Productivity tips and time management

When I turned 25, I started thinking about how to improve the quality of my life. No doubt I was enjoying every moment of my life, but I still felt that there was something missing. As they say, “There is always a scope of improvement”. After a quick recap which included reading articles about time management, productivity and studying details about the brain and sleep, I realized that I need to change many things in my life. It took me 25 years to realize this thing: “Time is your most valuable asset and experience is the best teacher you can get.” We always say, “Time is Money” but how many of you really understand the depth of this quote? Think about it. I was a night owl. My parents and relatives advised again and again to change my behavior. I was an idiot, I ignored their advice until I turned 25.

• Time Block Management: Use Your 24 Hours Effectively

I got to know about Time Block Management after reading an answer on Quora by Amit Banerjee (He has deleted his Quora profile), one of the articles by Syed Balkhi on his personal blog and this point was also mentioned in one of LinkedIn articles. So I decided to give it a try. First, I analyzed my daily routine and created a timetable for working hours. Then I thought about creating a timetable for 24 hours because it’s a good idea if we manage our whole day, isn’t it? So, I created a rough timetable of my daily tasks, I started noting down the things that I do on a daily basis.

• Decide Your Priorities

After checking the screenshot of my timetable, you will think that it seems like I’m single and that is why I can manage to do this but if you are in a relationship so it’s not at all possible for you to follow such a tough timetable. If you’re in a relationship, there is nothing wrong! Decide your priorities, decide how much time you want to spend with her/him. Whether you want to spend daily 6 hours (25%) or 2 hours (8.33%), it’s up to you. Adjust other time blocks and spend the most of the time with what you love to do.

I was enjoying my life but as this quote suggest, “Whether you would admit it openly or not, some things are more important than others.” Business is the highest priority in my life. But at the same time, I should not ignore my hobbies. I should keep a separate time for my hobbies. Now, I have a separate time block for reading books, watching videos on YouTube, TV shows, gym etc. An additional advantage of following this timetable is that your brain will work extremely efficiently if you started doing same tasks every day at particular fixed time. You need to note down which thing you enjoy doing at what particular time and allocate a time block for that task accordingly.

• Use Google Calendar

I created this timetable on September 10th. I adjusted different things at many times. It will surely take more than 30-40 days to create a near to perfect timetable. I am still trying to make it perfect. Initially, I used Google sheets, later I decided to move this timetable to Google Calendar because sometimes we need to make some adjustments. Using Google Calendar, you can do those adjustments for that particular day. Use recurring events options in Google Calendar and create different events. Also, you can note down the description of tasks for any particular time block. So at the end of the month, you will have all the data about every hour what you did.

My next plan is to reduce the sleep quota without feeling restless. Because, till yesterday, I was taking 8 hours (33.33%) of sleep per day, I don’t think so that my body and mind need that much time for rest. Need to work on it.

Some people will think that their life will become monotonous, just think once again or note down the things you do on daily basis. You will realize that you are already living a monotonous life. If you manage to use your time effectively, then you will have time for your hobbies and for the other things that you enjoy most.

TL;DR

Create a timetable for 24 hours, be strict and follow it. Use your time effectively because time is the most valuable asset.

Everyone has 24 hours a day, it’s how you use them to achieve your dreams and make things happen! Don’t give up until your dreams come true.