culled from:careerealism.com
It is a struggle. And some of these reasons leave us feeling behind and overwhelmed. But, another reason is that time management is difficult.
When we are not really managing our time well, that can lead to chronic overwhelm leaving us to believe that the demands of our job are too much. Sometimes they are. Sometimes they aren’t. The hard thing to recognize is when the work is truly overwhelming and when you are simply not elegantly managing your time.
Over the years, I have been behind, overwhelmed and a bad time manager. But, I have become a time management master in those same years. Here are a few tips to really manage time and tasks that I use that help me conquer my to-do list regularly.
Plot a plan
When I construct my weekly to do list for home and work, it is comprehensive and thorough. Everything gets an assigned time in my week. Since I’ve been at this for quite a while, I know how long many of my tasks take, so, that’s the easy part. The weekly plan keeps me on task.That being said, stuff comes up, so you have to look at that list and know what is going to be a priority this week – like it must be done – and what can fall off into next week.
If you see the same tasks falling off into the following week all the time, you know that that task is either not a priority, or not a priority to you. Either way, if it is a priority to someone else (maybe your boss of client), then it has to get done by someone and should not be falling off every week. As things fall off, have a way to capture that for next week and poof, you are suddenly building next week’s task list to save yourself time next week.
When you plot out your week, you might be able to spot periods of downtime, which feels really good. Trust me, they will get filled by the end of the week. The other thing to look out for is busy work. Busy work is the fastest way to overwhelm there is.
Here’s where I would ask you to take a hard look at the tasks that you are doing very closely. Are there shortcuts? Are there ways to speed up the task? Is the task delivering value? If you can find shortcuts to your busy work or find that the task isn’t even relevant, guess what – you get time back for stuff that really matters.
nice article. proper time management is important. AYENI IFEOLUWA VICTORIA
ReplyDeletenice article. proper time management is important. AYENI IFEOLUWA VICTORIA
ReplyDeleteevery human being must be time conscious in order to excel at any point or position we find oneself IYANDA SODEEQ ISHOLA
ReplyDeleteProcrastination is a very dangerous way of life and we should be cautious of that by making maximum use of our time.OLALERU ABIOLA MICHEAL
ReplyDeleteworkload can also be a constraint to time management but one must also be time conscious in every activities engaged in OJENIKE OLUSOJI PETER
ReplyDeleteTime management is important in every way of life
ReplyDeleteone have to put in place plan on what to do so as to set aside time for each activities
ReplyDeleteeverybody have to set out daily routine to guide the activity in order to relief their workload but if fail, communication with the other collegue may help.
ReplyDeleteAARE OLUWATOSIN IBIRONKE
ReplyDeleteNo matter how busy you seem to be, accurate time management is still very key.
Time is money,one has to spend it wisely.
ReplyDeleteOlagunju Adetola Opeyemi
ADEISYAN OMOLADE OLUWASEUN: time management is difficult.
ReplyDeleteI would ask you to take a hard look at the tasks that you are doing very closely.
ReplyDeleteSometimes the best-laid plans cannot fit into the given time container of work.
ReplyDeleteWhen we are not really managing our time well.
ReplyDeleteThis one is the riskiest, but when all else fails, talk with your manager. Feel free to share with them.
ReplyDelete