Time management tools are crucial for your productivity in today’s fast-paced world. Read on to understand time management and the benefits of managing your time. Further, we will discuss time management skills and time tracking tools you can adopt to boost your output.
What’s Time Management?
Time management involves planning and regulating the time you spent on particular activities to enhance efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity. A task management system is a structured combination of tools, methods, procedures, and techniques.
Understanding Time Management Skills
Time management skills are characteristics that help you control your time well. These include:
· Organization
Being organized gives you a clear understanding of what you need to do and when you should complete tasks. To maintain proper organization, you may need an updated Google calendar and a tidy working environment. You should also be able to locate your documents with ease. Taking detailed notes is a good time management skill.
· Setting Goals
Goal setting is a crucial step in your journey to mastering time management. Setting goals gives you a clear understanding of your goals and what you need to do to achieve them. Set both long term and short term goals to achieve success in your career.
· Communication
Good communication skills help you discuss your goals and plans with your team members. A great communicator will delegate so that they can focus on more important matters.
· Planning
Planning is essential for successful time management. Being a great planner means you can outline your day and work out a proper plan to accomplish your ideas
Importance of Time Management
Good time management helps you achieve more within a short period, giving you enough time to focus on other critical matters. Read on to understand how time management apps can benefit you.
· Reduced Stress
Controlling your time makes your tasks easy, and it is a critical way of reducing stress levels. You will meet deadlines, attend meetings, and meet new clients on time. Further, you will not be in a hurry or even work long hours to complete tasks. Instead, you will be more relaxed and satisfied. As a result, you will sleep better and have an improved work-life balance, which will boost your productivity.
· Enhanced Focus
Time management allows you to focus on people, opportunities, and projects that matter. Instead of doing everything at the same time, you will only focus on productive tasks.
· Reduced Procrastination
Procrastinating is one of the signs of poor time management skills. Did you know that you waste lots of time procrastinating instead of taking action? Being in control of your time helps reduce procrastination.
· Tasks Become Easier and Simpler
Being in control of your time means you know where to invest your energy and time. Instead of having a long to-do-list that leaves you frustrated and overwhelmed, you will be confident of the timely completion of tasks.
· Reduced Distractions
If you have a proper time plan, you will be less distracted. Instead, you will set boundaries and stick to your schedule, meaning you will have no time to be inattentive.
· You will get Time to Think
When you manage your time well, you will complete your work on time. You can use your extra time to plan, think, strategize, and set up robust goals. You will also lay down strategies on how to achieve your goals.
People with poor time management skills spent their days working and trying to beat deadlines. Such commitments leave them with no time to evaluate their current ambitions or set up future objectives.
Time Management Tools you can Try
Time management tools are becoming popular and choosing the best can be a difficult task. Let is discuss some of the best options available.
· Remember the Milk
Remember the Milk is a robust to-do-list app that features sharing options. It is available free of charge, but you can also choose the Pro version that comes with additional features. This app is compatible with Android, iOS, and Mac gadgets, and Pro version users can use it offline. However, Remember the Milk does not come with location-based reminders.
With a Pro Remember the Milk version, you can share task lists with an unlimited number of people. Pro users also get advanced sharing consent allowing them to share task lists and restrict them to read-only.
Remember the Milk Pro users can archive their completed tasks fully. However, free users can only do so for seven days. Free users can record responsibilities, allocate due dates, and include additional information to their functions. They can also connect to Google Calendar, Gmail, and save their records on Dropbox.
· RescueTime
RescueTime can track and arrange activities between you and your team members automatically. Users get weekly report emails and a productivity score to compare how productive they have been between different months.
RescueTime helps users track down their time and is compatible with Android or PC. A free version would be ideal, but you can also pay for the premium version for an extensive analysis. Premium users get additional reports and features like unlimited report history.
With RescueTime paid version, you can log in time you spent away from your device. Further, you can leverage the Get Focused Option that allows you to block distracting websites for a certain period.
· Scoro
Scoro is an outstanding project management tool that many consultancies and agencies love. It allows you to manage your workflow in one place. Scoro combines a robust chain of project management, reporting and billing tools, and CRM in one place. With Scoro, you can automate routine operations, streamline work, and facilitate the smooth and efficient running of a business.
Robust API integrations link Scoro to numerous tools like Google Calendar, Zapier, Xero, and Mailchimp. You can use Scoro to track both billable and real-time tasks before including hours in an invoice. Leverage Scoro to automate recurring and scheduled invoicing as well as activate late invoice reminders.
Scoro allows you to invoice your clients, depending on the hours covered. Apart from an extensive task, client, and project management, you can use Scoro to report on sales performance, budgets, and work.
· Todoist
Todoist is cloud-based and one of the best time management apps that are compatible with nearly all devices. It comes with excellent features to help you track your productivity. You can also use it to organize your to-do-list.
