Unable to manage your work and hobby? You may have an issue with time management. Are you aware of this famous proverb “Time and tide waits for none”? You might be familiar with this proverb already. Many people keep postponing important things or activities for tomorrow as they want to relax today or do something which is less important and can be finished quickly. The problem with this approach is that tomorrow never comes for those individuals. When tomorrow comes, they further postpone and the cycle continues. Hence, the job never gets done.
Similarly, hobbies are something which will definitely take time to learn. If people are not able to find time for their hobbies and they keep on postponing, they will never be able to learn. Therefore, if you really have the will and determination to learn the craft or the skill you are passionate about, you would really need to be good at time management. Let us understand below in detail how people can manage work and get involved in their hobbies as well with effective time management.
1. Find a dedicated time slot
In our everyday busy schedule, is it really hard to find time for anything else other than our regular office work? Well, I think it depends on the individual. If you are really passionate about something, you would find time for that activity or hobby. Many people who understand the importance of time management, keep a dedicated time slot for their hobbies. For example, if you are passionate about learning guitar, keep a fixed time for that activity. It can be in the morning or after your office hours. It’s not necessary that you need to keep the time slot every day for learning guitar. It can be twice a week or thrice a week. Whatever be the frequency, you just need to make sure that you are sticking to that schedule. Once you continue this activity for few weeks, you would surprise yourself with how easily you can manage time for your hobby and your regular office work.
2. Be Flexible
Sometimes, it may happen that on your dedicated hobby learning time slots, you may have some urgent official or personal work which is unavoidable. You can attend to those crucial work but make sure you compensate for that day. You can figure out another extra time slot in that week and you can utilize that time for the things which you could not accomplish the other day because of some other work. Try to be flexible as much as possible so that you can still accommodate other urgent work without disrupting your hobbies at the same time.
3. Utilize your weekends
Make sure you are utilizing your weekends to the fullest. Many people want to enjoy their weekends going for a road trip or going to a party in a restaurant. However, since your enjoyment lies in learning your hobby, you can invest more time learning during Saturdays or Sundays. I am not saying you should never travel or never visit a restaurant. You should prioritize your tasks for the weekend. If you feel you spent enough time during the weekend on your hobby, then definitely go out and explore the other things you plan to do over the weekend.
4. Delegate
Try to figure out if any household work can be delegated or automated. For example, if you are in a position to hire housemaids, that will help you gain some precious time which you can invest towards your hobby. Again, if you can buy some machines which will reduce your time for household chores, that will buy you some more time. I know there will be an investment involved in this process but if you are really passionate about your hobby, this is definitely worth it. In the long run, your hobby may give you another source of income if you can gain mastery over a period of time.
Conclusion
Time Management is one of the key soft skills a person needs to learn. With effective time management skills, people would be easily able to manage both their office work and their hobbies. These are some of the techniques which I also apply consistently and it has really helped me to keep up with my office work and my hobby which is essentially blog writing. With the work from home option that will likely retain for few more months because of the Covid-19 pandemic, there couldn’t be a better time to start learning your hobbies.
Are you able to manage your hobbies and your office job effectively? Do let me know in the comments below.
Recommended reading
How to improve listening skills ?
How to resolve conflicts at workplace?
