Time Management
Time management is the act or process of planning and exercising conscious control over the amount of time spent on specific activities, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency or productivity. We have devices that keep us constantly connected with work, with friends and family, and sometimes even with complete strangers. As a result, it's easy to get distracted. If you're like most of us, you have a lot to accomplish and do in your day or week or month. Before you can even begin to manage time, you must learn what time is. A dictionary defines time as "the point or period at which things occur." Put simply, time is when stuff happens.
- Track your time: Start off with tracking what you are currently spending your time on. Once you know what you are spending your time on, it will be easier to compile a realistic plan for going forward and to identify opportunities for improvement.
- Plan: When compiling your plan, do not just allocate specific activities to specific days, but also allocate specific time slots for each activity.
- Eliminate disruptions: Many people try to work all day with their email on so that they don’t miss anything. Schedule specific time slots for these disruptive activities and once the time slot has passed, try and close the program and come back to it when allocated again.
- Execute: Try and stick to your plan that you have created for the week.
- Make-over: Re-plan every week until you have found the one that works for you and then revisit it every month to make further improvements.
- Prioritize: Always try to keep in mind what really deserves your time. This is about the ability to prioritize effectively and not “sweat the small stuff”.
- Make “me” time: Do things that motivate and energize you! When we are busy with things that we enjoy we are energised and can use this momentum to woosh over the less fun stuff.
- Delegate and share your load where you can.When you delegate a task to someone else, make sure that you are clear in your expectations.
- Be organised: Make sure that you have a place for everything and that you keep everything in its place so that you do not waste time searching for stuff.
Hopefully with these simple time management tips you will be able to plan and control how you spend the hours in your day effectively and accomplish your goals.