Todoist is available for free, but you can also pay for the premium version that comes with more features. You can use Todoist offline and let the changes sync once you connect to the network. The cloud option offers appropriate and reliable syncing, but you will have to refresh the app to effect any change you make.
The free Todoist account comes with various features, but some of them are restricted, and you can only access them using the paid version. These include labels, reminders, filters, and the ability to upload files and leave comments on tasks. A free account allows you to collaborate with up to five of your team members.
You can also manage approximately 80 projects on a free account. The premium Todoist version offers premium themes, productivity trend reports, email forwarding, project templates, automatic backups, and calendar sync.
Premium users also get priority support and an activity log. With a premium account, you can collaborate with 25 of your team members, and manage up to 300 projects. You can even add comments, a due date, and priority rating on your tasks.
· MyLifeOrganized (MLO)
MyLifeOrganized is time management software that allows you to work on your to-do-lists, manage your tasks, and plan your goals. MLO creates a balance between complex and simple tasks, and features tags, optional contexts, reminders, and flags. MyLifeOrganized is flexible and easy to use.
You can configure and customize it depending on your preferences. It features filters to separate specific tasks, tabs to facilitate easy tracking, and the ability to name features and classify tasks by project.
Users get excellent support because contacting the developer is easy. Enjoy a diligent, highly responsive cloud that allows you to run MLO from different devices while maintaining them in sync.
· Toggl
Toggl is an intuitive time tracking tool that offers business evaluation features for premium users. It operates as a browser extension, but you can also use it from your browser. Toggl also comes with mobile apps that allow you to track your time on the go. This time tracker is perfect for small businesses and freelancers.
Large teams can also benefit from this application, especially if they want to track the time they spent working. The Toggl free plan gives users excellent automatic time-tracking tools, weekly reports, and allows them to work offline. Users can also use this task management app to get weekly records and develop as many projects as their clients want.
You can leverage Toggl to create different Teams and Workspaces to maintain task organization. For project-based work, Toggl premium allows you to develop sub-projects to facilitate the monitoring of different phases of your project. Toggl is an excellent alternative to time-sheets that you can use to track the time you spend on various projects.
· Trello
Trello is a fun, eye-catching application that allows users to collaborate as they work. This app is ideal for coordinating, organizing, and tracking work. Trello is easy to use, and you can share it with external collaborators.
This app is free, but you can also choose the premium version that is payable through a credit card. The free version gives you unlimited personal cards, boards, and lists. However, you can only use a minimum of 10 team collaborative boards on a free Trello account.
Trello is available as a downloadable desktop or web app. You can use it on your iPhone, Android devices, iPad, Mac OS, or even Windows. Trello operates smoothly and comes with an excellent drag and drop capability. Trello allows you to upload content from your Dropbox, Google Drive, desktop, and URLs.
This app does not feature time-tracking by default, but you can get it as an add-on. You can also add extra features via third party Google Chrome extensions. You will even get a Trello application for slack.
· Asana
Asana is an efficient workflow management tool that you can use to manage your important tasks. It is different from ordinary project management apps because it lacks structure. Asana is similar to a deck of cards, while project management software resembles a board game.
Users play board games with an array of preset rules, and players must adhere to the set instructions. With a deck of cards, however, users have more options. Asana is ideal for ongoing work, while project management apps are perfect for projects with defined beginning and end dates.
Asana combines components of file storage, project management, and collaboration to help you manage projects within a team. Asana is an easy to use tool that comes with a simple layout. It is perfect for a small group that has simple projects.
· Getting Things Done (GTD)
Getting Things Done is an objective and one of the transparent time management techniques and tools. It integrates the Pomodoro technique. You can use GTD to boost productivity and professional performance. To execute the procedures, you have to follow the following steps.
- Collect. Have all the task lists that you need to complete
- Preparation. Evaluate the list of requirements and establish those that need action or not.
- Arrangement. Organize your tasks and set a completion deadline
- Completion. Perform the tasks without distractions
- Review. Review your task execution strategies regularly and make the necessary adjustments.
About the Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro technique is structured to facilitate task organization in time cycles with a break at the end of every phase. To perform this technique, users must compile a list, including tasks you need to complete within 25 minutes without distractions.
You can take a five-minute break after each cycle before resuming your duties. You can only take an extended break after completing four 25 minute cycles. According to the author of the Pomodoro technique, taking regular pauses triggers mental agility.
Identify the Best Time Management Tools that Satisfy Your Business Need
Distractions such as social media can limit your productivity. Many individuals and organizations have adopted time management tools to track time, become more efficient, and achieve their goals. Are you looking for the ideal tool to help you manage your time?
If you are, you can choose one of the options we have discussed here, depending on your needs. Sign up now and learn more about time management.