We all have very busy lives. With both work and personal commitments, we often feel like there are not enough hours in the day to achieve everything we want to achieve.
This can leave us all feeling a little deflated when things are left undone or not finished. The pressure can really start to build and when this is the case in our working environment, it leads to stress and potential time wasted on mistakes.
Here is a no-nonsense guide to time management, processes that will help keep you balanced even when you are extremely busy, along with a concise tips section to show you how to make a more effective schedule.
By controlling your time, you can cut out non-essential activities and achieve more, thus enhancing your career and getting more out of life.
It can also make your job more enjoyable and rewarding, as time management teaches you to be more productive and to say no to impossible workloads.
Time management is a highly important matter for most professionals as demands are placed upon any hard-working person with responsibility. If you are sometimes too busy, if you have deadlines that are impossible to meet, if you are dis-organised and just can't seem to find the time to sort out your inbox, then working on better time management practices will can help you.
Use a planner or diary to note down your activities throughout the day in order to monitor where your time is going. At the end of the week, set aside some time to review your schedule. Now, how much time was wasted? You need to be strict and consciously cut out unproductive conversations, or any of the other little time wasters in your schedule takes some will power but it is worth it. Being aware of how much time you are spending on those things will help you to control your activities.
Being prepared: Being well prepared for essential meetings and appointments will help you to save time. How many times have you attended meetings without a clear idea of what it is about, or without having read the necessary documentation beforehand?
It's probably a safe bet that those very same meetings were unproductive (which probably led to a follow up meeting). If, on the other hand, you take the time to prepare for each scheduled appointment then it will be a success. Decisions can be made and actions assigned only if you have clear thoughts on the issue and are aware of what's going on.
Workload: Take another look at your schedule. How much time is spent on work that someone else could/should be doing? Tasks such as photocopying, stamping letters, or filing work that a junior member of staff learning the ropes could do.
Even if you have been doing these tasks for years, training or requesting that someone else takes on this duty (where appropriate) will save you much time in the long run.
Colleagues: Well-meaning colleagues can be a further source of wasted time. In the spirit of camaraderie, you should want to help your colleagues if there is a problem that needs your attention. If the task is not something directly related to your position, then perhaps refer them to someone who would be in a better position to help.
Managers: It's unfortunate that sometimes one's superiors contribute to wasted time. Within the proper bounds of respect and good humour, helping your manager to see how they are unnecessarily taking up your time can help to ease the strain on your schedule. Poorly defined tasks and unclear communication is a key source of time wastage. If your manager doesn't define duties clearly then you will end up going back to them with questions. Try to get clarity from the start.
Appointments: Unnecessary appointments may also have wasted your time. How many regular meetings do you have with colleagues? Again, you should be strict here, but how many of those were actually necessary or productive? Controlling your appointments is a vital step in time management.
Deadlines: Of all the things that are knocking your balance, deadlines are probably having the biggest effect. And it is probably the most difficult thing for you to change. Organising your projects in terms of priority and not just the closeness of the deadline will help you to keep a balance.
What if the deadline is just downright impossible, though? In that case, you should reason with your superiors to get the deadline extended. Failing that, forcefully requesting more resources to achieve the task will make the deadline more practical. You could also consider getting the Deliverable altered so as to be more achievable, even if the due date doesn't change. Your only remaining weapon is just to make it clear from the start that the deadline is impossible, although as a dedicated worker you will of course put your all into it.
Communications: Being organised in terms of communications is also vital. Emails can be cumbersome. Studies have shown that keeping email programs open is actually disruptive to efficiency. Rather, you should check emails regularly (five or six times a day) and deal with the incoming emails appropriately. Having separate folders in your inbox for different types of emails will keep you organised.
Telephone calls can easily waste your time. Rather than waiting on hold, it is wise to find out an appropriate time to call someone, or even request that they call you. You could even schedule a specific time to call someone to avoid the problems of missed calls. You should also make sure that secretarial staff are aware of how to deal with calls. They should know when to refer the calls to your colleagues, and when it is appropriate to take a message rather than put the call through to you.
Is managing your time really worth the hassle? Resoundingly, yes, it is. On a day-to-day level, it will make your routine more practical and organised. It will make your long-term view clearer, as you know that you are in control of upcoming projects and tasks. For your career, it will help you achieve your goals quicker.
It even has health benefits. It's scientifically proven that we get highly stressed when we don't achieve tasks and goals that we wanted to reach. Stress, in turn, is detrimental to sleep, digestion and mental activities. On the other hand, a balanced workload and controlled use of time will negate stress and make you more capable.
Speak with one of our experts today to explore how document management can transform your business processes, productivity and free up some of your precious time!
Tel: 0161 647 7040 Email: info@doctech.co.uk