How to be more productive and better manage your time

Do the days go by and you don't achieve the goals you set for yourself? It has happened to me too and I have had to learn to manage and prioritize my objectives. I'll tell you how to improve time management to be more productive.

In my case, I really like productivity since it helps me improve in the areas I set for myself each year. On many occasions, one sets goals each year but then doesn't meet them... why?

It can be due to different reasons that will depend on each person: procrastination, laziness, lack of discipline, not being clear about what you really want... In any case, I invite you to reflect on your case, and once you have answers, you can set goals for yourself.

As Jordan Peterson says, it's better to walk in some direction since when time passes you won't be in the same place. Also, as you travel your path, you will have more experience with which you can improve your plan.

The thing is to start and know why you do it.

Why productivity is important

In general, when one wants to make good use of their time and dedicate it to areas that are really important, when you want results or to meet objectives, that's when productivity comes into play.

I want to add my personal touch since, although it is important to measure and improve, not everything in life is productivity. For example, I use "to-do lists" a lot to unload my brain, but that doesn't mean my life is a "to-do list" as some people say.

For example, in sports or with the blog, I have some goals. For other things, I like to create habits or define some tasks that I want to do, but I also leave time to rest and do other types of activities that allow me to disconnect and boost my creativity.

If you want to move in any direction, you have to be able to define what things you must do to progress, whether it's publishing content, training a few days each week... Why? Because if you don't establish this, you will do things without knowing why and that will lead you to make decisions or take actions without knowing why you do them.

As I said, not everything in life is productivity nor can we always be constantly productive. This is solely your decision.

Being aware of what we dedicate our time to

The first step to being productive is knowing what you dedicate your time to each day: how much time you spend resting, how much time you spend in the car, how much time you spend looking at your phone or television...

Start here, by measuring every minute of your day to know exactly what you dedicate your time to for several weeks. You can do it with a notebook, with an excel sheet... anything. Phones also bring a utility to know how much time you spend using it each day, and in what applications.

It is very important to measure the things that interest us in order to make decisions. For example, if we spend 8 hours a day with our phone and 7 hours are doing "scrolling" through social networks, possibly your goal will be to reduce it. If you spend 8 hours since the phone is your work tool, possibly here you can't do anything.

Once you know what you dedicate your time to each day, ask yourself, are these the activities I want to do? Which ones do I want to keep and which ones not? Do they contribute to the things I want to achieve?

Again, and linked to the previous point, only you can make these reflections, and only you will know how to answer these questions.

Learning to prioritize: saying "no"

How many things have you said no to this week? Possibly few. In general, I have seen that it is very difficult to say no, but it is something important. Nowadays there are many distractions and it is easy to end up doing things that you don't know why you do them, in any area.

Once you know what things you want to progress in and why, what you currently dedicate your time to, and what activities you want to keep and which ones not, now you simply order all this and set priorities.

What is most important to you? Sports, spending time with your partner, improving a skill...? Simply organize your agenda and plan how much time you want to dedicate to the things that really matter to you.

Now to all the things that don't align with this, you simply have to say no. This will unlock a lot of time for you to advance your goals. Of course, don't forget to save time for yourself, to rest or to spend with family and friends.

Priorities will change over time and circumstances, just as I am of the opinion that you can't always have constant balance in life.

Techniques and ways of organization

Finally, I want to comment on some techniques that can help you improve your organization and time management:

• Define progressive goals. Don't start the house from the roof since fulfilling them requires perseverance and patience, and you will become demotivated.
• To define objectives, the "OKRs" tool can be useful. Google invented it to better prioritize its progress, and it consists of defining objectives and establishing metrics so that your actions align to move this. They are used a lot at work but you can use them in your personal life.
• Divide the work into small pieces. This helps you feel that there is progress and will help you value small results. If you define something very large or difficult, it will be prolonged over time and will end up reducing your motivation, which, although discipline is more important than motivation, motivation always gives you an extra push.
• Pomodoro technique. Establish a series of time intervals where you work focused on a task with periods of time to rest.
• Use an agenda. It can be digital or physical, I prefer it physical, and write down what events, activities and objectives you have. This way, each day you will know what you want to do and in what time intervals. Also, crossing it out is very satisfying.
• "To-Do" lists. In general, I love having "To-Do" lists that allow me to organize ideas, unload my brain, and know what things I should do in each part. It also allows me to add ideas and things I want to explore.
• Parkinson's law states that a task, however complex or simple it may be, expands to the time we define. So try not to establish large work periods and set smaller goals.
• Pareto's law, or the 80/20 principle, states that 80% of the results come from 20% of the work, and the remaining 20% requires 80% of the work. Prioritize that 20% of actions that we usually avoid.

Finally, remember and insist that progress requires perseverance and patience. Nowadays, the easy, the fast and the immediate are sold, but in general things require work.

Conclusion

Effective time management and productivity are essential skills to achieve personal goals and progress in life. However, it's not just about being constantly productive, but about finding a balance between focused work and time to rest and enjoy other activities.

The key is to reflect on your goals, be aware of what you dedicate your time to, prioritize important tasks, and use organizational techniques that adapt to each person's needs.

With perseverance, patience and discipline, it is possible to improve time management and move towards our goals, always remembering that progress requires effort and dedication.