Time Management Tips

Time Management Tips

Definition:

Generally, time management refers to the development of processes and tools that increase efficiency and productivity.

In business, time management is desirable because good time management supposedly improves the bottom line.

Today, the definition of time management has broadened to encompass our personal as well as our working lives; good time management supposedly improves our work-life-balance therefore, our general happiness.

1) Realize that time management is a myth.

No matter how organized we are, there are always only 24 hours in a day. Time doesn't change. All we can actually manage is ourselves and what we do with the time that we have.

2) Find out where you're wasting time.

Many of us are prey to time-wasters that steal time we could be using much more productively. What are your time bandits? Do you spend too much time 'Net surfing, reading email, Facebook posting, texting, or making personal calls? 

In a survey by salary.com 89 percent of respondents admitted to wasting time every day at work:

• 31 percent waste roughly 30 minutes daily
• 31 percent waste roughly one hour daily
• 16 percent waste roughly two hours daily
• 6 percent waste roughly three hours daily
• 2 percent waste roughly four hours daily
• 2 percent waste five or more hours daily

3) Create time management goals.

Remember, the focus of time management is actually changing your behaviors, not changing time. A good place to start is by eliminating your personal time-wasters. For one week, for example, set a goal that you're not going to take personal phone calls or respond to non-work related text messages while you're working.

14) Implement a time management plan.

Think of this as an extension of the third tip. The objective is to change your behaviors over time to achieve whatever general goal you've set for yourself, such as increasing your productivity or decreasing your stress. So you need to not only set your specific goals, but track them over time to see whether or not you're accomplishing them.

5) Use time management tools.

Whether it's a Day-Timer or a software program, the first step to physically managing your time is to know where it's going now and planning how you're going to spend your time in the future. A software program such as Outlook, for instance, lets you schedule events easily and can be set to remind you of events in advance, making your time management easier.

6) Prioritize ruthlessly.

You should start each day with a session prioritizing the tasks for that day and setting your performance benchmark. If you have 20 tasks for a given day, how many of them do you truly need to accomplish?

7) Learn to delegate and/or outsource.

In my experience, delegation is one of the hardest things to learn how to do for many business owners, but no matter how small your business is, there's no need for you to be a one-person show — you need to let other people carry some of the load.

8) Establish routines and stick to them as much as possible.

While crises will arise, you'll be much more productive if you can follow routines most of the time.

9) Get in the habit of setting time limits for tasks.

For instance, reading and answering email can consume your whole day if you let it. Instead, set a limit of one hour a day for this task and stick to it.

10) Be sure your systems are organized.

Are you wasting a lot of time looking for files on your computer? Take the time to organize and file them with a file management system. Whatever that looks like for you. Is your filing system slowing you down? Re-Do it, so it's organized to the point that you can quickly lay your hands on what you need. 

11) Don't waste time waiting- Wasting Time is Wasting Money $$

From client meetings to dentist appointments, it's impossible to avoid waiting for someone or something. But you don't need to just sit there and twiddle your thumbs. Technology makes it easy to work wherever you are; your tablet or smartphone will help you stay connected. You can be reading a report, checking a spreadsheet, or planning your next marketing campaign.

• Minutes Wasted - 10 Minutes
•  Days of Week - 5 Minutes
• Total- 50 Minutes Per Week
• Multiply by 52 Weeks- 2600 Minutes
• Equals 43.33 Hours Per Year 

Pick one thing

Take a look at your current day. Is there a reoccurring task that you do every day that takes up your time? Can you stream line that task? If you were to consolidate the time that it took you to do it every day into one task, would you save time? Could you get your 43.33 hours back in a year? If so, work on that one thing first!!

Your time Belongs to You!!

You can be in control and accomplish what you want to accomplish — once you've come to grips with the time management myth and taken control of your time.