Developing your time management skills

Having explored the concept of time management in our previous blog article, it’s time to shift focus from the why to the how.  

No, it’s not enough simply to decide that you’re not going to procrastinate - it’s a big step, but there’s more to it than that. We teased these principles of effective time management in our last blog, so let’s dig a little deeper into them.

Setting goals

Goal setting is key but you’ve got to ensure those goals are clearly defined, specific and realistic. Being reasonable doesn’t mean you should be afraid to push yourself (or your employees). Ambitious goals are perfectly fine as long as they’re in tune with what you’re ultimately trying to achieve through your work and in your business. 

Prioritizing tasks

You will save oodles of time by deciding at the outset which tasks or projects are more important than orders. One simple way to approach this is by making a to-do list. Lists are great for consolidating tasks into a visual medium for easy assessment. We suggest you include vital information about each task, including due dates, consequences and interdependence with other list items. This also reinforces the importance of tasks.

Monitoring where you spend time

Once you’ve set priorities, it gives you a better overview of which business tasks will require more of your time. To ensure you stick to the plan, we suggest you monitor the way you practically spend your time and apply necessary restrictions when you’re at risk of exceeding the time you allocated to a task. It helps you manage time-consuming or time-critical tasks more effectively.

Planning for the future

It doesn’t matter what industry you’re involved in. The tasks that need your time and effort will change from time to time. It’s useful to consider what potential business tasks lie ahead of you in the future because it enables you to adjust your schedule so that you get a head-start on upcoming projects.

Practicing your skills

Effective use of time is a learned skill. So is the art of productivity. And like any skill, both can improve with practice. That’s why we recommend you review your time management techniques and methods on a regular basis. You can check what has worked well for you and use the learning opportunity to eliminate practices that don’t work as well and adjust to new ones that may suit your purposes better.

We’d love to know what time management techniques work best for you. Please leave a comment below and let us know. Stay tuned for more valuable time management tips in upcoming blog posts.

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