For everyone, there are only so many hours in the day; this single factor never changes. However, you can prioritize the time you have during the day in order to achieve a higher level of productivity. Time management skills can help you obtain the most from both working and leisure time. Sticking to a few simple rules should help improve your time management skills and your quality of life.
There are a few tried and tested techniques that will help you improve time management. One major factor is planning your week. Break your week down into units of time and decide how much time you need to spend on each task. Decide which tasks are urgent and which are important. Just because a task is urgent does necessarily not mean it is important.
Important tasks may be pushed aside if jobs deemed as urgent are presented instead. The ability to prioritize more important tasks as opposed to urgent ones is a key skill in order to improve time management. Urgent tasks should, if they can, be delegated to other members of staff, leaving you to deal with the important tasks.
Another technique to improve time management is to keep a list of your weekly duties on a notepad, or preferably a computer. Prioritize the list in order of importance. This list can be consulted daily as a reminder of your goals. The ability to plan your week in order of importance is key in helping to improve time management.
One of the biggest enemies of time management is procrastination. Workers invariably put jobs aside for a number of reasons. They may leave aside mundane jobs until the last minute. Certain jobs may be postponed because the employee is simply not in the right mind frame. Everyday, mundane tasks are important, and setting aside a specified unit of time each day will make sure that they are not left until the last minute.
Many workers waste valuable time checking email numerous times throughout the day. Try setting a time plan so that you only have to check your email once or twice a day. Examining the time spent on tasks such as these and streamlining them will help you improve time management skills.
Time management is as much a state of mind as an actual performance skill. By getting into the right frame of mind, your brain is setting itself a goal. The ability to say no to people who constantly demand your time will go a long way in helping improve time management skills. Saying no to certain tasks and delegating jobs are key components to improve time management.
Identifying your bad habits is another way to improve time management. Think of all the ways that you waste time at work. Are some meetings really necessary, or would a simple email or telephone call suffice? The most successful people are those who know that time is a precious commodity. You can waste time procrastinating only to find that others have jumped ahead by delegating and achieved more with less effort.
