TIME MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES AND TIPS

Let’s start with some tried and tested tips for you to think about when managing your time. We’ll concentrate on the ones relating to time management and give you some simple ideas to help you on your way. Most of these will be covered in more detail in the course.

1. Crisis Management: We all suffer from crises but are you the fire-fighter or arsonist! We may be great at sorting out crises but do we always get into crisis by not making plans for the future. Remember, for the same crisis; once is unfortunate; twice is a disaster but the third time is incompetence!!!! We haven’t learnt from previous mistakes.

 2. Telephone interruptions: Still our greatest communication tool and still considered our greatest enemy at times. We feel awkward about closing phone calls because we may feel rude if we do. We also don’t ask enough questions when put on the spot by an instant telephone request.

3. Unclear objectives and Priorities: The University of Arkansas carried out research that there was a 25% difference between what managers thought staff should be prioritising  and what staff thought were their priorities.

4. Trying to do too much yourself: We sometimes feel a failure when we compare what little we've completed compared with our colleagues. We always seem to run out of time before we run out of tasks because we try to do it all without regard to its priority.

5. Interruptions - personal: Drop-In Visitors will always come because of one simple reason. You allow them to. Many people are ambivalent towards this type of interruptions. That very ambivalence encourages the practice until it becomes a major drain on quality time.

6. Ineffective Delegation: Coaching and good delegation are considered the main route to effective leadership - the wisest leaders choose this style of management above all others because it strengthens teams and builds confidence.

7. Desk management and personal disorganisation: Are you suffering from Desk Stress where you can’t see more than 5% of the material your desk is made of due to unnecessary clutter.  Research shows that there is about 36 hours of work on top of the average desk - this alone can be a real productivity stopper.

8. Procrastination and indecision: Procrastination is putting off what you should be doing right now and is truly 'the thief of time'. We run away from what is a priority and effectively waste time. People avoid making decisions for many reasons: the three principle ones are: avoidance, complacency and panic.

9. Inability to Say No: If you say ‘yes I will’ when you know you can’t you’ll be causing other people stress. People rely on your promises and people will accept your promise of delivery rather than an a.s.a.p. if you always meet your deadlines.

10. Meetings: The average senior manager spends 17 hours per week in meetings, plus 6 hours a week getting ready for them, and even more hours recovering!

11. Managing e-mails: Are you suffering from e-mailitis: a stressful inability to stop looking at and stressing over your e-mails every 5 minutes.

As you can see there are many ways in which we can start to manage our time more effectively but one of the factors which stops people attempting time management techniques is the thought that ‘These factors are out of my control. One way to start is to manage our thoughts and ‘self-talk’.

Back to TOP