5 Ways Technology Has Improved Time Management Skills
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With the integration of technology in everyone’s lives, the amount of time to do a task has been significantly reduced. And this is important since managing time can be difficult to do on your own. Technology brought about tools that help people with time management.
Some of the most useful time management tools are Microsoft Excel, Gmail, and Dropbox. They help with communication, consolidation of files for quicker access, and analysis of huge amounts of data. By learning how to use these tools, you’ll be able to build your time management skills.
Having said that, technology has a huge part in time management, and they go hand in hand. Let’s look at some of the ways technology can help you with managing your time. On the other hand, the article will also tackle the problems with technology when it comes to time management.
How Technology Helps You Manage Your Time
Whether you’re a professional or a student, you are expected to finish a lot of tasks. Fortunately, you’re living in a digital world where you can use tools that help delegate your time to more important tasks. Some of these tools are straightforward, and some require a little bit of training for you to maximize their use.
But don’t worry! With platforms like Acuity Training, you can also attend online courses to build your technical skills. They provide a medium for you to learn how to work your way around different Microsoft Office programs. Not only that, but you can find courses for other apps and programs like Adobe Photoshop, SQL, and AutoCAD.
We provided a list of how you can use technology to manage your time better.
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Provides Easy Access to Documents With Cloud
With technology, you don’t need to fill out bookcases with important documents that are at risk for any natural disaster. You can save your library of work-related documents online through cloud-based programs. This eliminates the need to look for a specific document in a pile of paper, reducing the time to get the information you need.
Below are some software and tools that can assist you with a cloud-based filing system.
Dropbox
Dropbox is one of the most well-known cloud storage services available right now. It’s free, and your account initially comes with 2GB of storage. You can increase the storage and gain some perks by purchasing specific plans. For example, their standard business plan lets you have 5Gb storage and can share to more than 3 users.
It is a great application since it syncs instantly across all of your devices wherever you may be. As long as you’re connected to the internet, your files are automatically uploaded to the cloud. You don’t have to worry about saving work files to a USB drive again. And more importantly, you are given access to your files through your smartphone, laptop, or tablet.
Google Drive
Google Drive is ideal for generating documents and spreadsheets. Through apps like Google Docs and Google Sheets, you don’t have to remind yourself to save every once in a while. As you work, the system saves the file to the Drive automatically.
You can simply log in to Google if you need to make changes or view files from home.
Sharing and collaboration are other important features of Google Drive. You can organize projects into folders, share them with others, and work on papers at the same time. This will help get your project done quickly.
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Helps You Plan Your Day and Manage Your Tasks
Technology makes it easy to keep track of your schedule. You don’t need to go through paper calendars, emails, or old text messages to know which tasks are scheduled for the day. Some apps are integrated into other apps where they automatically remind you of the tasks you need to do.
Google Calendar
Google Calendar is such a useful tool as it syncs with the majority of third-party task apps. This significantly makes it easier to manage your time to do tasks across many apps.
nTask
nTask is a project management tool with a wide set of features that are flexible to use. It allows you to schedule, plan, and manage your tasks through a calendar view. You also get access to the meeting management feature. This enables you to schedule and manage meetings easily.
Most importantly, it has third-party integrations, which let nTask remind you of your to-dos for the day.
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Helps Keep Track of Your Time
Knowing where you focus your efforts is a vital aspect of time management. This doesn’t mean you need to keep track of every minute of your work. This just means that you need to have a basic idea of how you spend your time. And technology can help you in this aspect.
Toggl
Toggl is an essential tool where you can accurately monitor the time you spent working on each task. Perfect for allocating enough time for more important projects. It’s a useful program that works on both your phone and your PC. You can manage your time according to projects and tasks, and you’ll obtain a detailed report in the form of graphs and charts.
It’s also useful for getting a sense of how you spend your time. You may think you’re being productive for the majority of your day, but sometimes, that’s not really the case.
Toggl can help you see your workflow during the day by showing how much time is spent doing non-work-related activities. Knowing this can help you revisit your process and make it more efficient in the future.
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Provides a Medium in Delegating Tasks
Whether you’re a manager, a corporate director, or a team member, delegating tasks is an important aspect of your job. Fortunately, technological advancements provide an efficient way of managing a team. You won’t have to do meetings or conference calls as this can take up much time for both you and your team.
Trello
Trello is an incredible tool for visualizing tasks, especially for groups. It allows you to create boards used to represent projects and simply assign tasks to each team member. You can also create various lists inside each board and include tasks in the form of cards.
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Helps You Focus on Your Task
While technology is useful in many aspects of your job, it can also distract you from important tasks. Receiving texts, emails, and calls, for example, disturbs your focus on the task you’re currently working on.
The only solution to this is to turn off your phone and concentrate on the task at hand. Luckily, you don’t need to be rude to other people when they try to reach you. There are apps with features that automatically send a message that you’re currently away.
Auto Response Feature in Emails
You need to stop responding to emails as soon as they arrive. It distracts you from your concentration and ruins the momentum while you’re working. Is the email urgent? Do they really need an immediate response? If not, you can set an auto-response email to let them know you’re currently unavailable to answer their questions.
To maximize such features, you need to establish a system where you only respond to emails during specific times of the day. If it’s an emergency, they can contact you through other means.
Create an email auto-responder that informs recipients when they can anticipate a response. Schedule a time of your day for responding to emails and leave the others to the auto-responder.
Final Thoughts
It’s a known fact that technology helps people improve their time management skills. The list above provides some of the examples of tools that you can use to manage your time better. However, some challenges also arise when it comes to using technology. And these can get in your way of doing tasks.
The key here is to avoid becoming distracted or overworked. Schedule a time in your day for non-work-related activities and avoid being on your phone all the time. Technology has its pros and cons. Use technology to your advantage and make it work for you rather than against you.
Want to share other apps and programs for time management that are not on the list? Let us know in the comment section below!