Improve Your Time Management Right Now!

Marcia Granger asked:

“We never seem to have enough time to get everything done.  I think we need some time management tips. How can we find more time? “Can you come and do a workshop for us?’ asked a Manager responsible for training in a multinational, in a recent request.”No problem – when would you like to schedule it?” I replied.  

“I’ll have to get back to you.  We are thinking about it, but we’re looking in about 3 months time because we’ve got so much to do at the moment”

 Well, there’s a bit of a surprise!  Um…I wonder why they need time management training!  Well probably time and priority management might be more helpful.

 For those of us who need more urgency, here are a few things you can do.  Firstly let’s see what tasks are urgent and which ones are important.  Put these in order and place a time value on each of these: a specific time and date that you decide to use would help.

 The next thing to do is analyse your skills, diagnostic, decision making (and procrastination) and time management skills.  What are these?

 Diagnostic skills involve your ability, as a manager, to identify a situation and formulate an effective response.

 

This is something you most likely deal with on a daily basis. 

 You must be familiar enough with the inner workings of your operation to recognise immediately when something goes wrong. 

 It is this quick reaction that will lead you to successful resolution.

 Decision-making skills are just as important as diagnostic skills. Once you’ve identified a problem you must have the ability to weight your options and make an informed decision.

 

Too many managers find themselves faced with a handful of options, only to fumble with insecurity when it comes time to make a final choice. Everyone makes mistakes once in a while. Occasional mistakes are acceptable if you regularly make good decisions. You are, after all, only human.

 

Time management skills are the one thing I find to be

absolutely essential to the inner workings of any good

organisation, leadership or management training program, or individual

business manager. Can you walk into your office any given

morning, or at the beginning of any week, and quickly

identify what needs to be done? Are you able to place

the tasks you need to accomplish in a properly prioritised

order?

 

The art of time management includes not only scheduling your own work, but also knowing, what is urgent, important and when you need to begin delegating to others. You have a team for a reason and should never be afraid to assert your authority and assign additional tasks if needed. If you don’t feel as though you can delegate to your team, it’s time to assess whether or not you have the right team.

 

Effective time management means that everything is prioritised so that each task is completed on time and nothing is overlooked. You have a complicated job, so you should strive daily to keep it as simple as possible.

 

Probably the most important factor is when you decide on what needs to be done, do it now!   Go on, have a try!  You’ll be surprised how much time you save. 

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