Time Management

Article by Mark D. Lewis, ManagementInfoCenter.com

Without proper time management, success can prove to be highly elusive. Only when time planning is done, can work be spread over a session, backlog can be avoided and study stress can be handled.

Effective time management is the outcome of a deliberate attempt to accord importance to various tasks and then time and schedule are planned around them. Proactive thinking is the key factor involved in this respect. Rather than waiting for time to make its demands, taking initiative to decide time management is what can make all the difference. Consider what your values and goals are, what the end result desired is, the levels of importance and the requisite actions to make them possible.

Time management is all about planning and monitoring the best way to utilize time in order to ensure that the intended use of time is in consonance with the actual use of time. It involve wise usage of time for the purpose of being more organized, efficient and less vulnerable to stress. Good time management can be achieved in a variety of different ways and therefore the most effective option should be chosen.

Tips to make Time Management Easier

The objectives should be clear, preferably in writing, followed by prioritizing to ensure that the desired results can be achieved.

Arrange work on the basis of priority from the most important one to the least each day.

The focus needs to be on the objectives instead of the activities. The most important activities are the ones that enable the objectives to be realized.

A list of things to be done should be made a daily routine that includes daily objectives, priorities and time estimates and excludes random activities.

For better time management a daily habit should be developed that involves identifying targets, making priorities clear, planning and scheduling time. Impulsive unscheduled tasks should be avoided as much as possible and all activities should be reviewed.

Smaller tasks should be taken care of right away instead of putting them off for later. Doing so makes it easier to identify the larger tasks to be undertaken.

If it’s a group effort, responsibilities should be delegated. Division of tasks should be equal as much as possible and jobs should be assigned on the basis of each person’s competencies.

The more boring tasks should be done in sections so that the larger tasks can be divided into a series of manageable parts.

Work out a personal philosophy of time with your perception of time and how it relates to your life.

Completing the entire assignment in one sitting should be avoided and instead should be done section by section.

If afflicted by a writer’s block, try writing down just about anything. You can change it later but it gets you started as opposed to nothing at all.

Analyze your schedule to assess it for balance against intellectual, financial, career, physical, social, spiritual and other interests. Honesty is imperative in judging how realistic the plan is or whether over commitment has occurred. Using personal values, identify the ones that can be avoided.

Scrutinize all activities from the perspective of objectives. Examine each activity, its time and the reason, questioning its indispensability. Indispensables can be avoided altogether.

Occasional straying from your planned schedule should not be cause for losing heart as it happens to everybody.

Nothing is more important in achieving effective time management as striking a balance. Daily responsibilities may involve diverse activities but what is important is to giving adequate time to each activity without exerting yourself. Make enough time to enjoy the day while ensuring tasks are completed on time.