People often think the more time they have at their disposal, the more tasks they can get done. But do you know a major time management paradox? Although it sounds counterintuitive, the more time you have, the more difficult it is to manage it.
These days, when there are so many apps to make you productive, most people would like to have something a bit more fancy than just piles of notes reminding of what is to be done. A time management app like Yaware.TimeTracker is a good option to check out as it will reveal a lot about your productivity patterns.
Below are 3 lessons to learn from such app if you are to make your time work for you and always stay in control of it.
Days always fill up quicker than you think
To put it simply, you shouldn’t plan every single hour of your working day but leave some buffer. Some entrepreneurs even suggest that one should plan only 4 to 5 hours each day.
The time management app will show you the daily workload and so you can plan effectively. It will also show you the time you spend on performing the tasks. In which case you can assign realistic deadlines, make plans that are doable and actually achieve them.
You are more productive when the time is limited
In 1955 Cyril Parkinson published his great research and summarized a rule which is now called the Parkinson’s law. It reads:
“Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”.
How does Parkinson’s law manifest itself? Imagine you assigned 3 hours to perform some task but as the time management app tracks your time you now know you can easily accomplish it in 2 hours. You can play around with the deadlines and assign the shorter ones. You will most likely see you’re capable of staying focused on the task and doing it much faster if less time is assigned.
Work more when you feel like working – the time management app will tell when exactly
Apparently some days are more productive than others and you wonder how it’s possible that you’ve already worked for 10 hours but still feel like doing even more. Similarly, some hours are more productive than others. But how do you know which exactly?
Here’s where the time management app goes to work. It accurately tracks your time and productivity and so you can quickly figure out your core working hours. The best way to make the most of them is to assign the most difficult tasks exactly at these hours.
Final thoughts
These simple rules will help you save a tremendous amount of time and stay happy and productive in the long run. A single app like Yaware.TimeTracker can empower you to grow faster and repeatedly achieve more.