Time Prioritization

 "Time is what we want the most and what we use worst." -William Penn

Hello, there busy souls.  It's time to achieve our goals, but we don't have time, right? if yes go ahead. [if no? then still read this]

As we all know, time management is the way we decide to utilize our time in order to maximize our productivity. But the myth is, "we can MANAGE time". Which isn't true. 

We can't manage our time, as time is unchangeable and limited. But what we can do instead is manage the TASKS that we can do.

Time management is like an art and can only be conquered if you can prioritize your goals effectively. Time prioritization will ultimately lead to time management and success.

Time is the most elastic element on this planet. It increases by seconds when we are waiting or goofing around, and decreases by hours when we are enjoying.

Just for your knowledge, Gloria Mark is a prof. at the University of California, Irvine. She experimented to learn the real cost of an interruption by studying employees of IT and Finance companies.

Her team found that people switch activities every 3 minutes and 5 seconds. And roughly half of the distractions are of their own will. Additionally, they also found that it took an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back to the original work each time they were distracted.

Here are few ways to prioritize your time and stay away from distractions.

1. Delete social media: if possible please delete social media. I hate to admit it but, I'm very thankful for my brother who never allowed me to have a social media account.

2. Turn off notification: If you can't delete, then please just turn off the notification.[I would prefer you guys to watch, "the social dilemma" movie. It's about how this social media is controlling us.]

3. Goal list: Instead of writing a to-do list, I would prefer you to write a goal list. For instance, instead of writing "study for the exam", jot down, "studying 30 minutes of commerce for the exam". Follow the SMART rule. [simple, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time bound]

4. Stop doing list: Many people actually have a stop doing list. As the name suggests, things to stop doing in order to save time.

5. Pomodoro: This technique suggests working for 25 minutes then take a 5 minutes break. Repeat for 4 times and then take a 10 minutes break. Proved effective scientifically and suggested by many students.

6. Dollar: you might have heard the old saying "time is money", this is what this method is, treat every second as a dollar. And we are all on a budget. Someday we will be broke, so invest wisely.

7. Fixing the roots: Find the root cause of distraction. Deal with it first.

8. Don't wait for inspiration and perfection: You gotta do now. Stop waiting for the never-coming perfect time to do something. And also stop perfecting things. Remember beauty lies in imperfection.

9. Learn to say no and make the most of the waitings: Know that you can't please everyone. Just learn to say no. And while you are waiting in a queue or traveling, utilize that time.

10. Ivy lee method: write down 6 things for the day [just 6, not more than that]. Starting with the most important ones.

I'm the laziest workaholic. I used to waste a lot of my time. Then I came to know about Theresa Daytner, who is the CEO of Daytner Construction Group, mother of six, booklover. She also loves to do hiking, cycling, and more. Which motivated me to think about how I'm spending my time. And fortunately, I'm utilizing my time quite well. But I don't follow a routine or timetable.

I believe that we are humans and have emotions, above all each day is different. Different situations, different moods, different important works, etc. So, I have only 2 times fixed[which also keeps on fluctuating] one the time of waking up and the next is the time I sleep. All the activities I do throughout the day are completely unexpected. Going with the flow, while having control over the flow.

To conclude I would like to say,

"Procrastination is like a credit card: It's a lot of fun until you get the bill."

"The cost of procrastination is the life that you could have lived."