How do you manage your time?
How often do you find yourself running out of time?
Weekly? Daily? Hourly?
For many people, it seems that there is just never enough time in their day to get everything done…
Throughout my career I have played a leading role in managing teams and managing a number of different projects that required thorough planning and strong team leadership.
The success of each one of these teams and projects was my ability and skill to manage time effectively, efficiently and consistently.
Managing tight time frames and competing priorities requires:
high-level organisational skills
strong negotiation skills
forward planning
effective communication skills
effective skill in delegation
self management
solid work ethic
Many people spend their days in a frenzy of activity, believing that being busy is being productive, but instead, achieve very little.
Personal time management is an essential skill for effective people. People who develop great time management skills achieve extraordinary results consistently and as you master great time management skills, you’ll find that you start to take control of your day-to-day tasks, bidding farewell to the often-intense stress of work overload.
Let’s start by thinking about time. What is time?
Here are twelve important characteristics of time:
1.It is an economic resource
2.It cannot be expanded or contracted
3.It is irrecoverable and irreplaceable
4.It is expensive and it’s so very precious
5.It is highly perishable
6.Most of what is called ‘cost’ is the cost of time
7.It is a flow from past to present to future in the context of experience
8.It is a flow from future to present to past in the context of planning
9.The flow is one way and irreversible
10.It is quantifiable (seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years)
11.All processes that we manage are time processes
12.Time is the dimension in which change takes place
Why does time management even matter?
Effective time management helps:
Bring about consistent control over time on a daily and weekly basis
Priorities tasks and continually reassess workflows and priorities in a busy and demanding environment
To better allocate resources to meet objectives by specified deadlines
Adapt to changing priorities
Track productivity
Significantly reduce the time needed for the general stuff, instead, concentrating and focusing on the things that matter the most
Work smarter not longer and harder
Here’s a list of time wasters that tend to get in the way and prevent people achieving their goal:
Don’t know how to distinguish between important, urgent, not important and not urgent
Procrastinate and indecisive
React to interruptions/distractions
Spend un-resourceful hours on your social media
Do-it-myself syndrome – believing that it’s easier if you do things instead of delegating/teaching others
Socialise instead of ‘communicate’
Impulsive doing without purpose and not planning
Don’t know how to say ‘no’…
So, How do you mange time effectively, efficiently and consistently?
Know precisely what you want to achieve and work backwards from there
Effective estimating of time, resources and costs
Know where you must concentrate your efforts
Delegate work effectively- achieve results through others
Control the telephone
Control access to your office or workspace – learn to say no
Master knowledge of the function, structure and process of a meeting, it’s essential to improving time management skills
Master the art of communication – Most people are poor listeners – poor listening and ineffective communication is a major time waster…
Learn how to delegate effectively.
One of the most common ways to overcome time management challenges is to learn how to delegate your work to other people. If you do this well, you can quickly build a strong and successful team of people and achieve great results consistently.
Effective delegation is knowing:
When To Delegate – If a task is not yours to do, then delegate it
Do you have enough time to delegate the job effectively? Time must be available for adequate training, for questions and answers, for opportunities to check progress and for rework if that is necessary
Is this a task that I should delegate?
If the task is important, ask yourself, ‘is it really something that I am responsible for doing in the first place.? ‘Can the task be given to someone else?
Who Should I Delegate To?
Does the experience, knowledge and skills of the individual apply to the delegated task?
Does the delegated task align with the individual’s preferred work style?
What is the current workload of this person you are delegating to?
How to clearly articulate the desired outcome – communicate clearly and in the way the person you are delegating to understands and likes to be communicated to
And defining the limits of responsibility – Clearly identify constraints and boundaries. Where are the lines of authority, responsibility and accountability?
When to resist making decisions for the delegatee
How to establish a realistic completion date
That It really matters to hand over authority the delegatee the authority needed for carrying out the assignment and inform others that he or she has this authority now
In conclusion…
AT THE HEART OF TIME MANAGEMENT IS AN IMPORTANT SHIFT IN FOCUS. CONCENTRATE ON RESULTS and NOT ON BEING BUSY…
Sometimes roads are built to accommodate the mountains in their way
Don’t be discouraged by hurdles or fear of failure
Instead of becoming paralysed by uncertainty, just take the next step – learn as you go
Become aware of time
Accept the inevitable uncertainties
Accept that you cannot beat the clock. Work smarter, not longer and harder.
Start to manage yourself and effective time management will flow from there…
I trust this has been useful and that it brings some value and insights and maybe leads to some action and change around this topic for you. If you found the resource valuable, I’d greatly appreciate your feedback! Please leave a review on Google to share your thoughts and help others benefit from the content: Leave a Review. Your input is invaluable and helps me continue to provide great resources. Thank you!
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by Alexandra Egan
Domino Effect Consulting & Facilitating – www.alexandraegan.com.au R.E.S.E.T Your Thinking
Alexandra makes it easy for you to strategically think about, better manage and resolve any challenging situation. If you’re looking for someone to help you plan and prioritise your tasks, CLICK HERE and schedule in a free 30 minute strategy session.
