Time Management Tips

Time management tips can be effective if you practice them daily. The most important thing is to identify where you spend most of your time. A daily diary can accomplish this. Keep track of how you spend your time at work and at home. After you track your time, identify your time wasters.

Some time wasters at work:

your peers
your boss
non-work related task
the telephone
emails

If you can eliminate your time wasters you can improve your productivity. Learn to say no to others without feeling guilty.

Some time wasters at home:

television
surfing the internet

Be careful when multitasking. I would not recommend multitasking as a time management tip. Research has shown multitasking makes it harder for your brain to learn. So while you might be able to watch television and pay bills it might not be wise to do web training while working on another project. I strive to complete one task before engaging in another one.

Some effective time management tips are:

Try not to touch the same piece of paper or the same email twice.
Finish one task before moving on to the next.
Complete a daily to do list with time allotments.
Prioritize your tasks.
Eliminate paper, use your computer for a calendar, address books, to do lists.
Don't procrastinate.
Learn to say no.

At work it's important to work as a team. Your peers can be your biggest time wasters if you constantly spend time discussing projects, processes and tasks to be completed. Work with your peers so efforts are not being duplicated. Communicate clearly what the expectations are and what your priorities are.

Schedule a working lunch. This will set a more relaxed atmosphere and should enable the flow of the meeting to move at a good pace and minimize the time spent over analyzing. You and your peers should work together to be proactive and set processes in place that will yield long term gain.

At home you can spend time watching family programs with the family. You can also spend time watching television with your spouse and still work on paying bills while reading a magazine. Let the family know when your quiet time is and how long it will last. If you have a workout routine, make sure they know what time you have set aside for this. Communication and working together is the answer.

Clearly communicate with your peers, with your spouse or family so they are aware of your prorities and you can maximize your time. Good time management includes planning, organizing and executing.

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