Finding time to do things can be hard, especially with all of the commitments you have. With having a job, kids, family, friends, and other activities, there is never really any clear empty space or downtime.

With having so many responsibilities, it is important to recognize how much time you actually spend doing things in your life. By recognizing this, you can start to allocate your time more efficiently to make sure that you don’t waste any precious energy on things that don’t matter as much to you.

This article will talk about some ways to manage your time more effectively. You will also learn some easy tricks to help you get through your day more quickly. These are things like starting each workday with an exercise session, leaving early from work, and using technology tools to cut down on unneeded distractions before you begin working.

Work on your strongest skills

Even if you are spending most of your time in activities that earn you little money, you can still manage your time to improve your career. You may not be able to change what you do for a living, but you can invest in training and developing yourself in areas where you already have strength.

This is particularly important if you feel that you're being overburdened with work and there's very little opportunity to develop or hone your strengths. By investing in things like education and professional development, you can boost your confidence and self-worth and help give you more satisfaction from your job.

You can also use these opportunities to advance within your current organization or field. More senior positions tend to reward those who are strong in their area, so even if you don't feel that your position is secure, it’s worth looking into how you can strengthen your side.

Be realistic with expected results

A few years ago, I read an article about how top performers manage their time. The main focus was not how they spent their time, but rather what they expected to get out of it. If you expect nothing from yourself, then you will never work hard on achieving your goals.

I learned some valuable tips that may help you achieve this goal. So, here are those tips!

Never start a new task without first checking off the last one. This helps ensure that you do not add more things to your already full plate than there is time for. It also reminds you of past tasks that you have started but did not finish.

By starting these tasks at the same time every day, you make sure that they happen consistently. This gives you the opportunity to prepare properly for each one. Plus, you can check them off your list as done.

Make plans and schedules

The next step in time management is making plans and scheduling things. This can be for work, school or other responsibilities you have such as hobbies that take up your time.

By having these established routines, you will know what to do with your time once it’s allocated to you. You may need to review how much time you have each day so you don’t waste it by doing something that doesn’t matter too much to you.

For example, if you want to pursue your career more seriously then you should make sure you are spending enough time studying and practicing skills. If you want to spend more time with friends, you should find ways to keep them in your life without sacrificing others.

If you want to enjoy leisure activities like watching sports or going out every night, you should be able to because you have invested in yourself by paying attention to other parts of your life.

Limit media distractions

A lot of people begin using their phone in the middle of tasks or while they should be doing something else. This is a big time waster!

If you need to check your device for messages, etc., do it quickly so that you don’t keep wasting time on things otherwise.

Also, avoid keeping track of all of your calls, texts, and notifications via apps because this can easily add more clutter to your already busy schedule.

Try using Google Hangouts instead if you want to make sure everyone has what they needed before ending a call.

Establish a work-life balance

A lot of people get too focused on their careers, which can lead to more stressed out individuals and busywork. In addition to that, there are now companies that promote it as an incentive for employees.

This is not only unhelpful for your personal life but also for your career. You will burnout eventually if you focus solely on advancing your position while ignoring what else important things you have in your life.

In fact, research shows that having greater responsibilities at work may even contribute to someone’s risk of suicide.

So, take time off when needed. Give yourself permission to enjoy other parts of your life. It's a gift we were given, so why don't we use it more?

Start by making changes to how you allocate your time every week or month. Then keep doing this consistently over a longer period of time.

Identify your weaknesses

One of the main reasons people get overwhelmed by time is because they are trying to do too many things at once. You have probably noticed it before – you’re looking through your phone, computer screen or notebook page and there are just so many things you need to be doing!

It can feel like there isn’t enough time in the day for all these tasks that you want to accomplish.

And we’ve talked about before how important it is to use your time effectively. But what most people don’t realize is that not only does having lots of commitments make it hard to find time to focus, but also on average they take up one hour every week of your time.

That's half a day every month that you're spending on something that costs you money or resources. Or both!

So if you're already working hard, why would you want to spend more time doing the same thing? It makes sense to try to reduce the amount of time you devote to each task, right?

But how?

Well, you've come to the right place. Because here I'll talk you through some easy steps to help you manage your time more efficiently.

I'll share with you the tools and strategies that have helped me cut down my workload while keeping myself busy, without sacrificing quality.

Practice effective time management

Learning how to manage your time efficiently is a skill that can be practiced and refined over time. With too many commitments, tasks and responsibilities coming in, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and distracted.

Finding a system that works for you will depend on what types of activities you are doing and what times of day you typically feel most productive. This way, you can make the most out of your schedule by using those times to focus on important work while keeping yourself relaxed and rested.

You can also learn to prioritize effectively to better allocate our limited resources.

Automate tasks

One of the biggest time wasters that most people get involved in is doing things manually. You may spend lots of time organizing and putting away your belongings, having breakfast, and getting ready for work or home projects depending on what area of life you are in, but still have to do it yourself.

It’s easy to get distracted by all of the other things you have to do, so you keep postponing starting until you just give up and do it later. This can quickly add up to wasted hours!

By automating some of these duties, you can free up time to focus on more important tasks. It’s easier than might think! Here are some examples:

Schedule housework and maintenance around your schedule

Many people start their day with an early workout, then make lunch at one o’clock because they don’t want to go out, and then they are spent until dinnertime. Why not simply plan your own meal and let the robot handle the rest? Or better yet, why not use this freed-up time to read or watch something interesting instead?

Research studies continue to show that being productive does not require long uninterrupted chunks of time alone with our computers, tablets, and phones. Rather, we become less efficient when we allow ourselves to be interrupted every few minutes.