time management

TIME MANAGEMENT

GOALS AND BENEFITS OF TIME MANAGEMENT

Gain Control Increase Productivity Achieve Goals Find Fulfillment Find Balance


Gain Control

Effective time management enables you to gain control over your time. The goal is not control for the sake of control, but in order to become more effective, reduce your stress, increase your self-esteem and gain a sense of inner peace.


Increase Productivity

Effective time management increases your productivity allowing you to accomplish more with less effort. Improving your productivity is not about “doing more in less time,” it is really about accomplishing more by working less.


Achieve Goals

Effective time management helps you accomplish your important goals by guiding you to direct and focus the appropriate amount of time and energy towards their achievement.


Find Fulfillment

Effective time management can lead to fulfillment by helping you realize what is truly important, rewarding, and valuable in your life and making sure that you set your goals and priorities accordingly.


Find Balance

Effective time management enables you to lead a more balanced life by helping you find the time and energy to devote to all the important areas of your life.

OBSTACLES TO EFFECTIVE TIME MANAGEMENT

Unclear objectives

Disorganization

Inability to say “no”


Interruptions

More interruptions

Periods of inactivity


Too many things at once

Stress and fatigue

All work and no play

WHAT CAN WE DO?

Recognize that obstacles existIdentify them

Employ strategies to overcome

SET GOALS

Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Time-based

SET GOALS

Specific

When a goal is too vague, you may never know how to reach it or even when you have reached it. Make sure that you know exactly what you hope to achieve.

SET GOALS

Measurable

When you have a goal that is measurable, you will know how far you have to go to reach the goal, and when you get there.

SET GOALS

Achievable

It is commendable to set your sights high, but sometimes we try to accomplish more than we can actually do. Your goals should be such that, if you “extend yourself” you can just reach them.

SET GOALS

Realistic

This means understanding how long you need to complete each task, how much concentration you need, and whether or not you can work on another task at the same time without impairing the quality of your efforts.

SET GOALS

Time-based

It is important to set time guidelines for your goals, so that you can keep track of your progress as you are going along and can be alert to when you are falling behind schedule.

THE 4 D’S OF TIME MANAGEMENT

As a leader you will be faced with many tasks. It is safe to say that you will not be able to do everything, so it is wise to periodically make a list of the tasks that confront you and prioritize them. This technique may be helpful:

Do Delegate Delay Delete


Do

Determine from the list the things you think are most important to accomplish, and are things you should do yourself.


Delegate

Remember that there many people within your business with skills, experience, and motivation to carry out a wide variety of tasks. A real leader do not try to accomplish everything themselves and recognizes that some things are better handled by others.


Delay

Some things can wait. The danger is delaying too many things until deadlines are near. The best policy here is to consider when things are due, how long it will take to accomplish them, and what your current workload will allow.


Delete

If you have set goals using the guidelines we mentioned earlier, you may recognize that some of them are not achievable or realistic, or that they are just not important. A good leader knows when to concentrate on the important and eliminate the rest.

PRIORITIZE

Address the urgent

Accomplish what you can early

Attach deadlines to things you delay

LEARN WHEN SAY “NO”

You can’t do everything Don’t undertake things you can’t complete Remain consistent to your goals

USE YOUR WAITING TIME

On public transportation At the doctor’s office Waiting for your plane On hold When you are early

CONCENTRATE ON THE TASK AT HAND

Focus on your goal

Tune out interruptions

CONSIDER YOUR PERSONAL PRIME TIMEWhen you plan your tasks, think about your own “prime time.” If you do your best work early, plan to do the routine tasks later in the day and concentrate on the more challenging tasks when you are at your best. If you don’t really get going until later, handle the routines in the morning and save the more difficult tasks for later.

CELEBRATE YOUR SUCCESS

Celebrate the achievement of your goals to maintain a healthy balance in life between work and play. Reward yourself when you complete a task or finish a project.

REVIEW

Set goals Prioritize Learn when to say “NO” Use your waiting time Concentrate on the task at hand Consider your personal prime time Celebrate success

CONCLUSION

There is no one right way to master time management, or even a single correct approach to implementing the concept of managing time. Each situation is different. Fortunately, you can apply the basic ideas behind time management to any situation. Time management is for everyone, not just for a chosen few.