Time Managing Tips: 5 Things You Can Do to Feel Like You Have Your Life Under Control

It’s easy to start feeling overwhelming when the to-do list just doesn’t stop getting bigger. And it’s even worse when it feels like things keep popping up and you can never get to that to-do list.

And that’s why I decided to find some good time management tips and share the ones I’ve done myself.

Growing in your time management skills is such a great way to minimize stress and stay on top of things. And while some of the ideas down below aren’t a magic wand that’ll make your tasks disappear in minutes, they will help you get things under control.

So if you want to change up your time management habits and start getting your daily tasks done, then here are a few ideas you can try this week.

1. Eat the Frog

Eat the frog means taking the one unpleasant task you know you need to do, and then completing it before you do anything else on your list. That way it’s not hanging over your head and causing you low-level (or high-level) stress throughout the day.

Also, that stress can hurt how fast you get other things done, so “eating the frog” really is a great way to stop procrastinating, grow in prioritization, and focus your attention.

And lastly, it’s a great way to make sure that big task actually get’s done and not put off until tomorrow.

2. Use the Stopwatch Function on Your Phone, Not the Timer

I’ve been finding that if you want to time yourself and get something done a lot faster, the stopwatch function on your phone is the best, not the countdown timer.

When you keep it in view, it kind of creates this sense of (good) urgency to see if you can beat your previous time when it comes to the same task.

And when you’re able to challenge yourself with how fast you can go, then that means you get done a lot sooner. And when you get done a lot sooner, it gives you a sense of accomplishment, and you have more time to relax later on. ☕️ 

3. Rewards

This pairs well with the two time management methods above.

Every time you complete a task when using your stopwatch or you “eat the frog,” find a way to reward yourself.

I find that giving myself a bite of dark chocolate is pretty effective. 

4. Create a One Minute or Less List

This is definitely one of my favorite time management strategies on this list.

One of the reasons why your to-do’s get to an overwhelming place is because you keep putting off certain tasks.

But if you look through all of those tasks, you might notice that some of them could probably be done in a minute or less.

So start making a list of one minute or less tasks so that you can start getting rid of all that overwhelm and avoid distractions.

Other Ideas for Lists You Can Make:

• 5 Minutes or Less List
• 10 Minutes or Less List
• 20 Minutes or Less List
• 30 Minutes or Less List

This helps things feel less intimidating and more manageable. Also, it’s a great way of organizing tasks

5. Get Rid of Any Beliefs That Say There Isn’t Enough Time

I know it might look a bit strange to put this on a list of time management techniques, but it really does belong here.

It’s easy to not focus on the task at hand or not even try when it comes to planning and prioritizing because you don’t even think it’ll work. That something is always going to come up and get in the way.

But getting rid of this belief will help you to see where you might not be managing your time well. It holds you accountable for how you’re spending your time and encourages you to make changes.

Also, one thing I’ve really learned is that you can accomplish a lot in your life and get things done, you just need to build systems and research ways that others have gotten the same task done faster.

I promise you, this really does work. And when you stop saying, “I can’t,” and start finding solutions, your life is gonna get a lot easier.