How To Manage Time Better By Estimating

Why do I have trouble managing my time?

Well to put it simply, it’s likely due to the fact that you focus more on the pain vs. the root causes of your pain.

How can I get better at managing my time?

SIMPLE – Figure out where your pain is, then focus on fixing the root causes that are the drivers behind that pain…

If tasks and activities take too long to complete…

If tasks take too long to complete your gap may be in time estimating.

If so, here are some ways to improve how you estimate time.

1. TIME yourself

   on basic everyday tasks. By doing this, you can instantly and realistically see how long things take to complete. Instead of ‘thinking’ it takes 15 minutes to get to the school, the time it and get the real data. This will help you stop inaccurately estimating and/or minimizing how long things take you to complete. Get real with your time and you’ll see a big difference. Better estimating means better judging how much time you need to devote to certain tasks.

2. Limit distractions!

   You may get sidetracked or pigeon-holed on one detail. If you are taking too much time due to distraction… you must minimize distractions. If working on your computer, close your other programs so they don’t constantly interrupt you.

3. Use a timer and begin focusing in 10-minute segments.

   Repeat until your high priority task is complete. If you need more accountability with your time, you need to make the time more concrete for you. I have a great product I always recommend to moms called the TimeTimer . It is an awesome timer that allows you to ‘see’ time slipping away before your eyes. If you are not good at estimating, perhaps you need a visual or auditory reminder. The TimeTimer can do that for you.

Isolating your particular gaps by seeing what is NOT working for you, will help you to better determine your root causes. Understanding root causes to problems enables you to reclaim your time!

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What is your biggest time complaint? Need some help? I’d be happy to give you some suggestions to escape your pain… Please share in the comment box below!