I interviewed a candidate recently who was telling me about a fantastic course he took in time management and how it helped him to really become a much more efficient person. However, we then did have a very good laugh together over the course itself and how he felt only the first 2 hours were useful and the other 6 were a complete waste of his time. Regardless, the point here is that time management can be a very effective practice in enabling you to become a much more productive professional and person.
Lists
A good starting point is to make lists. Become a list person. Carry a small notebook (digital or print) and list out everything you need to do for the day and/or week. Then prioritize it. Important/hard stuff first, easy/fun stuff last. Then start vigilantly going one by one and getting them all done. Cross them off as you go along.
Interruptions
Interruptions will happen all the time resulting in new tasks being added to your lists. Determine the priority of the new task and slot it appropriately onto your list. Not every interruption will be high priority, so take care not to treat them all as such. Estimate when the new task can be completed, slot it into the list and then get back to focusing on the important/hard stuff.
Distractions
Distractions are everywhere but you must train yourself to say no or later. The Internet and everything about it, cell phone texts and calls, TV, movies, music, games, hobbies, sports, excessive food, gossip, magazines and a lot of other things, will constantly lure you away from managing your time appropriately, especially if you have easy access to them. It is really important to separate serious responsibilities from fun time and things of less importance to true productivity. Everything could be given time in your day, but prioritized accordingly.
Delegate
If you have too much on your lists and are really getting overloaded, consider delegating some of the tasks and responsibilities to other people capable of handling them. It is usually better to have delegated and gotten everything done in a timely manner, than to miss deadlines and appear incompetent and unreliable.
Big to Small
If you have really big projects to handle, break them down into tasks and then list them chronologically in order of importance and priority.
Early Start
It is always best to start the day by getting straight into your most important and highest priority tasks on your list. If you wait and are lazy and put them off, before you know it you will have wasted the entire day and achieved very little. Put the little stuff aside till later in the day and get started right into the first things on your list.
Balance
Your days aren’t only about tasks and responsibilities, but there is no better feeling than enjoying your fun stuff, once you have accomplished some or all the tough stuff.
Stress and Sleep
One of the biggest causes of stress is not getting things done that you need to –not managing your time well. Sleep disorders are a lot of times caused by the same thing. Before you go to bed, check your lists and add to them any new things you can think of. If you wake up in the middle of the night thinking about things you need to do or forgot to do, write them down immediately on your list and then go back to sleep. You will sleep a lot better knowing that you wrote them down and there is now no chance in you forgetting about them. Decrease stress and have better sleep: it’s all about the lists.
Whether you are currently employed and have a lot of corporate responsibilities to fulfill, out of work and faced with the prospect of a long intense job search ahead of you, or other, your life will be a lot easier if you learn to manage your time well. You will become more reliable and productive to yourself and other people, and because you will naturally become more organized and efficient, overall you will become a more successful person.
Tags : balance, candidate, goals, lists, priority, productivity, stress, баланс, задачи, кандидат, приоритеты, распределение времени, списки, стресс
ммм)) так клёво))
I often catch myself on spending too much time managing my time (if that makes sense). Some times I just let go of some “to-dos” and it works better.
Great article, thanks. I found it’s useful to revise time management tips on a regular basis even if you think you already know them all - this really helps to stay focused. While going through these points again just now I couldn’t help realizing that my personal time management skills, although they have improved considerably in the last year, are still not perfect. This advice really helps reassess one’s strengths and weaknesses in terms of personal efficiency and get on with it.
It’s a great article, it exactly refers to me. I’ll start from right know to bring it to life!
Thank’s a lot Teri !
A mentor from many years ago suggested to me that frequently during the day I should ask myself “Am I using my time well right now”. We can often be distracted by numerous issues that really can be put off until later. By asking this question I am able to review what I am doing and decide whether I really have my priorities in the right order. It was very good advise which has helped me enormously in my career.