Essential Time Management Tips to Boost Productivity

One of the hardest parts of job searching is being able manage your time effectively. Making sure you put steps in place to manage your spare time is crucial to getting the most out of your job-hunting process. The following time management tips are a good place to start if you are struggling to manage your time.

Plan ahead

Breaking down your tasks into a daily time management plan so you can visualize the entire day is a great place to start. Whether you plan the night before or the morning of, the key is to try to stick to your plan as best you can through the day.

Using an organizer, calendar, or to-do list can make this easier. There are many free apps out there such as Trello that can help you visualize the tasks that need doing and track your job-hunting progress through your day or week.

Block out distractions

Smart phones have made so many things in our life easier, except when we need to concentrate! The lure of games, cat videos and our mates’ social media stories can be hard to resist. The best bet is to just turn the phone off until break time and use it as a reward for your hard work. You aren’t going to get much done if you are fiddling with your mobile all day!

Loud housemates or wild kids can also make it hard to concentrate effectively. If you can’t find a quiet place at home, try doing your work in somewhere like a public library. It might make it easier to concentrate and make you more productive.

Get Help

One of the best time management tips is one we often overlook – asking for help. Our family and friends are there to support and lift us up. If they can help with you job-hunting by looking over a cover letter or caring for the kids, just ask.

Your employment services provider is also here to support you. Your consultant at MAX can help you at whatever stage of the job seeking process you are at and you should reach out to them if, and when, you need a little bit of assistance.

Prioritize your time

Don’t let the pursuit of perfection keep you from submitting things by the due date or spending too much time on tasks. By all means spell and grammar check your letters and resumes, but spending hours fiddling with margins isn’t going to help you get a job.

Tracking how much time each task takes can really help you narrow down where you are getting bogged down. This kind of information can be vital to understanding what you need to work on and when to ask for help.

Take a break and refocus

Make sure your time management plan allows for breaks! We aren’t robots. Focusing for a full 8 hours without a ‘time out’ isn’t just impossible, it also kills our creativity and productivity. Make sure you get out of the chair and take a walk, preferably outside so you can soak up some sun and reset.

For more time management tips or assistance with your unique situation, get in touch with your consultant.