One of the most important time management strategies is the use of goals. By setting goals for each project, it becomes easier to complete the project, get to work on large projects and keep track of your progress.
Setting goals may seem simple but it’s a complex process. If the intended goals are not well defined then you may have a hard time focusing on the goals or getting them done on time.
Our guide takes a look at the ideal qualities of time management goals so you can set achievable goals that will enhance your overall productivity.
What are Time Management Goals?
Time management goals are the specific plans you have for a day or week, specific projects you would like to complete within a certain time, or specific targets that you might have set for work projects.
These goals can range from something as simple as emptying your waste basket to completing a major work project that is due.
Time management goals are usually created with clearly set deadlines. Setting these deadlines for each project keeps you from wasting time during the day and can help eliminate procrastination so you can get started on the project.
Time management goals are designed to help you make the most out of your day. They allow you to focus on tasks that are the most important, increase productivity levels, and avoid wasting time on unnecessary projects.
The Ideal Qualities of Time Management Goals
If you want to create effective time management goals that are helpful during your workday or that can benefit your personal life then it’s best to create goals that have the following qualities:
The SMART Goal System – An Ultimate Goal Benchmark
Effective goals usually contain SMART qualities. To create SMART goals, your objectives must be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.
Let’s take a closer look at each of these qualities.
Specific
To be most effective, your goals for the day should not be vague. If the goals are unclear, it will be difficult to find direction or get to work. Here are some qualities that time management goals should include:
- Identify all of the main tasks that should be completed.
- Develop steps for getting to work on these tasks. This is especially important if your tasks need to be completed in a specific order.
- Consider the urgency of the task. Is it a priority task or are there other more important projects?
- Consider the work quality level of each of your goals. Do these projects need to be checked, double-checked, or quality inspected before they can be checked off?
- Goals should have a specific time frame allocated to them since this will urge you to get working.
Measurable
Measurability is an important quality of setting good time management goals. How many projects do you have on hand? How many steps does each project require to complete? How labor-intensive or time-consuming is each project? How long will each project or step take? How many projects do you need to complete within a single day, week, or even within an hour?
Without measurable goals or a defined time frame, it can be difficult to create a realistically achievable goal.
Achievable
It’s important to be realistic about your daily tasks. If you take on more than you can accomplish, you will start feeling overwhelmed. Unrealistic goals can also drain your energy, motivation, and confidence because of the negative emotions that tend to develop when you are physically unable to meet certain goals.
Be realistic with each of the goals you create. Are you physically able to complete a project? Do you have the needed resources for the project? Are you being realistic about the time it will take to complete your projects?
Relevant
Relevancy also plays a huge role in time management strategies. The tasks you list as daily goals should be relevant. These tasks shouldn’t be time-wasters or duties that are unnecessary. Every goal you set for yourself should be relevant to your main goal. With more relevant goals, you can avoid spending time and energy on unimportant tasks and your large or urgent tasks will become your main focus point.
To create goals that are more relevant to your specific day or project, you can use the time management matrix.
Divide your projects and list them under four categories, which include the following:
- Important and urgent tasks
- Important but non-urgent tasks
- Urgent but unimportant tasks
- Unimportant and non-urgent tasks
The time management matrix makes it easy to identify the high-priority tasks that require your immediate attention and pinpoint tasks that can be delegated.
Time-Bound
A good time management goal is time-bound. If there is no time limit tied to a project, you will end up putting the task off or can even start procrastinating. Setting a specific time for your goal increases your productivity and helps you better manage your goals since each project will be completed within a specific time frame.
One of the best time management skills you can develop is the ability to complete certain tasks on time. There are many tools and strategies that you can use to make goals more time-bound. Here are some examples:
- Use a Time Tracker
Use a time tracker to keep track of your day. This can be something as simple as a journal with time slots where you can pen down each goal, a mobile time tracker app or software like Clockify or a web application like Monday.com that you can use to view your goals or get notifications when certain projects are due.
