Did you know that only 8% of the Canadian workforce strictly adheres to their core work hours?
The rest of them? They are continuously struggling to meet deadlines and work overtime just to meet the job demands.
In today’s job market, effective time management isn’t just a skill anymore.
It has turned into a necessity.
Following a proper schedule ensures efficient use of time through smart working practices and greater outcomes!
And when time management strategies can reduce workplace stress by 43%, why not implement them in Canada’s evolving workplace?
Keep reading to know how you can build a better work-life balance as a professional in Canada.
Time Management – A Core Professionalism Skill
For many professionals, time management is just completing all their tasks in a day, no matter how much time it takes. However, time management is something more.
Beyond just achieving goals, time management is also about avoiding burnout while simultaneously giving 100% of your efforts to task completion.
The key benefits of time management are:
| Productivity | Time management increases work efficiency through more focus on quality work. |
| Reduced stress | Helps one get rid of the pressure associated with meeting deadlines. |
| Career growth | Meeting deadlines = more doors and pathways for promotions in your workplace. |
| Balance | Offers you ample space for personal growth, commitments, and family time. |
| Strategic choice | Allows one to stay on track, follow their routine, and make wise decisions. |
| Confidence | Instills a sense of confidence in an individual by offering them more control. |
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The Importance Of Time Management In Canada- Some Valuable Stats
While Canada is known for its strong work-life balance, the truth is that many professionals still struggle to find free time. But what is the reason behind this?
Let’s take a deeper look:
The Pressure To Perform Better
The Canadian work environment is changing. A shortage of employees for a specific task often places an extra burden on existing staff.
According to research, 21% of the existing employees are assigned extra work responsibilities!
Competitive Work Place Environment
Employees are expected to meet the dynamic expectations of the workplace environments. The exhausting culture of spending most of the hours meeting deadlines often leads to stress.
Over two-thirds of the Canadian employees report working beyond normal working hours to meet deadlines.
The Preference Towards Work-Life Balance
Canadians who are following remote or hybrid work practices are showing strong work-life outcomes. This clearly shows that those who get to make space outside their work practices are more satisfied with their lives.
According to stats, 72% of the remote Canadian employees are reporting are satisfied with their balanced schedules!
Time Management Strategies For Professionals In Canada
Time management isn’t just a one-time skill; it is actually a lifestyle!
All that is required of you is to align your efforts with your life objectives, to ensure success and peace of mind in both personal and professional life!
But the question is, how does it work? How can you ensure that by the end of the day, you have all the work done while having sufficient time for yourself?
By implementing some of the most effective tips in your daily life.
But what are the most effective ones?
Let’s take a look at them!
Setting Clear Goals
Did you know that professionals who plan their tasks have a 23% greater chance of finishing them on time?
Begin with a clear purpose regarding your goals. Understanding your objectives is necessary to give your work the right structure.
Here is what you need to do,
- Create a list of all your goals
- Categorize them based on the complexity levels
- Identify your daily activities which might interrupt these tasks
- Adjust these activities in your routine for short time frames
This approach ensures that tasks of your daily routine can be completed more efficiently. You can also choose to set SMART goals for turning vague ideas into actionable objectives in your professional life.
Take a look at this easy explanation of the SMART criteria:
| Specific | Specify by answering the who, what, where, when, why, and how related details. |
| Measure | Add quantifiable metrics to track the expected progress of your goal. |
| Achievable | Make sure that the goal is achievable within your selected timeframe. |
| Relevant | Your goals should align with your overall objectives. |
| Time bound | Set a clear deadline to meet those goals with full focus. |
Prioritize Your Work
Remember, not everything needs to be done at the same time! This is one of the biggest mistakes professionals make.
They try to put in multiple efforts, all at once, to complete a list of tasks together. As a result?
Their mind gets tangled in a range of tasks, resulting in a loss of focus and unaccomplished goals by the end of the day.
To avoid this scenario, many professionals make use of the Eisenhower matrix for prioritizing tasks.
It divides tasks into:
- Urgent and important
- Important but not urgent
- Urgent but not important
- Not important, not urgent
According to stats, prioritization techniques help in reducing workload stress by 25%! So make sure to focus on the most important tasks first, and then address the unimportant ones.
Make Use Of The Time Blocking Method
Time blocking is a productivity technique that allows you to schedule specific tasks into dedicated time blocks in your timetable.
It reduces the risk of multitasking by allowing professionals to maintain focus on a single task.
Here is what you need to do:
- Identify all your tasks and list them
- Write the estimated time for each task
- Assign slots of time for each task
- Add breaks in between
Remember, you need to be consistent with these blocks, but you can be flexible in case of routine changes as well!
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Productivity Tools And Apps Are Your Best Friend
Did you know that the use of time tracking tools can help professionals save 3+ hours every week?
More and more Canadian professionals are harnessing calendar apps, time management tools, and project management software to improve their workflows!
The most used tools include
- Todoist for managing personal tasks and deadlines
- Asana and Trello for monitoring and managing team projects
- Notion for taking workspace notes
- Google Calendar for scheduling and managing appointments
Learn To Say No
Unavailability is essential for your perfect work-life balance.
Professionalism doesn’t mean saying “I’ll handle it” to every request, unless it is very urgent or something that rarely occurs.
Effective time management also revolves around setting boundaries. You can choose to politely decline a task if it doesn’t align with your schedule.
Here is what you can do:
- Set specific times when you are unavailable
- Turn off your work-related notifications during that time
- Automate repetitive tasks
Take Breaks – They Are Essential
Consistently working for long hours doesn’t guarantee better outcomes, but only high exhaustion levels.
And when it is only proven that breaks can break up to 13% of the mental clarity and focus, you already know how essential it is!
One of the most recommended techniques for this is the Pomodoro technique. Here is how you can refresh your energy levels with it:
- Choose an important task
- Work on it for 25 minutes without any distractions
- Take a 5-minute break
- Resume your work for another 25 minutes
- Repeat the scenario to complete four work sessions of 25 minutes
- Take a 30-minute break after them
Wrapping Up
Time management isn’t a one-time action; it is something that goes on in your personal and professional life. You ensure a sustainable work-life balance, implementing the time management strategies mentioned above is very important! Just be light on yourself, start with a few, and keep adding more to ensure long-term success.
