How to gain control over your time

Time is free, but it's priceless. You can't own it, but you can use it. You can't keep it, but you can spend it. Once you've lost it, you can never get it back. If I have convinced you that time is precious - and you know that this is true - then how can we make sure we don't waste our time while still getting things done and staying productive?

Finding the time to execute all important tasks is one of the key challenges most of us face in our daily lives. This can result in you feeling overwhelmed, stressed, always behind and constantly trying to catch up. To combat this, I'd like to share with you some useful tips on how to gain control over your time and make the most out of your ​days.

1. Set Goals and Priorities

This is the first step to gain control over your time is to set your goals and priorities. For someone, it works best to plan goals and priorities on a yearly basis and then separate them into monthly goals, weekly goals, and then finally into daily tasks.

2. Do some Yearly Planning

Start by coming up with at least one key goal for the year for each area of your life. Let's say that this year you're working on self-improvement, you might want to create a goal of losing 50 pounds by changing your diet and eating right. Or maybe you have another personal goal of reading a book a month. This will make it easier for you to gain control and manage your time better.

3. Separate Goals and Priorities into Tasks

After you write down your goals for a certain time period, the next step is to separate them into smaller tasks. That means that when you write a goal, you should also include specifics and results. For example, "My goal is to start and monetize my blog by December 31, 2022."

When you see that goal, you can come up with tasks that need to be done, such as buying a domain name and hosting, setting up the theme and categories, writing, editing, and so forth.

Start from the result you want. Separate the projects into smaller tasks that can be scheduled consistently and sequentially until the end date.

4. Establish Routines and Systems

Setting up systems and routines for things you often do helps you to get stuff done faster and be more efficient. For example, when it comes to bill paying, you can automate most of it, saving hours a month. Anytime you can make it into a routine or use systems for will be a time saver.

5. Use the Right Tools

Every job that you need to do from cleaning your toilet to running a PTA meeting, to running a business, to meal planning has tools available that make the job get done faster and more effectively. So, wisely choose the tools you need to get things done.

Internet is filled with amazing tools that can help you in time management. My new favorite one is Notion as I can use it on my phone, tablet and computer.

6. Gain Control Over Your Time By Prioritizing Tasks

I know that the hardest part of time management and learning to get things done each day, week, and month is prioritizing your tasks. The best way to create priorities is to make smart goals, write them down, separate them into smaller tasks, and put them in order of importance based on your values, morals, and needs.

While being busy and productive may seem like a great combination, it's not always the most practical when you consider how it's affecting your life. Sure, you can get a lot done when you're so overloaded with tasks that you can barely fit it all in, but is it worth the stress and anxiety? Probably not.

So do yourself a favor and learn how to gain control over your time. If you're feeling overwhelmed or buried in work, you can apply these tips to clear your schedule and regain some much-needed peace of mind.

Originally published at https://justsomerandomstuff.com on April 20, 2022.