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Time Management
Time Management
By Sharon Housley
Managing your time and using it wisely
is a journey, and not something that can be easily mastered
overnight. Implementing a plan will help, but it is
not going to be a sure cure. Time management requires
a significant amount of self-discipline.
Here are some tips to assist you with
time management...
1. Set Goals
Set both short-term and long-term goals for your work
day, work week, and work year. While it may seem silly,
take the time to make a written list of your goals,
which will allow you to refer back to the list when
you need some guidance. Keep in mind that it is okay
to adjust the goals as your business needs or your role
changes. Use them as a tool to guide you.
2. Mini-Rewards
All work an no play is a difficult concept to sustain
for very long. Build rewards into your schedule. If
there is a task you really dislike, follow it with a
task that you greatly enjoy. Build "mini-rewards" into
your schedule to increase your productivity.
3. Keep Lists
Keep a running "To Do" list. The To Do list should contain
both daily tasks as well as longer-term tasks. Having
a To Do list will help keep your attention on the projects
that require attention, and prevent some items from
slipping through the cracks and being forgotten.
4. Be Realistic
Keep your expectations realistic. No one can do everything,
and with that it mind, try to set realistic expectations
of what you can hope to accomplish.
5. Prioritize
Prioritize the list of things to do. Some items might
require immediate attention, while others may be necessary
but not as urgent. And after prioritizing, try not to
become a "firefighter" and only react to the urgent
items. Be sure to still give proper attention to non-urgent
items as well, as they are important too.
6. Use Time Wisely
If there are blocks of time that you spend waiting or
commuting, figure out ways to use that time being productive!
Listening to podcasts, reading, writing, proof-reading,
reviewing your schedule, planning for your next activity,
etc, are all things that can usually be done remotely
to fill in some of the unavoidable "dead" time in your
schedule. Try to find interesting and unusual productive
things to do during those periods of downtime.
7. Set Limits
Set reasonable time limits for tasks. When working on
those tasks, monitor the time that each item is taking.
8. Organize Work Space
Organize your work space, and remove any excessive clutter.
Spending time looking for something is a waste of time...
and time is a precious commodity. Both your computer
files and your physical working area should be organized
so that you can easily locate anything you need in a
moments notice.
9. Minimize Distractions
If you find yourself consumed by social media, facebook,
instant messaging, or other social mediums, set aside
a specific and timed period of the day for participating
in the online social community. Other than those specific
periods of time, set your status to "unavailable" so
that you are not interrupted throughout the work day.
Minimize interruptions and distractions as much as possible.
10. Reflect
At the end of the day, reflect on what you accomplished.
If you were unable to account for a specific period
of time, or you found a given day to be particularly
unproductive, take an inventory and try to determine
where your time management system broke down.
Keep in mind that not every day is going
to be as productive as you would hope. Unexpected things
always come up, and no matter how hard you try, your
expectations just might not be realistic. Do not become
discouraged. Instead, simply stay focused and make an
effort to increase your productivity the next day.
About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com
software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds
and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for
RecordForAll http://www.recordforall.com
audio recording and editing software.
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box is included and the links are active. A courtesy
copy of the issue or a link to any online posting would
be greatly appreciated send an email to sharon@notepage.net
.
Additional articles available for publication available
at http://www.small-business-software.net/free-website-content.htm
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