- Use Time Blocks
Using time blocks is another time management strategy that can help you set and achieve your goals. With this concept, your day is divided into blocks and different tasks or activities are penned down into each of these blocks. By the time the time block has passed, you should be done with these specific projects.
Other Qualities of Good Time Management Goals
While the SMART system is a good benchmark for setting proper goals, other methods can also help you create better goals for your day. Here are some other characteristics of a proper time management goal.
Sort Goals into a To-Do List
After setting goals for your day, start organizing your goals by urgency. Determine what should be done first and what can be put off until later. Keep time sensitivity in mind when you are developing your to-do list. Larger tasks and goals often take longer to complete and may take up a significant portion of your day, leaving little time for other important tasks.
Incorporate Breaks or Rest Time
Break times or time for rest should be included as part of your goals. It’s important to get the needed rest during your day to avoid becoming overwhelmed or too tired to continue working. When you burn out, your overall performance slows down and projects on your goal list may get postponed.
Set break or rest goals. For example, make it a goal to take a good lunch break where you can sit down and enjoy a meal or set a goal to get a 10-minute power nap each day during your lunch break.
Each Goal Should Have a Reward
Checking off on your goals is a lot more fun if you can enjoy some type of reward after completing a project. Without a reward system for your goals, you may become unmotivated and can end up neglecting your projects.
Having a reward system in place for each project is a great goal strategy. It’s important to include small rewards for small tasks and larger rewards for major tasks.
However, these rewards should be quick to enjoy so they don’t start taking over your life.
Room for Flexibility
Goals should be well structured but also include a bit of flexibility or room for improvement. The projects we handle in our professional lives are hardly ever set in stone. Unexpected changes or scenarios can easily mess with your goals for the day. Changes to your project priorities can also force you to postpone all other projects for the day.
Creating goals that are slightly flexible in the completion order, time allocated for each task, and work quality can be very helpful. This little bit of flexibility will also keep you from feeling too stressed during the day.
Powerful Tools That Can Help Manage Your Daily Goals
There are numerous powerful productivity tools available that can help you keep track of your daily or weekly goals, plan and organize these goals, and get them done on time.
Here are some of the best project-tracking tools to use if you want to take note of and keep track of your daily projects.
A Yearly Planner
If you prefer a traditional approach then it is best to invest in a proper yearly planner. A good planner should have a large calendar for each month so you can write down the most important events. This should be accompanied by day planners with time slots. These time slots allow you to note meetings and make it easier to use time blocks to plan out your day or organize your projects.
Google Calendar
Google Calendar is king when it comes to setting reminders for important events or meetings. With this app, you can set reminders for birthdays, and important events or tasks. You have the option to schedule items for specific years, months, or days, and can even create a fully detailed day calendar.
The best part about this software is that it will automatically integrate with all signed-in devices. This means all of your important info can be accessed on a mobile device, PC or laptop no matter where you are.
Slack
Slack is a good workplace app if you need to delegate certain tasks or projects to other employees and still want to keep track of these projects. With this platform, you can create as many projects as you like for employees, freelancers, or colleagues and set up projects for yourself that you need to keep track of.
With this app, all members working on certain projects can easily collaborate and information like documents or photographs can be shared.
Toggle
Toggle is a useful productivity app for tracking the amount of time spent working on certain projects. This is an especially handy tool for freelancers who are paid by the hour. They can easily monitor the amount of time they spend on each assignment.
The time-tracking app is also useful to students who want to spend specific amounts of time studying. It can even be used to monitor how long it takes to complete everyday projects so you can create more realistic future goals for yourself.
Conclusion
The ideal qualities of time management goals we included in our list will make it much easier to set more attainable goals for your daily life and projects. With properly developed and evaluated goals, your entire day will go much smoother.
At Top Productivity Apps, we are constantly looking for great ways to improve time management skills and we regularly share helpful guides on the best ways to take charge of your day.
We hope that this guide gives you a better understanding of how to set real and accomplishable goals for yourself. If you are looking for other terrific time management strategies then we welcome you to have a look at some of our other guides.
Please let us know what you thought about this guide by commenting and remember to share with friends so they can also learn how to create better goals.
