Time management for professionals

 

Don't worry you are not alone if you think you don't have time enough to finish your tasks at work. Sometimes we try our best to put more time in and it seems in vain, as more tasks pile up and some have to be dealt with at weekend.
We got you, you came to the right place if you are looking to improve your time management, we have made some research and put together this guide on time management for professionals. We will learn together how to make the most of our time at work, and some tips and techniques that will help us become more efficient, productive and effective at work.
What are we going to cover: Prioritizing, Planning, Analysing, Optimisation

Prioritization, The Urgent/important.

Most days at work are busy and it feels like everything we have to do is important and everything requires our attention. Sometimes we found ourselves in a middle of a Monday, does it sound familiar? 

We are trying to get everything done at the same time and the day just goes on and we are bound to feel stressed. At the end of the day, we realize that time has flown and we got so little done.

How can we get everything done when every single thing feels so important? 

I will answer you that, we have to recognize that not all tasks are important and that they are not equally significant. Once you will sequence your task according to relative importance, you can regain control of your time once again and deliver that quality work you need.

We encourage you to use Eisenhower's Urgent/Important principle to identify your tasks. Please see the image below.

Going deeper into the Urgent/Important principle using a medical term called Triage. The triage helps identify the degrees of urgency to wounds or illnesses and decides the order of treatment for all patients. The most critical patients are treated first. Please see the image below.

Delegation.

Once you have prioritised your tasks using the Urgent/Important principle, you can go further and start delegating your tasks. This method tends to be the less used skill for time management.

Probably you hear 1000 times before this saying: ' if you want to be done right, do it yourself probably you practise this too, so stop it. 

Aspects you should keep in mind before delegating:

• How long does it take you to explain the task, deal with queries and give feedback
• Consider carefully if the person has the skills and time to complete the tasks, and also consider the consequences of the delay and errors.
• Make sure the person you are delegating to has skills that are aligned with the task, this way is more likely to better perform.
• Tasks that recur over time are a good example that can be delegated
• Remember that you are still responsible for the task if is completed or not.

  How to say NO.

  The majority have been in the situation where our help is required by some co-worker, didn't matter how busy we were, still said 'yes'. Is it really worth it every time? Please identify the reasons for needlessly agreeing to tasks that are not helping and overload you with more work.

  Here are a few reasons we are not able to refuse:

  • Don't want to look rude
  • Desire to help others
  • Discomfort in refusing your superiors
  • Fear of repercussions if you refuse.

  There are times when is beneficial for you to turn down and request from a coworker, please calmly explain the urgency or importance of your work, by doing this the coworker won't have any reason to take things personally.

  Importance of planning in time management for professionals.

  We have all been there, finding ourselves at work and questioning how many things are left undone for the day, always busy and yet never achieving much, arriving at work with no vague idea of how your day will happen and just reacting to things. Sounds familiar right?

  Then you need some planning to be done. A good plan is like a road map, will give you a clear beginning and end, and also allow you the decide the best course of following actions and avoid deviations.

  Abraham Lincoln says:' If I had 60 minutes to cut down a tree, I would spend 40 minutes sharpening my axe and 20 minutes cutting down the tree'.

  The plan is the road map and the goals are the key points of the journey. So these 2 go hand in hand.

SMART Goals

• S- Specific, if the goal is specific, you will be more likely to achieve it.
• M- Measurable, 'How much' and 'When'
• A- Attainable, keep your goals in the middle, not above your capabilities or below.
• R- Relevant, make sure it aligns with your key responsibilities at work
• T- Time-Bound, Give a deadline

Analyze, How to identify time wasters.

In this topic, we will learn to identify, analyze and combat methods for time-wasting.

Internet Use, how to tackle it?

Internet at work makes it easier for us to deal with some personal tasks from our personal lives such as asking for bank transactions, booking tickets, however before you realize you are already on social media, scrolling to your news feed, and lost an hour. 

Tips on how to tackle the situation:

• Restrict personal internet time to your lunch break, this includes social media.
• Avoid overusing email, see if you can discuss face to face or a phone call.
• Set your inbox to give you notifications only when you have important messages.

Social media

Social media is very accessible, you only need your phone. You might be involved in a few groups through your social media account, checking notifications will pull you in like a vortex and before you know it you wasted 30 minutes of precious time.

How to tackle this situation:

• Trey to create a discipline to use social media only during lunch break
• Tell your family and friends of your restricted communication during work
• Put some of your groups on 'silent' during working days.

Optimizing, What are ergonomics?

Your physical environment and equipment will have an impact on your efficiency and general health, this has become so important in aiding productivity that there is a field of study devoted only to this subject. This field is called Ergonomics and is the study of people's efficiency in their workplace.

A good ergonomic design will include: good furniture, user-friendly interfaces machine or equipment, and also helps prevent injuries. Areas, you might want to look into ergonomics:

• Seating and equipment
• Heavy equipment
• Noise and light

Conclusion

Now you should be able to not procrastinate at work or waste time with activities that are not helpful for you.

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