Effective time Management techniques
Managing Time is an art. Every individual has to make do with the exact number of hours they are given in a day. Because being effective is one of the key performance indicators in today’s workplace, it is essential to effectively manage one’s time. Most people fail to organize and utilize time properly. Such disorientation may result in stress and overloading oneself with multiple tasks. Time Management allows for more tasks to be completed in the same or lesser amount of time. With adequate time allocated for every task, the work produced is stamped with an unmistakable seal of quality. Time management helps to keep things in context and to strike a balance between the various tasks that make up one’s day. Time is scarce and limited and deadlines stare you in the face; so ensuring that you complete projects on time keeps your actions in check and helps you avoid procrastination. This is beneficial to the company and to others in your workplace, especially so in the current economic environment. By managing your time effectively, you can also develop a keen sense of effective decision making. The time management techniques of successful people include – to-do lists and calendars or even a time diary – where you write down the time taken to complete a task and try to improve upon it every time you perform the task. By mapping your time, you will become aware of exactly what demands most of your time. It may be helpful to break down the major activity into parts and complete these within the assigned time periods. With such a time log, you can analyze your day-to-day activities and may then be able to eliminate or modify activities to save time. A pre-requisite of an effective time management plan is to be organized. Assign a time to each task according to its nature. List the tasks at hand and map the same with the time. As tempting as it may seem, avoid indulging in buffers as this puts the time schedule in disarray. Once this is done assign priorities. Study your to-do list and eliminate tasks that are not required or are repetitive. Identify tasks that can be delegated and do so. One needs to clearly distinguish between urgent and important tasks. www.time-management-basics.com states that the amount of effort invested into Important activities is directly proportional to the quality of the outcome. Urgent activities demand immediate attention, and are usually associated with the achievement of someone else’s goals. They are also deadline based. Once you have sorted your list of tasks into urgent or important, you will be able to illustrate them, as in the following diagram (www.careertunity.com ) URGENT VS IMPORTANT
Urgent and Important tasks are critical and demand immediate completion. Urgent tasks that are not important can be delegated. Not urgent important tasks are those with deadlines set in the near future; these can be shifted down the priority list since they can be dealt with later. Tasks that are neither urgent nor important can be eliminated in order to concentrate on the more immediate tasks. Do not try to multi-task if you are not proficient at this as it may interfere with or disrupt your major task. Goal setting is the very essence of time management. Be realistic about your deadlines and the amount of work you can take on. Accept tasks according to your true potential to avoid deadline stress. Time management extends beyond the glass doors of the workplace. An effective Time Manager strikes the right balance between work and home. With effective time management, one can make effective use of one’s time and hence become more productive.
