Time equals money at least that is what many intellectuals and successful businessmen believe. The truth is, anyone can harvest the benefits of proper time management. But unfortunately, just a few persons take the pain to learn how to manage time and get their homework done in a timely manner.
Of course, time management is a skill that anyone can learn or cultivate. It is also a skill that is worth learning because it will benefit you a lot.
The good thing is that technological advancement has made time management tools available. So now, the question is what are the pros and cons of these time management tools? How can you benefit from them? Let us dig deep to find out more.
The Pros of Time Management tools:
The activities leading to proper time management does not demand you to have any special skills. The major thing you need is knowledge; knowledge on what to do and willingness to implement a schedule. Though implementing a change is never an easy thing for anyone, everything will fall into place once you balance your everyday activities. The results and success you are looking for will come, and you will start getting good responses.
Knowing the benefits of time management is very important. Because only then will you become even more serious about implementing certain changes or decisions. Time management can help in the development of your career. In fact, it will impact your life significantly. There would be a lot of scheduling decisions you will make along the line, which would lead to self-discipline and maturity. Below are pros of time management tools.
1. Reduced stress levels:
Research has shown that stress can make existing problems worse. It can make you feel fatigued, irritable and unable to concentrate. It can make you less productive and also lose concentration. The best thing to do when you are stressed out is to find out the cause of it. Though most of the time, the answer is the inability to manage time effectively.
It will be difficult to give your best while working under stress. Though you might be able to get some results, they might not be your best. Proper time management can make you relax properly and enjoy working. So if time is responsible for you stressing yourself often, then roll out a plan for effective time management.
2.You will become more focused
Besides helping you to reduce stress, time management tools can help you stay focused on a given task. You will not only be aware of the time the task has to be completed but also work within the scheduled time. The tool will help you achieve a lot in a short time. You will be more satisfied with your performance, even though it turns out that you could not complete the assigned task.
3. Decreases procrastination
Procrastination is a serious problem in every part of the world. And to control procrastination, one has to learn how to effectively manage time. Efficient time management helps to reduce procrastination. With time management, you will able to predict the outcome of a given task and control the situation better. Managing time does not require extra skills. The main thing is to have a sound knowledge of how to go about it and be able to inculcate the changes within your everyday activities.
4. Enhance self-confidence
Without self-confidence, it will be difficult for you to attain greater heights in life. No one will believe in you if you do not believe in your abilities. Self-confidence has a vital role to play in every human’s life. And people with self-confidence tend to enjoy life and succeed better than those who do not have it.
You will feel more motivated to work when everything is well planned out. Time management does not take your time, but instead, it will provide extra time for you. A leader must have confidence in his or herself. The absence of self-confidence might make followers to lose hope and focus on a leader.
5. Increased productivity:
Time management tools will make you more accountable. You will not only have the chance to put your time to good use but also question your productivity. You will be able to determine if you are making any meaningful progress or not.
Those who perform well in their endeavors are not different from you. They are not super humans with two heads. The only difference between them and you is determination. The reason they are succeeding is that they were determined to succeed and stood by their decision to implement key changes. It is one thing to plan, and it is another to execute that plan. You must challenge yourself to make decisions that will enable you to achieve your goals in life.
6. Devote more Time to your goals
Every human has a strong desire to achieve their goals. Yours might be to grow your business to a certain height, increase client base, increase profit, sales and so on. The good thing is those goals can be achieved when you set your mind and work towards them.
Time management let you concentrate and devote more time to important things that would lead you to achieve your goals. You will only spend more time on things that are important to you with effective time management.
7. Creates Time for relaxation and recreational activities
We lead a fast-paced life that there is never enough time to exercise or have a good time with those that matter to us. Engaging in recreational activities will not only make you more productive but help to refresh your mind and focus.
With proper time management, you will not only partake in many recreational activities but important events and tasks. Time will be properly shared and used for all the important activities you have for the day.
Creating time for recreational activities with your family will help to strengthen the bond in the family. A well-relaxed mind and body will also have the right motivation to think straight and act well. So create time for relaxation in your schedule to be motivated, relaxed and productive.
8. Remain Healthy:
It is only someone who is healthy that can do business. A sick person would only feel concerned for his or her health. The mind will be on how he or she can get out of that sickness to get back to business. However, effective time management will let you have some time to exercise and go for a routine check up when necessary.
With effective time management, you would not only be concerned about making money but also how to stay healthy. It still boils down to discipline. If you have allotted time in your schedule to exercise, then ensure you follow the plan to the latter.
