When it comes to time management, I am slowly learning how to master my time to have a more productive day. I feel like we all have a hard time in this area of our lives. We try to plan, schedule, and do everything we can, but nothing seems to stick. At times I feel like I never have enough time in the day. Now is a time where many of us are working from home, which can hinder how much we can achieve in a day.

There are so many distractions around us that keep us from managing our time. Personally, I had to learn how to eliminate distractions to manage my time. I’ve found that when I sit down and plan out details, I have more effective work weeks. Mastering Time Management is a skill, and I want to help you crack the code with seven secrets to mastering your time like a boss.

Secret #1: Declutter

Look at the environment around you. Do you have a messy desk, full email inbox, untouched to-do list? Whatever it is, take the time to declutter your life. When we have too much chaos around us, we can never get things done, which causes a domino effect towards procrastination.

Have you ever looked at something for weeks and said, “I need to organize this to do that”? I know I have, I do it all the time, and then things just don’t get done. Decluttering will free up a lot of space to start moving you towards your time management goals.

Secret #2: Plan

Take out a notebook or even your iPhone and start creating a plan, i.e., a task list. I always pick a day of the week where I can give myself an hour or two to plan out what I need to accomplish in the week. If you separate it by business and personal, you will have a more focused task list. I use a few different apps to do this, i.e., iPhone notes, Trello, Calendars, and iPhone Reminders. Other applications are great, like – Asana and Evernote. I feel it’s all based on your preference and the type of planner you are.

Secret #3: Prioritize

Once you created all of your task lists, take a moment to prioritize what is the most important task to what is the least important task. It may seem like a lot of work, but I suggest grouping your task. For example, if you have a business task, you need to accomplish, group all of the tasks in that category to keep them separated from your everyday task. Prioritization of both big and small tasks will help you tremendously with your time management skills.

Secret #4: Be Effective

If you have a million things to do, make sure you’re effective in producing the proper result of each task. Don’t try to rush through everything to check it off the list; if you do this, you will end up back at square one when things aren’t completed properly. Remember, life isn’t a race, do things at your own pace so you can pat yourself on the back once you see your completed task and goals.

Secret #5: Focus and Finish the Job

Stay focused on your goals to create a “finishing instinct” when you get a task; make sure you finish every task no matter what. We tend to start tackling our goals and task, and sometimes we fall off and lose focus. If you have a solid task list that is achievable, change your mindset to “finish mode” so you can conquer each task effectively.

Secret #6: Stop Procrastinating

I feel like procrastination is one of our biggest enemies. I know from personal experience how this has affected my time management skills. Many of us like to tackle the easy task first and then push back the difficult task. This is not effective; I believe getting the hard part out of the way leads you to breeze through the easy task at the end of the finish line.

For example, let’s say you want to plan a vacation, you would book the flight and hotel and then figure out the fun and easy details later, right? This is how you should prioritize your task to eliminate procrastination.

Secret #7: Stay Organized

Once you finally get organized, stay organized!!! Don’t let all of your hard work go to the waste side, Remember, Plan, Prioritize, Accomplish, and Complete. You will be on your way to amazing time management skills in no time.