100 time management tips for professionals

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Below is a list of 100 effective strategies and tips to ensure you lead a productive day and enable you to achieve your short and long-term goals. Be prepared to take notes and implement these simple tips to transform yourself into an individual with enough laser focus to accomplish everything you set out to achieve.

Enjoy.

1. Treat the pursuit of mastering the art of time management as a challenge. Treating challenging situations as a game will build excitement and help you to conquer this area of your life.

2. Remain clutter free. It’s hard to be focused if you work within a disorganized environment.

3. Ensure that you keep your desk space clear and tidy at all times.

4. Avoid being overwhelmed by breaking down big tasks into smaller chunks.

5. Concentrate on one task at a time.

6. If you are having difficulty with a task, ask for help and save time by avoiding the trial and error process.

7. Don’t be a talker, be a doer.

8. Get excited about what you want. Having a precise goal that you are committed to achieving will keep you driven and dedicated to making it happen.

9. Refuse to be stressed by any circumstances you may face. Remind yourself that every problem has a solution.

10. Think smart and be strategic when creating a plan for your life. This will shorten the distance to your success.

11. Compile a list of the consequences of not being focused. Understand the painful consequences of not following your plan, and then remind yourself of the long-term pleasures of staying on track.

12. Cut out distractions. Ensure that you disable any distractions that can take hold of your valuable time (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, phone calls and e-mails).

13. Set deadlines for yourself. Deadlines can boost your sense of urgency and speed up your progression.

14. Take little breaks. Working non-stop is not effective, so take mini-breaks that will help your mind and enable you to work at your best.

15. Take time out to take short breaks by walking and getting some fresh air, this will clear your mind and keep you in control of your day.

16. Write a list of why you must succeed. When you are clear the answer will come to you and then you can execute it.

17. Get in the habit of doing the most tedious work first each day. It’s usually the tedious work that brings the most results.

18. Create a daily routine in every aspect of your life and try your best to stick to it.

19. Get involved in regular daily exercise to increase your stamina and energy levels.

20. Refrain from eating junk or any food that will make you tired (you can easily research foods to avoid by using the Google search engine).

21. Attack your daily tasks as if you are going to war. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you operate from attack mode instead of retreat.

22. Program yourself to treat your work as a hobby and as a new source of entertainment.

23. Set a specific time to check your e-mail throughout the day to enable yourself to be proactive instead of reactive.

24. Get straight to the point when communicating your ideas.

25. Don’t follow the behaviour patterns of society today. By ignoring the gossip blogs and social media platforms like Facebook, you’re more likely to be successful than the majority in society who choose to allow themselves to get distracted.

26. Act as if you are the most confident person in world – the more confidence you possess, the more resources and opportunities you will spot.

27. Don’t be afraid to make a decision. Those who are indecisive never accomplish anything beyond mediocrity.

28. Get rid of your limiting beliefs and weed out the thoughts that hinder you from becoming better.

29. Remind yourself that nobody is more talented or smarter than you; so don’t feel that you have less ability than your co-workers.

30. Go the extra mile. Put in more hours, more effort and more concentration in accomplishing your daily task to stretch your capacity for focusing.

31. Work harder then everyone you know and create a reputation as the hardest working person.

32. Remember that luck is given to the person who works the hardest and who prepares the most.

33. Never procrastinate again.

34. Place your goals on your mobile phone screen saver.

35. Place your goals on your computer screen saver.

36. Broadcast your goals to your peer group so they can hold you accountable for achieving what you set out to achieve.

37. Make time during the weekend to revaluate your short and long-term goals.

38. Be ruthless with your time.

39. Don’t ever allow others to create your schedule. You must be in control of your time to ensure that you realise your goals.

40. Get yourself a PA, if you can afford one.

41. Delegate as much as possible to leverage time.

42. Challenge yourself to improve your productivity by at least 10% a day.

43. Write the best possible plan to achieve your goals and stick to it.

44. If you find yourself slacking or being lazy don’t dwell on it, instead pick yourself up and get back to work in a focused gear.

45. Don’t confuse being busy with being productive.

46. Tell your friends kindly not to phone you when you are at work.

47. Stop trying to please others by neglecting your work to accommodate their schedule.

48. If you want to be great, prepare to feel lonely at times. You can’t expect others to hold your hand on your journey towards success.

49. Only associate yourself with those you admire or those who push you beyond the limits you have placed on yourself.

50. Get in the habit of using affirming positive words until your subconscious mind is saturated with empowering thoughts which will, in turn, direct you to achieve.

51. Learn from your mistakes and refuse to make the same mistake twice.

52. Learn to manage your emotions throughout the day. If you desire to learn more about mastering your emotional state you can study courses by self-help coach Tony Robbins who has many great strategies on how to master this area of your life.

53. Write a list of everything you lose if you don’t stay focused – this will motivate you to work hard.

54. Write a list of all the benefits you gain from staying focused and read it daily.

55. Be determined to stay focused and committed to being the best you can be.

56. Learn about the 80/20 principle and apply it in your life.

57. Place your goals on the wall to constantly remind yourself why you need to discipline yourself.

58. Place your goals on your refrigerator.

59. Get in the habit of achieving your goals. Doing this will easily build your confidence and increase the number of action steps you take each day.

60. Place your most desirable goals on your phone to drive you on.

61. Plan out your day before you start it.

62. Be inspired to work hard by reading up on the work ethic that those who you admire used to become a success.

63. Read about the work ethic of the person you admire and this will inspire you to work hard.

64. Keep a time log on the number of hours your work per day.

65. Write down a “to do list” in priority order and make sure you achieve what’s on the list.

66. Write down a list of things not to do in the day.

67. Set a specific time period to complete tasks. For example you could say “I will send 20 e-mails within 30 minutes”.

68. Keep a pocket-sized journal with you to scribble down your thoughts and ideas.

69. Review your day on a daily basis and write down how you can improve your productivity next time.

70. Fail 100 times more within the day – if you are not failing enough, you are not trying new things.

71. Take 10-20 minutes to visualize your goals before you sleep.

72. When you relax, totally switch off so you can get back to work feeling refreshed.

73. Affirm to yourself throughout the day that hard work always pays off.

74. Write a list of the daily distractions that you face and challenge yourself to not participate in these distractions.

75. Say “No” to people more often. Don’t allow the requests of others to take you off course.

76. Run away from mediocre people – you become whom you surround yourself with.

77. Don’t hold grudges against anyone – holding grudges is not good for your health.

78. Place inspirational posters on your wall to help you to stay motivated.

79. Study time management methods by watching techniques shown on YouTube or enrolling yourself in a time management course.

80. Learn to fall in love with the pain of discipline.

81. Don’t over complicate your life.

82. Create a vision board of what you want to achieve in your life.

83. Don’t count your days by hours, count your days by the minutes.

84. Challenge yourself for 21 days to break a habit or form a new empowering one. It takes 21 days to form or break a habit, so why not test yourself?

85. Reward yourself once you’ve achieved a milestone in your career.

More tips will be added to this list, we will keep you updated.

Relevant Bible verse:

Hebrew 12:11 – No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.