Tips for Time Management
by Scott Hammond
by Scott Hammond
Making a commitment that you'll measure time more efficiently will be the best promise you ever make to yourself.
1. Manage your availability. Let others know when you are available and when you're not.
2. Learn to prioritize. One of the most important things you can do is prioritize your commitments. If you belong to organizations that feel like dreaded obligations, just give up your membership. There is not enough time to spend on doing things that aren't important to you.
3. Make all your calls in the morning. Then, block off the rest of your day for uninterrupted work.
4. Schedule time every day to take care of your filing. Purge those out-dated papers and files! This will go a long way to help you stay on top of your job responsibility. It's all about getting organized and staying organized.
5. Create an activity log. Keep a detailed personal activity log for several days to determine how you're actually using your time. See where you're spending too much or not enough of your precious moments. Are you being productive or wasteful?
6. Control your busywork. It's not always easy to admit that sometimes we allow ourselves to get immersed in busywork. Focus on the job at hand and don't let meaningless tasks consume your precious time.
7. Create a personal system. No one knows your schedule better than you do. Incorporate simple and effective systems in your life that help you do what must be done on a daily basis so that you actually can get things accomplished. Get a routine and form positive habits.
8. Don't bite off more than you can chew. Break up big projects into manageable pieces. Divide your projects and concentrate on one part at a time. Gradual progress and growth is the best practice.
9. Never force the finishing of a project, if it can be helped. There's no point in forcing yourself to finish a job when you're not making any headway. Switch to another project or challenge to refresh your mind. Then you'll feel renewed to return to the original job, ready to complete it.
10. Plan ahead. This tip will eliminate procrastination and ensure higher productivity. Estimate how long a job will take. Add on one-third more time. Then count the number of days back from the deadline, and set that as your defining starting point.
11. Learn what is urgent, versus what is important. There is a tremendous difference. Too often we respond to the urgent while neglecting what's important--things that don't always come with a ticking clock. Sometimes, important tasks might not require an instant response, but they are necessary in keeping you on track to achieve your goals, personal or professional.
12. Under promise and over deliver. This is a very old axiom, but nonetheless very true. Don't promise too much; you're more likely to disappoint people. Instead, with all things, under promise and over deliver. People will be pleasantly surprised when you've achieved more than originally planned.
