How to Use a Time Management Worksheet To Get Your Life On Track

What is a time management worksheet?

Time management is the how you plan and organize your time in an intelligent manner to complete the daily tasks you have in an optimal manner. Managing your time in an intelligent manner will let you work smarter, not harder, to get more done in less time, even through tight deadlines and high pressures.
A good way to manage your time is to use time management tools. Start with opting for a time management worksheet in simple terms, time management worksheets are a list of tasks and provide sections to managing each step of each task and let you edit the list to include details you want.
A management worksheet will provide a record of how you are spending your time and you can track all your tasks in one place, so you can see how you are performing. A time management sheet can be called an activity log of your time spent on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis.

The importance of a time management worksheet

Learning to manage your time will help you work smarter even under tight deadlines. Opting for a Time Management worksheet will give you the right approach to manage your time. Here is why you need to opt for management worksheets in the long run-

1. Meet deadlines- A worksheet will help you manage your workload effectively as you see the daily activities you have complete and the deadlines assigned in a list. The worksheet will give you time-boxed tasks, which will wire your brain to complete tasks in assigned time and bring structure to your work life. Allotting time and sticking to it will help you to meet deadlines successfully.
2. Reduce stress- When you are faced with a lot of work without any structure, you are already stressed trying to figure out how to complete the tasks. With a list of tasks in front of you, you know what you have to do and how much time you have to complete the tasks. When you transition seamlessly from one task to another, you will find that you can complete tasks easily and without much stress.
3. More productivity- When you use management tools to organize your day, you are able to complete your tasks in the allotted time without compromising on quality. Your productivity will also increase when you learn to prioritize important tasks. When you are able to tick the urgent tasks off your time management worksheet, you will be motivated to work more efficiently.
4. Better work life balance- Once you are able to complete all work related tasks in time, you don't have to work overtime. You can also apply the time management strategies to your personal life. As the stress lessens and productivity increases in your life, your life will also improve.
5. More opportunities- When you are an employee that is able to manage your work efficiently, your reputation will also gain positive results. This will also result in career growth opportunities. When your managers know that you can complete tasks in assigned deadlines, they will give you more responsibilities which can also lead to promotion.

How to use a time management worksheet to get your life on track

As discussed, using management tools like a Time Management worksheet can bring order to your life and help you reduce stress and increase your productivity. There are many time management tools available in the market like a software or an app like Zip Schedules, which help you create task lists and provide dates, times records to track the progress of your tasks and how much time you spent on each task. The app also has an efficient task manager to provide reports and analytics. Here are the five points you should keep in mind when you use a software or an app to manage your time and work hours.

1. Track and evaluate

When you are using a management worksheet to organize your tasks and manage your work hours, you need to track how you spend your time and how much time you spend on completing tasks. When you track the task's progress, you can identify any bottlenecks and course correct. Task and time tracking save you from spending too much time on tasks that may be not be important. The management tools also help you evaluate how productive you and your team is. They can also identify if there are any problems in team collaboration or who is falling behind. Tracking and evaluating your time and productivity can help you improve estimating the time taken for completing a project.

2. Target an area of focus

When you start organizing your time, you need to keep the following in mind- Identify how many tasks you can complete in a day, where you waste your time, and which tasks will contribute the most to achieve your goals. To manage time effectively, create a daily list which identifies areas to focus on each day to maximize productivity and stick to the schedule. Learn to prioritize tasks by classifying them as important and urgent, important but not urgent, not important but urgent and not important and not urgent. When you focus on one part of the project every day, group similar tasks together so you save time and energy. Always assign a time limit to each task, so you can focus on the task for the time period and give yourself some buffer for any emergencies.

3. Always track your progress

An important aspect of Time Management worksheet is the progress made in achieving your goals. When you see how much progress you have made, it makes you more motivated to work harder to achieve your goals. You also get more insight into the value you are adding to the team and have tangible results to show. When you are faced with a large task, it is better to break it down into smaller tasks so you can finish them faster. To track your progress, start every day at zero with a fresh task list, so you can track how much you have achieved in a day. Starting every day from zero increases not only your's but team's focus as well. It creates a sense of accomplishment and stops you from being complacent. Using an app like Zip Checklist can also help track the progress made on tasks. It is also useful to note down your thoughts on a daily basis about how you felt while working, so you can track what personal difficulties you faced.

4. Building of a routine

Good Time Management needs a proper routine to work effectively. Hence, you need to create a routine that helps you get the maximum work done in a day. While creating a routine, you need to decide what needs to be absolutely there, hence prioritize. Create smaller goals so you don't feel overwhelmed looking at the tasks you have to complete in your management worksheet. Take it one day at a time. Don't create a routine for the entire week or month. Set daily and weekly goals and see how much progress you have made. Stick to the routine you have created. It may be difficult when you start, but if you stick to your routine, it will become a part of your life. Add some fun to your routine, so you don't feel bored doing the same thing again and again. Give yourself a reward for every week you inch closer to your goal.

5. To do lists

Creating a to do list is one of the basic time management tools. A to do list is a list of tasks you have to finish in a given period of time. The management worksheet has all vital information about the tasks in a project. The to do list is used to organize the steps of a project and help you focus and stay productive. The list is the key to an efficient work schedule. It prioritizes the tasks that need to be performed and also contains the deadline for each task. Task lists helps create short term and long term goals. A to do list is a specific plan on how you want to carry out your business.