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Time ManagementTime Management is about how we organise what we need or want to do. We all have 24 hours in each day. How many of these hours do you want to work at your business? However many hours you choose – make sure that you fill them – don’t squander them. One of the things that I have learned is that as we get older we need to work smarter. To work smart we need to use our time well. One of the reasons that I choose to work for myself is to have an improved lifestyle. This means that ideally I organise myself so that I get the time to do things the way I want. If this is what you are looking for I have listed seven areas where you can improve your organisation within the time available.
Timetabling your effortStarting your Time Management process is about how you timetable your activities. This means discovering what is best for you. If you have been in a ‘job’ for most of your life it will have been up to others to decide what and when you did something. Now you have the luxury of deciding for yourself.I find that I am at my most productive/creative between 6.00 and 11.00 in the morning. So I try to group all my ‘brain’ work in this time. I put mundane, non-thinking tasks or appointments in the afternoon. Yes, appointments need thinking but there will be others involved and this I find tends to keep me sharp. Evenings are a time when I programme in meetings and other ‘people’ events. Please don’t get the idea that I work all day, everyday. These are just timings that I have found work for me. Some times I do put in a pretty full day but then I also take off a full day. Find out what works for you. Plot out a timetable for yourself. In your schedule plan for your life not just your business. Keep some time clear of business each week and stick to it. Keep an activity logKeep a record of everything you do during one week. Again this is about looking at yourself in order to decide your own individual Time Management programme.Note down what you do, when you do it and how long it takes. At the end of the first week you will have an honest account of what happened. You will be able to see exactly where you had longer breaks than you intended – where you spent a great deal of time on what was an insignificant task. I have found this quite an eye opening exercise. Once you know what you actually do during the week you have something on which to work. It is possible then to begin constructing a timetable that you know can work. It may take a few weeks or even months to fine tune your plan but it is the most effective Time Management scheme. Group or divide tasksTry to put all similar jobs together in the same time period. If you have to make several phone calls each day/week then group them together and do them one after another. This saves time and effort because when you are in phone call mode you will achieve more.It works too if you divide jobs into chunks. Some jobs appear to be endless when seen as a whole. Timetabled in parts make them manageable. A big job is often put off until you have ‘enough’ time. By dividing it into smaller sections you find that you can just manage one part in the time available. Thinking it all through positively will certainly help with Time Management. By saving time or using short stretches of time efficiently will give you more time to spend in the way you wish.
OrganiseMake sure that your work areas are well organised. Get your administrative areas arranged. Filing cabinets, drawers, trays, shelves, and so on will help you to do this. You are responsible though for each item being stored in the correct place. Each task that has to be done can then be undertaken in a clear area.There is no point in concentrating on Time Management without managing locations too. This gets the job done quicker. You won’t have to clear a space and you’ll know where everything is when you want it.
Work aloneMaybe you will have an office, work room or shop somewhere. That’s fine because everyone will know that it is you place of work. If however you are running your business from home you will need to find your own special place and impress upon others that this is where you work. Block interruptions.It is sometimes difficult to get others to understand that you are working. Friends and family tend to believe that you are available for them to drop by or maybe you can child mind! This is especially the case if you have reached retirement age. People just do not understand that you wish to work and that it is part of your life. The flexibility of being your own boss is for you. Don’t become ‘flexible’ for everyone else. If you went to a place of employment at the bidding of a boss people would not contact you. Make it the same when working from home. Time Management will not work if you have others taking your time away from you - however much you enjoy it while it is happening. PrepareAt the end of each day take a few moments to list what needs to be done the next day – don’t make it too long.Two things come from this: • the first is that you will not need to sit around thinking what to do in the morning • the second is that your mind will begin preparation overnight and be raring to go. This is definitely an area where Time Management comes into its own. Be flexibleIt’s your business, it’s your life’ it’s your organisation. You can decide how you set your week and therefore you can also decide to make changes. If you can fit in what you consider to be essential then taking time to do things that you fancy doing is fine. Putting a Time Management scheme into place will help you to understand the time you have and the things you want to do.What you have to watch here is that you are so ‘flexible’ you do not get round to running your business. I say again do what you consider to be essential then take time out.
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