Time management: Tips for youngsters

We may differ in our personality traits, financial status, and other aspects, but when it comes to time, we are all equal. Each of us gets only 24 hours in a day. Still, most of us complain that we don’t have time.

Money, our physical energy and knowledge are all our resources. Time should also be considered a resource, but it has a unique quality. This uniqueness should be obvious to us, but is often ignored. If I have a thousand rupees, and I don’t spend it now, it remains with me. This isn’t the case with time. I don’t have to make any particular effort to spend time. Even if I don’t do anything, time will pass. Time cannot be stored. The most I can do is to set an alarm to remind me of the time. Such an alarm keeps us on schedule to catch the early morning train or flight and keep other appointments.

We’re witnessing a tech revolution that has made our life easier and continues to save us time. With mobile and app-based fund transfer, we don’t have to make frequent visits to banks and ATMs. Those working from home save the time used in commuting. Still, many of us continue to lament the lack of time.

For young people, it’s essential to understand that those whom we consider successful and/or achievers have earned their position through effective use of their time. We may have every talent and tool, but if we don’t use our time effectively in utilising and deploying these, we’ll be at a disadvantage.

The routine we follow becomes a habit for us. We accept it, but hardly make sincere efforts to improve the situation. Hours, days, and weeks fly by without any progress in terms of new learnings, accomplishing significant tasks, or moving closer to the goals. The situation leads to frustration and a decline in self-esteem.

Are you satisfied with how you use your time?

This is the first question to ask yourself. Review the schedule of your activities from the past month. How much of your time was spent on unproductive or meaningless activities that didn’t create value for you, and refraining from which shouldn’t have meant any loss? What did watching one reel after another on social media get you? Or what value did you get from the endless group chats you participate in regularly?

If the answer does not make you happy, it's time to change your routine. Here are some tips:

Valuing priorities: Procrastination harms us in many ways and creates undesirable situations. Understanding priorities isn’t difficult, but valuing them is. Otherwise, why are projects and assignments taken up the night before the submission date? If the output lacks quality and is found to be shoddy, we know at least one reason. One must attend to priorities without making excuses.

Claiming your mornings: The adage ‘Early to bed and early to rise, keeps a (wo)man healthy, wealthy and wise’ is for a reason. For some, there may be compulsions (such as working with clients in a different time zone), but wherever possible, try to accomplish as much as possible in the first half of the day when the mind is fresh and energy levels are high.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to feel tired physically and mentally in the latter part of the day. The simple idea is that completing important tasks early may result in higher productivity and a sense of satisfaction.

Creating extra time: The idea of creating extra time seems impractical, literally. But think about a person who sleeps enough. By going to bed 15 minutes later and waking up 15 minutes early, this person creates half an hour extra time, which can be put to effective use. Those who feel they don’t have time for a morning walk or exercise may want to consider this approach. Effective time management involves investing in both physical fitness and self-development. It’s essential to stay up-to-date with the developments taking place in one’s area of work. This is a test of your time management skills.

Time for hobbies: Many young people who were once engaged in active hobbies, such as sports, playing music, and dancing, sadly leave these behind, citing a lack of time. Consider reviving your old hobby or discovering a new one. Some of our time, however little, is meant to be spent on an active hobby for relaxation, finding pleasure, and enriching our life.

No time for distractions: We should be fully engaged in what we do. An hour’s job may take much more when we get frequently distracted. Except for those tasks that require too much time, all others should preferably be completed in one stretch. When we break and start after a few days, we’ve to go back to pick up the thread from where we left off, which wastes precious time.

By adopting simple tricks of managing our time, we can do much more in our life. Effective, productive use of time gives us a sense of fulfilment and is a booster to our mental well-being. Some reflection, honesty and strategy are all we need to achieve this.