No matter where you are and what you do for a living, we bet you are struggling with time management . After all, we live in the 21st century and it’s getting increasingly difficult to handle and synchronize all of the personal and professional activities day after day.
But there are ways to do it successfully. Different people use different time management techniques, but we consider sketchnoting to be one of the most powerful methods. It’s a relatively new tactic, but it quickly earned a lot of followers due to the ease of use and sheer efficiency. In this post, you can learn the following:
- The basics of time management
- The basics and benefits of sketchnoting
- How to use sketchnoting for time management
There is a long way ahead of us, so let’s move on to the first chapter immediately.
Time Management: Stats and Popular Techniques
We already mentioned that time management is a real problem globally. Many individuals are aware of this fact, but they underestimate the magnitude of this issue.
According to the study, 70% of employees work beyond the scheduled time and on weekends because they simply cannot manage all the professional duties in a timely manner. The same report reveals that 40% of employees claim their workload has increased in the past 12 months.
This is not the only research that focuses on time management. On the contrary, many other studies show similar results:
- The average employee spends two hours per day recovering from distractions
- It almost always takes twice as long to complete a task as what we originally thought it would take
- A grown-up American spends 12 hours a day working and doing other household and nursing activities
- Multitasking causes productivity to drop by 40%
- An average person would typically roll out 13 methods to manage their time
We believe that the last item on this list is particularly interesting because people use all sorts of techniques to try and improve time management skills. Some of the commonly-used tactics include:
- Prioritization: You can prioritize tasks based on importance and urgency. There are four basic categories that cover urgent and important tasks, important but not urgent, urgent but not important, and duties that are neither urgent nor important.
- Saying NO: This is one of the simplest tactics as it suggests you should say NO to irrelevant things that keep you distracted.
- Fend off procrastination: Another way to become more productive is to fend off procrastination and spend more time doing things that really mean something to you.
- Minimize the number of meetings: Some people spend too much time meeting their colleagues and subordinates. You can manage time more efficiently if you minimize the number of meetings.
- Eliminate distractions: Stay away from digital devices and other gadgets that proved to be time-wasters.
- Productivity apps: There are special apps designed for individuals with time management issues.
- Sketchnoting: The last technique is the one we are going to discuss in the next two chapters.
Sketchnoting: Definition and Key Benefits
Sketchnoting is not a new concept, but it has been expanding to more areas of life and work in the last few years. It now leaves a major mark on time management, so we would love to explain the concept more clearly here.
By definition, sketchnoting (also known as visual notetaking) is the creative and graphic process through which an individual can record their thoughts with the use of illustrations, symbols, structures, and texts. As you can see, it is a form of notetaking , hence the “noting” part of it, but it also involves bringing more visuals into the process compared to typical notetaking, hence the “sketch” part.
What makes this activity more powerful than simple notetaking is the fact that it relies on two different formats, textual and visual. This makes the strategy more efficient because the human brain tends to remember visual components much easier than plain text.
According to the report, 91% of people prefer visual content over written content. Another study reveals that people follow visual instructions 323% better than written instructions. Besides that, the human brain processes image 60 thousand times faster than text.
Sketchnoting has proved to speed up notetaking, encourage brainstorming, boost creativity, strengthen memory, enhance productivity, improve learning, and simplify time management.
There is obviously something that makes visual elements easy for the human brain to acknowledge and memorize, which is exactly why you should think about making sketchnotes your primary time management method. But how exactly are you supposed to do it? Keep reading to find out!
Practical Ways to Embrace Sketchnoting
As a highly creative activity, sketchnoting can be done in a variety of different ways. But if you are a beginner-level sketchnote-taker, we can give you a few practical tips on how to do it most effectively.
1. Check Out Existing Options
Sketchnoting is not a new thing, which means you can find tons of more or less creative templates online. It’s an excellent starting point because it gives you the chance to discover a template that perfectly suits your style of work and time management abilities. For instance, you can some awesome resources with dozens of interesting solutions, so make sure to check them out carefully.
2. Create Unique Frames
If you cannot find the right match for your sketchnoting adventures, then you should start experimenting to create your own, unique templates. Most people stick to simpler formats such as square frames or text boxes of different shapes.
Some individuals prefer circles, others enjoy triangles, but we recommend you to begin with plain lines. Why?
Well, timelines are a good way to display all of the tasks chronologically. That way, you can keep track of all activities one by one and never miss a single duty from your schedule.
3. Use Colors For Various Urgency Levels
Another tip we can share with you is to use different colors for various urgency levels. Think of it as the traffic light scenario in which red suggests urgency, yellow a warning sign, while green is reserved for non-urgent tasks. Of course, you can always improvise and create a totally different color scheme that fits your style and interests.
4. Add Icons For Tasks
The last tip is to create special icons for different actions. For example, you can draw a letter to suggest email conversations. That way, you can visualize activities instead of writing them down.
The Bottom Line
Most people are facing a lot of problems while trying to handle daily responsibilities, so they frequently end up forgetting or neglecting important tasks. If you are coping with the same problem, you should definitely try sketchnoting for time management. In this article, we showed you:
- The basics of time management
- The basics and benefits of sketchnoting
- How to use sketchnoting for time management
What are your ways to deal with time management issues? Have you already tried sketchnoting? Share your experiences in the comments – we would love to see what you think about sketchnoting and other time management techniques!
AUTHOR BIO
Liam Catalan is a digital marketer and the best person to talk to if you need help writing college papers . Liam is an expert in time management topics, but he also enjoys discussing themes such as self-branding and personal development. He is the father of two kids and a dedicated long-distance runner.
The post All You Need to Know About Sketchnoting for Time Management appeared first on Productivity Land .