read it. For all things that will take you 10 minutes or less, use the “if you touch it, finish it” rule. Do it now, don’t wait for later.

The last 10 Time Management Tips

• Tip 11) Make a weekly “success diary.” This is known in Hebrew as a “cheshban hanefesh”. Write down your successes of the past week and your goals for the next week. It allows you to see on paper where you are holding and will push you forward.

• Tip 12) Turn off the TV! This includes YouTube. Just doing this would give the average American an extra five hours a day, according to The New York Daily News. If you do need to watch a TV show to unwind, don’t watch it in real time; stream it later online, you will save time on commercials.
• Tip 13) Practice saying “No.”  If the activity in question is not something that fits into your preplanned week, the answer is “NO”. Or perhaps a softer, “thanks for thinking of me, but I am not available this week.”

• Tip 14) Get ready for the next day.  Every evening, arrange everything you need for the next day. Set out your clothes, pack your lunch, and get the timer on your coffee pot set before you go to bed, especially if you are not a morning person. This gives you a better chance of getting out the door on time. Not being late means leaving work on time and being more productive.
   
• Tip 15) Unsubscribe. Chances are you get way too much spam email which is draining your wallet and your time. Only keep the few want to be informed about. The others, scroll to the bottom of the email and unsubscribe. You’ll be glad you did.