Are you useless with time? I thought so, so am I!
I like to think that the reason why I am so god awful at managing my time is that I am a creative genius who thinks about other things far more important then being somewhere on time, but I think it’s mostly laziness rather then being a genius. Any genius would know that time management is immensely important to everyone regardless of talent, job, age or gender. Some people are natural time managers and other people find the concept of time to be a confusing and dangerous idea that simply doesn’t have any relevance to what’s going on.
OK, so hold it there.
I have learnt that other people exist in my life, and time management means ‘thinking about other people’. What if you’re late for an appointment? The other person might be able to get on with something else, but they can’t devote their full attention as you might burst through the door any minute. If messes their day up and can have a knock on effect. What about a whole meeting? You’re late for a presentation, 10 people at the meeting, you bound in 20 minutes late…
10 x 20 = 200, that’s nearly three hours of wasted time,
I have learnt this the hard way, but if you want to learn anything then please remember these top tips for improving your time management. They are in no particular order but are of equal importance.
1. Think of others
Poor time management means other people suffer. This doesn’t just mean turning up to things on time, but handing in reports, completing jobs or important tasks and doing ‘your share’.
A good way of gauging how your poor time management might be having an effect on people is just asking. Good colleagues will offer constructive criticism, maybe share advice or ideas about how you can improve. The best way to tackle a problem is to admit that you have issues and be seen to be addressing them.
2. Mind Dump
Have a lot on your mind? Sometimes the best way to clear thinking is to create a mind dump. Get a piece of paper and just write down eveything that is bothering you or sitting on your mind, no particular order, not even in a list, just on paper.
When you’ve done that you’ll realise how much you have been carrying around in your head, and now you can organise it.
3. A ‘not to-do’ list?
That’s it kids, write a list of jobs that you don’t have to do. Instead of writing things that need doing, sift out the things that you know you can hold on to for a bit longer, non urgent stuff. The stuff that is left are the tasks that’ll need prioritising.
4. NYPD
This is an important little phrase and stands for kNow Your Priorities and Delegate. Bill Allen, the guy that came up with this was a very experienced and clever manager, he was also dyslexic.
Once you have prioritised what you want to do, if you have the option to delegate tasks, do it! If you’re unsure about it then ask yourself the following questions.
- Is it important and urgent? If yes, might be better if you do it.
- Is it important but not urgent? If yes, then either delegate it, hold on to it or DIY
- Is it non important but urgent? Delegate it!
- Is it not important and not urgent? Delegate it!
This is based on the Eisenhower square, I guess I could call it the Gower Square but there would be copyright issues!
5. Block book time
I use my calendar to not only book appointments but list when I am going to complete something. I can decide that I am going to spend tomorrow morning writing a report on Bibliotherapy or updating bookmarks or checking links or writing.
6. Get in to the habit
Once you learn how to manage time, it is up to you and your immense force of will power to get those things done and to keep the motivation and impulse going. If you have started writing appointments down in a diary or on a PDA then make sure you always do. Make a habit of it!
7. Get a diary
Obvious isn’t it, but so many of us would benefit from writing things down. Block book time slots for tasks, write notes, keep appointments etc. But remember point six, make it a habit. Alternatively, if you have some money to invest, get a PDA. Portable Digital Assistants are either going to make your life a lot easier or complicate things, so before one goes mad and spends stupid money on getting something with Bluetooth Connectivity and alsorts of whizz bells and nobbles, thing if you really need one. What can you do with a PDA that you cannot with a diary? Do you need to uplink your PDA email to your work email, do you need the ability to surf the internet? If you want to write something down, then maybe a diary is going to meet your needs far easier then a PDA.
