Here are practical tips, tools and skills to improve time management. Time management starts with the commitment to change. Time management is easy as long as you commit to action. You can train others and improve your own time management through better planning, prioritizing, delegating, will change about your habits, routines and attitude.
The key to successful time management is planning and then protecting the planned time. People who says that they have no time do not plan, or fail to protect planned time. If you plan what to do when, and then stick to it, then you will have time. This involves conditioning, or re-conditioning your environment. For people who have demands placed on them by others, particularly other departments, managers, customers, etc, time management requires diplomatically managing the expectations of others. Time management is chiefly about conditioning your environment, rather than allowing your environment to condition you. If you tolerate, and accept without question, the interruptions and demands of others then you effectively encourage these time management pressures to continue.
Time management has enormous implications for organisations and the whole economy. See the astonishing 'wasted time' statistics on the time management quick tips page.
The urgent/important matrix tool offers quick easy improvement in time management.
First, this one rule could change your ability to manage your time more than anything else, which is why it's first: if you are a slave to your email system, and particularly if your pc is set up to notify you immediately upon the receipt of any incoming email, then I urge you make this simple change-it will dramatically improve your control over your time. Turn off the pop-up or noise which notifies you that you have mail. For many people this is the single biggest which notifies you that you have mail. For many people this is the single biggest obstacle to successful time management. Establish a new habit of checking your email at certain times in the day, when it is sensible for you and the business to do so-say, first when you arrive at your desk or start work, second just before lunch, third around an hour before normal business closes. You must decide when to look at your emails-this control should not rest with everyone out there who sends emails to you (nor indeed should this control organization has a policy which insists that you be constantly interrupted by your incoming emails try suggesting that the policy is reviewed-involuntary email notification is the single biggest time management detractor in the world today.
Be prepared to make drastic changes. Be creative to find and introduce different ways of doing things. challenges and question your own habits, routine, and the way you defend your time when others try to dictate how you should use it. The pareto Principle (80:20 Rule) is a simple easy starting point for assessing where you currently direct your time, and for identify where your time could better be directed.
Really think about how you currently spend your time. If you don't know keep a time log for a day or two. You can view and download a free time log record tool at the business balls free online resources section. Record everything you do for a day or two, better still if you have varied days; keep the time-log for a week. You'll be amazed; for instance, how long on average are you able to work between each interruption? Many managers struggle to achieve more than five or six minutes. If that's you, you need to make changes.
Challenges anything that could be wasting time and effort, particularly habitual tasks, meetings and reports where responsibility is inherited or handed down from above. Dont just assume that just because 'we've always done it this way' that it's still appropriate or even required at all. Think about why you are doing things, and whether there is a better way tool at the free online resources section, which will help you or another person to objectively judge your time management, and underlying issues. This tool is also an excellent preparation for time management training or coaching.
Review your activities in terms of your short-term and long-term goals, and priorities your activities according. Especially, plan preparation and creative thinking time in your diary for the long-term jobs, because they need it. If you don't plan for the preparation you'll never do it and all the work will get left to the last minute (sounds familiar?......). The short-term urgent tasks will always use up all your time unless you plan to spend it otherwise.
Use a diary, and an activity planner to schedule when to do things publish or display it, and try to stick to it.