What time is it best to...?

The fundamentals of time management

Time is one of the most fascinating resources in the world. Probably due to its perishable or non-renewable nature.

I know most of us have had a random thought at one point in time about going back in time maybe to correct our past failures or even to explore and see how the world looked like before our time.

However, there are limits to what we can do with time and by maximizing what we do within the allowable boundaries that time has on us we need to answer the fundamental question of what time is it best to?

This very important question takes us to the foundation of time management and planning. The question guides us on how to allocate our time to the activities that are important to us.

The human being of the 21st Century has a lot of time on their hands. This can be attributed to the evolution of technology where tasks that we would have done are done by some of the devices and equipment we own. Or activities that would have taken us a lot of time can be done within short periods.

Benefits of managing time.

Managing your time will increase productivity.

This means that you will achieve your set goals and meet your deadlines in time.

With proper planning and management, we avoid losing our efficiency to rushed work due to late and looming deadlines.

Managing your time will reduce stress levels

We have all had that constricting feeling when faced with a fast-approaching deadline. This is often stressful and can even cause strain to your relations with other people.

Therefore properly managing and planning time goes a long way to avoiding the high stress and anxiety associated with deadlines and a shortage of time.

Managing your time Improves decisiveness

Managing time involves allocating time as a resource to your various activities.

This process involves making decisions on which tasks you should give priority and those that should take a back seat for a while.

This process sharpens one's decision-making acuity and reflects in other areas of life where judicious allocation of other resources or even attention is required

Managing your time improves your discipline

Self-discipline is the act of regulating oneself and overcoming barriers that hinder self-improvement. By managing your time you inculcate discipline by eliminating non-important tasks that encroach on your valuable time. This discipline is carried over to other areas of your life making you a more focused and disciplined person.

How to manage your time

Now that we have seen the benefits of time management. An important question arises. "How do we manage our time?"

Time management involves three major steps. Which are Awareness, Arrangement, and Adaptability

Awareness.

For us to plan for any resources, in our case time, you must be aware of the number of resources you have. As we all have heard before, everyone is accorded a stock of 24 hours a day. However, the awareness of how time passes by and elapses is what matters most.

Being aware of the activities that you have to accomplish and the amount of time you have is the first step to effective time management.

Arrangement/ organizing

Arrangement is the act of allocating the tasks one has to the time one has. We have at some point heard of or even used planners, diaries, and other instruments of time planning.

Technology has even made time planning easier by syncing our device calendars with features that allow alerts when task shifting or when important deadlines are approaching.

Arrangement means setting goals for your time, prioritizing different activities, setting time limits, and organizing yourself to fit into the matrix of your planned time.

Adaptability/Flexibility.

No matter how well time planning is done you cannot account for all aspects. Sometimes we find ourselves met by the "inevitables" which are unavoidable circumstances. When these arise you have to be flexible to the flow of the arising activities or circumstances.

Adaptability is the most important but most overlooked fundamental of time management, especially in the current interconnected world where you interact with different time zones and fast-paced activities.

Adaptability will determine how well you handle the pressure of upcoming events and eventually how well you learn and grow.

Conclusion

In a nutshell. You will achieve more in life by properly managing your time. In your realm, you will be more confident, more organized, and less stressed. In your career realm, you will improve efficiency and productivity.

You will also be able to maintain a good work-life balance by creating time to pursue meaningful relationships with friends and loved ones and attending to your hobbies.