Why Should You Be a Time Management Ninja?

Places to go (the office), people to see (clients and colleagues), deadlines to meet, and bosses to please. We spend so much of our work week stressed out, trying to finish our never-ending to-do list that it seems like there never seems to be enough time in the day for anything else. We put in so much effort into getting ahead that we often become guilty of letting life pass us by.

Now, don't get this wrong. There's nothing bad about working hard or in trying to get ahead in life. After all, the goal is to be able to earn enough to support yourself and your family plus a little bit of extra for the fun stuff. Unfortunately, a lot of us aren't able to even spare enough time for the fun stuff because we're so busy trying to get enough time to complete our tasks. On a regular work day, it isn’t too far to imagine all of us running around like headless chickens.

Of course, the solution to all of that is time management. And there are a lot of ways to accomplish that. You can even download an app for it. For example, many big companies implement time management solutions in order to track employees’ time and attendance and so productivity during work time. But the point of this article is that we don’t appreciate the importance of time management. Without the proper motivation, you aren’t going to be using that app, writing that list, or following a schedule.

So, before you start learning how to manage your time, let’s take a second to look at the reasons why you should be a time management ninja:

#1: Reduced Stress

Who doesn’t want that, right? Stress is not good for your health. It also doesn’t do anything for your looks. People who are constantly stressed out don’t fare well in the long run. If you are able to manage your time well, you’re less likely to be that headless chicken. Yes, that’s exactly what you look like when you’re trying to meet several deadlines all at the same time. Instead, you’ll be able to meet deadlines and complete tasks without feeling like someone’s constantly breathing down your neck or sending you constant requests for an update through chat or email.

#2: More Done with Less Effort

When you're stressed about too many things on your to-do list, you tend to become distracted which means you need to put in more effort and time (there it is again!) just to check off one thing on your list. However, if you are able to manage your workload better, you become more productive and efficient. For example, a writer tends to have several deadlines—one for every article he or she is required to write. While the deadlines are typically not set on the same day, it takes a bit of time to complete each one. If he or she wasn’t able to manage his/her time properly, it’s a good bet that he/she will be trying to rush through the first article (the one with the nearest deadline) and thinking about when he or she needs to get started on the next one in order to meet that deadline. The stress of it all will be distracting, causing him/her to lose focus and take more time just to complete one task. Which, of course, makes him stress even more, distracting him more, etc. The vicious cycle never ends. If he/she had simply set a schedule ahead of time and stuck with it, he/she wouldn’t have to expend so much effort (and time!) just to finish one task. So, yes, time management does allow you to do more tasks with less effort.

#3: More Free Time

There are only 24 hours in a day. And you’ve probably wished a time or two that you could somehow create more time so that you’re able to meet all your goals and still have time for yourself and family. If only, right? Well, managing your time means you’re able to make better use of it. For example, if you get your work done early, you’ll be able to catch your little girl’s recital or your son’s soccer game. Time management can also free up some of your weekends so you’re able to spend time learning new things such as a new language or cooking. You can even take up knitting (we heard it’s also a great stress reliever!) or ballroom dancing.

#4: Fortune favors the time management ninja.

The early bird catches the best worm. Time is money. When you have more time and are able to stay on top of your workload, it opens up more opportunities for you. You’re more able to take on anything that comes your way because you’re not neck deep in work. Let’s go back to that writer. When you’re assigned to work on several articles, it’s best if you start working on the most immediate project as soon as possible. Procrastinating will do you no good. If you’re good with sticking to your schedule and managing your time better, you’ll have more time to possibly accept more projects, one of which might just be the story you’ve been wanting to write for ages. Maybe you’ll have time help out a colleague on his/her own article. As an added bonus, you are seen as a more reliable employee which is never a bad thing in the workplace. In fact, it just might mean good things in your future (i.e. performance bonus, promotion).

#5: Less Problems

We all know that plenty of our problems are of our own making. But did you know that some of those problems were due to our mismanagement of time? It may have been because you missed a deadline or forgot an appointment (or worse, an anniversary). It may be because you were in such a rush that you made a split-second decision that required much forethought. Even a rush job on a project can become a problem in the future. How often are you asked to redo a task because you forgot some detail or made some miscalculations in your haste to meet a deadline? Not only are the mistakes a problem, taking time to redo your work is also going to be a problem. Instead of creating your own problems, you need to plan and prepare for your day.