Living a full life sometimes means getting our schedule filled with new and fun activities to do with the people closest to us. But whether you are able to reach your goals or not, time management is an ability that we must be able to practice daily. Are you able to keep your commitments or do you struggle to do so every single day? Setting an appointment reminder is not the only way to keep up with our responsibilities.
They say that there is no such thing as “too busy”; it only shows that you are unable to find the right balance. Today, we’re going to share with you some tips on how to avoid missing your set engagements so that you can show others how you value their time.
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Reflect
In life we play many roles. Some of us are parents who must see that our kids never miss important events; some of us might be team leaders who are responsible for our group’s output. Not all tasks we do on a daily basis are equal.
In order to ensure that we are doing everything when we should be doing them, we need to know our priorities. Is this appointment more important than the other? Is that one more urgent than this one? When you are able to ask yourself these questions, you’ll be closer to understanding the value of your own time. You’ll be able to identify what jobs you can do later so that you are able to find more time in the present.
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Say No
Some people say that “yes” is a powerful word and so they promote its more frequent use. We would like to argue that saying “no” is just as powerful if not even more needed in our daily conversations.
Why?
Close your eyes and think back on the last time you entered an arrangement just because saying yes was much more convenient. How much more beneficial could it have been to you if only you had said no? Sometimes we bite more than we can chew and we don’t even acknowledge it. Our life becomes overladen by commitments and responsibilities because we don’t have the power to say no whenever we should.
You might even be missing that appointment “accidentally on purpose” because you didn’t even want it in the first place. Next time, just say no, so you don’t have to face this predicament again. You will also avoid wasting someone else’s time.
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Try Multitasking
This is not something we recommend you do all the time but when worst comes to worst, maybe it’s time to give it a shot. When you multitask, you are able to double the time that you have. Ideally, we should only take things as they come, but when you find yourself in lack of a free period, this is a great way to find that needed surplus.
Whenever you become aware that you have an engagement coming up, review your schedule. Analyze your jobs and chores lined up and see if there are ones that might intersect with each other. As much as possible, do this only as a last resort because when you multitask all the time, you put yourself in danger of burnout. It’s also a sign that you need to make a change in your life.
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Build a Routine
It’s not always easy to hang on to routines. Life is so full of interruptions and when you are a busy person, each day is different from the last.
Still, the needed work to stick to one is worth all of the effort. If we are to agree that there is “no such thing as too busy”, then it means that we need to get a better handle of our time. When we have a routine, we become more aware of what’s coming our way, so we get fewer surprises and we know exactly what to look forward to.
Conclusion
Sometimes, we miss appointments because we simply forget. You find yourself saying, “I shouldn’t have scheduled this one today because I had that other thing happening!” Think of it as rearranging your room so that there is less clutter on the floor and on the shelves. You might even be surprised at all the space you actually have!
Should the worst happen and you accidentally do skip an appointment, chin up! Think of it as a lesson learned so that you can do much better next time—because there will be one to make up for the one you missed!
Make the resolution to not let it happen again, because letting it happen once is still excusable but letting it happen time and again is not. You have to put yourself in other people’s shoes. There might come a day when you are on the other side of that table.
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