Cons of Time Management Tools:
Time management tools have their pros and cons. You need to understand both sides of the coin to be able to make the right decision. Knowing the cons of time management tools will prepare you for any surprises that may spring up.
1. Living life by the list:
With time management tool, you will have a burning desire in your heart to accomplish everything you have planned out. The list will enslave you. And the funny thing is that your mind won’t rest until you are done. Time management tools make humans act too mechanical.
2. Preparation takes more time:
Preparation for the day usually takes more time. You need to plan what to do next after a given task. You might also not include all the tasks in your schedule. It is possible that some important things might come up, and you might get tempted to adjust or entirely change the plan.
3. Obstacles:
There would be obstacles which have to do with taking certain decisions and standing by them. Fatigue will also be an obstacle to you. There would be a time that all your body will be asking for rest and little or nothing will be accomplished that day.
4. Fatigue can set in
Humans are different from machines. Even machines still break down after continuous work for a period of time. As a human being, there would be a time where you might not accomplish much. So you just have to understand and try to make amends.
Most people would emotionally blackmail themselves in situations where they cannot complete a given task. Instead of doing that, it is better to encourage yourself for the little you have achieved thus far. Emotionally blackmailing yourself will only make things worse. Once the mind is down, it will be difficult to concentrate on a given task.
Another way out is to know when to wind down after expending a lot of energy. A time management plan without room for relaxation would lead to disaster in the long run.
5. Too many tasks at a time:
One of the cons of time management tools is that it can make you feel overconfident. The result of being overconfident is that you will have a feeling that you can accomplish much, which will make you plan for too many tasks at a time.
You need to know your limit and when to avoid overworking yourself too. Over laboring yourself, can cause break down, which can affect you business-wise. Do not plan to impress anyone but to accomplish tasks that will set you on the part of accomplishing your goals.
On the other hand, clouding your mind with too much task can make it hard for you to concentrate. Unless you are able to control your mind and get yourself to work, you might end up not accomplishing much for that day.
6. Mismanagement:
You need to remember every detail and instruction for a task and work within the allotted time to get it done. Forgetting the details or instructions will cause you to spend extra hours than what you bargained for and your schedules will be affected. You can prevent that from happening by ensuring that all information pertaining to the job in question is within reach.
7. Hard to say no:
You do not want to feel guilty or blame yourself for not doing enough, so it will be hard to say no if you are working on a given task and something else comes up. Such situations are common when you are using a time management tool. You already have the day planned out, so it would be difficult to admit something not on your list as this will distort the plan. The best thing to do in such situation could be to make the list flexible. There are things that might come up and might be those things you cannot stop yourself from doing.
How Time Management Can Influence Overall Performance
A lot of people think they can effectively manage time by simply using the time they are supposed to rest to do other things. But while this might like to them as a great idea to boost productivity, it is obviously not.
To restore your mind and body after working tirelessly during the day, you would need to sleep for at least 7 – 8 hours per day. It is something everyone knows, but surprisingly, most people do not take it seriously.
According to a survey carried out by the National Geographic Channel, most Americans, about 73% of them do not have enough sleep. In the survey, about 54% attributed the cause of them not getting enough sleep to stress while over 37% apportioned the blame to the long hours they spend on social media.
However, if you feel that your time has been wasted, that is simply because you did nothing to manage it properly. Another separate survey conducted, gave reports that about 63 percent of professionals that agreed they do not have time management skills, reportedly suffered blood pressure, sleep apnea and other health challenges.
The bottom line is time management will help you make good use of your day and rest well at night. It will also help to lower your anxiety and stress level and help you to enjoy untroubled sleep during your resting hour.
Conclusion
The main challenges people have is finding the right time management tool or skill. It is not easy to plan how to manage time effectively. There are a lot of things to take into consideration, a lot of brainstorming to be done. You need to rethink your priorities and values and initiate some major changes that will help you achieve your targeted goals for the day. There are many benefits in effective time management. So if you want to be more efficient and productive, learn to manage time well.
Thanks for sharing wonderful information, awesome article
Hey Nirmal,
It great to be reading your post again. It’s always the best efforts you have put into your content, that’s why it will help many out there looking to learn.
By the way, Thanks for the great read Nirmal.
~ Donna
Hi Donna Merrill,
It’s great to see you again after long time. Thanks for your appreciation. Keep Coming.
Very Informative article. Its very very useful for us.
Thankyou
Thanks for the Great Sharing
t great to be reading your post again. It’s always the best efforts you have put into your content, that’s why it will help many out there looking to learn.
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Hi Minnie,
Thanks for your comment. Keep Coming.
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Hi Dorvi,
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