{"id":92056,"date":"2023-02-10T16:49:33","date_gmt":"2023-02-10T20:49:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=92056"},"modified":"2023-02-10T16:49:34","modified_gmt":"2023-02-10T20:49:34","slug":"benefits-of-time-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-time-management\/","title":{"rendered":"The Overlooked Benefits of Time Management"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Do you feel in control of how you spend your time<\/a>? Why is it important to manage your time<\/a>? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time management is one of the most important life skills<\/a> you can develop. Some of the benefits of time management include increased productivity, better focus, and most importantly, work-life balance<\/a>. However, many people let external factors dictate how they spend their time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this in mind, here\u2019s a look at the benefits of time management. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Time Management Leads to a Balanced Life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Most people\u2019s biggest source of dissatisfaction and unhappiness in life is the imbalance they feel between their different roles and responsibilities. Many people feel their work demands so much of them that there aren\u2019t enough hours in the day to give adequate time, energy, and attention to their families. Or they\u2019re just barely keeping up with family and work, but have no personal time for their own rest and rejuvenation, so they feel burnt out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Stephen Covey, the author of First Things First<\/em><\/a>, the feeling of being constantly pulled in different directions stems from the either\/or paradigm of thinking about time<\/em>: You either devote the next hour to work or to family, but not to both. The either\/or paradigm is largely part of Western culture and contributes to a scarcity, win\/lose \u201cchronos\u201d mentality that there\u2019s only limited time and time spent in one role is always at the expense of another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in reality, the person who goes to work and brainstorms in meetings is the same person who cooks dinner at home and helps the kids with homework. Furthermore, all your roles are part of your interrelated whole person, so who you are<\/a> in each role impacts who you are in all your other roles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, when you manage your time <\/strong>well in advance<\/em><\/strong>, you can strike a balance between all your roles, needs, and responsibilities and make sure that nothing gets neglected.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\r\nTITLE: First Things First
\r\nAUTHOR: Stephen R. Covey
\r\nTIME: 51
\r\nREADS: 29.8
\r\nIMG_URL: https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/first-things-first-cover.jpg
\r\nBOOK_SUMMARYURL: first-things-first-summary-stephen-covey
\r\nAMZN_ID: B00V1XGKJK
\r\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spending Time With Your Loved Ones <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many people complain that they don\u2019t have enough time with their family because work responsibilities consume both their time and energy. However, spending time with your loved ones<\/a> should be everyone\u2019s priority. In fact, working too much<\/a> and not spending enough time with loved ones is one of the five most common regrets of the dying<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, your relationships with your children and partner are unique strengths. Only you can parent (not babysit) your own children in your unique way; for example, you might be able to foster your kids\u2019 love of the outdoors because you also love the outdoors, whereas your partner can\u2019t foster that passion in the same way because they prefer being inside. And only you can invest time in your partnership. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By managing your time<\/a> well in advance, you can make sure that your work responsibilities don\u2019t eat away at your time with your loved ones. <\/strong>To that end, productivity expert Laura Vanderkam (168 Hours<\/em><\/a>), recommends <\/strong>adjusting your work schedule so that you work in chunks (like from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m.) instead of throughout the entire workday (from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.). By chunking your workday, you\u2019ll work the same number of hours but gain free time to spend with your loved ones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Avoiding Procrastination<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you don\u2019t allocate your time in advance, you can delude yourself into thinking that you have more time than you actually do to attend to everything. As a result, you may fall into the trap of procrastination. In the short term, procrastination wastes your time and gives you anxiety. In the long term, however, it has more overarching and deleterious effects, hurting your mental health and causing you to miss out on opportunities to progress in life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her book Procrastination<\/em><\/a>, psychologists Lenora Yuen and Jane Burka highlight some of the negative effects of procrastination<\/a>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n