Improve Your Time Management in 6 Easy Steps!
By Jane Riley
You use the all-important
diary
and you
manage your time as best you can but when 4pm
comes around you still can't work out what
happened to your day!
Let's face it, we're all busy women, trying to
maximise every hour in our day, every day in our
week and so on.
But managing your day can be easier than you
think. If you follow a few basic rules you will
suddenly find you have more time in your day!
It's like a diet, stick to it only half the time and you
simply won't achieve the results!
Rule # 1. Delegate, delegate,
delegate
This simple rule can apply to the woman who is
the sole company operator or to the manager of a
large organisation.
Start by deciding what REALLY has to be done.
Then consider if you were sick in bed and simply
could not make it to work that day, who would you
give this task to?
Often we have trouble handing 'our precious
work' over to others as we fear 'they couldn't do
this as well as I can'. Empower those around you
and they will respect you for it and strive to
impress, particularly if they know you usually 'go
it alone'.
Delegate at home too. Pay others to do cleaning,
ironing etc, and get rid of chores that take up
chunks of your time and provide no inspiration -
a mere two hours a week will make a big
difference.
Rule # 2. Prioritise
Every time a new task, meeting or any other event
that requires your valuable time arises immediately
give it a priority status.
I use a colour system in my diary; you may use
numbers, words, etc. This way you can open your
diary each morning and quickly identify priority
tasks for your day.
Always begin with 'Action by 10am' (refer to Rule
# 3) and then move on to the urgent tasks,
followed by second priority tasks etc.. it's all
clearly there in front of you!
For example, in my diary, urgent tasks requiring
attention within 24 hours are labelled with a red
pen in my diary. Red tasks take immediate priority
over all other tasks. Be careful to ensure these
tasks are REALLY urgent. If they can wait, then
they are not urgent. These tasks should constitute
less than 10% of your total day.
For tasks requiring action within two to three
days, I use a blue pen. Blue tasks are important
and must be addressed within the three-day time
limit. If they can wait more than three days, they
should not be in the 'blue' category. Be strict with
your prioritising.
I use a green pen for tasks requiring response or
action within four to seven days. Green tasks
should make up the majority of your tasks -
usually more than 50%.
When responding to a request for action,
information etc, always aim to give yourself
maximum time wherever possible. Four to seven
days is deemed reasonable for most tasks,
depending on the nature of the issue.
Tasks of a non-urgent nature, say one to three
weeks, I label using a yellow texta - bright and
sunny giving me time to breathe! Ensure these
tasks are addressed within the time limit as with all
others; although they appear low priority, do not
risk putting them off.
Have you ever noticed when requesting
information or placing an order from a person or
company, if they state a clear, reasonable deadline,
you are often more than happy to wait? Most of us
make the common mistake of believing everyone
'wants it today'. Most of our customers are happy
to wait and expect that 'all good things take time'!
Remember to check your diary each morning. Re-prioritise
if deadlines alter, but try to avoid
moving tasks to another day once you have
committed to achieving them in a particular time
frame.
Rule # 3. The 10am action
We all have tasks we would like to delay forever,
the not-so-nice phone call, the hard to deal with
person, the difficult order, etc. Get into the habit
of doing these tasks each day before 10am and
DO NOT delay the action! Grit your teeth and
pick up the telephone, start that letter, attend that
meeting. You will feel incredibly free after
completing this task and the remainder of the day
can be spent on more pleasant tasks!
Rule # 4 . Initiate and take control
Ever noticed that the friend who organises the
dinner usually gets to nominate the place too?
Always aim to be the initiator of your
appointments, this way you have a greater chance
of nominating the time, place and duration of a
meeting, telephone call, appointment or event.
The more control you have over your schedule,
the more effectively you will be able to manage
your time.
Rule # 5. Overloaded?
If you find your priorities are clouded and your
schedule seems overloaded, sit down and act as
though you have just been told you have won an
all expenses paid trip to an exotic Queensland
island, for three relaxing days.
Now consider how quickly your schedule would
change. Tasks would magically change from high to
low priority and that word delegate would swiftly
swing into action. It's amazing what can be
achieved when our priorities are in order!
What can you simply drop completely from your
schedule? Quite a few things I bet!
The reality is we usually have far too many tasks
than time and something has to give. Our
problem really isn't too little time... it's that our
priorities need more work. We become unclear
about our priorities, because we are so used to
cramming every minute of every day. Take time
out to re-assess and be ruthless, after all it's your
life!
Rule # 6. Take time out for
greatness
When you are pressed for time and things aren't
getting done, it's easy to assume that you need
more time in your day. And yes, sometimes that is
what is required, but often what's really needed is
some 'You Time' to create and see greatness.
Start by allocating 30 minutes each day. Enjoy
lunch, go for a walk, sit in a park or simply do
whatever it is that helps clear your mind. you will
find that great things will emerge!
By taking 'time out' on a daily basis you will find
yourself thinking freely about issues that may not
usually be allowed to surface in a busy, full
schedule.
During your 30-minute 'You Time', try not to
think about anything at all. Instead, take time to
deeply breathe the fresh air, ponder how great
your life is, how lucky you are to be alive and
generally celebrate life. Smile and feel good about
who you are.
Clear your mind so it is open to new ideas and
thoughts. You will return to work feeling
energised and ready to tackle any issue. So next
time don't complain that there simply isn't
enough time in your day. allow yourself the
freedom of a prioritised schedule and stop
clogging your life with time wasting issues and
tasks.
Free yourself today and live life fully.
Jane Riley currently holds the position of General
Manager for TIC, a highly successful global IT
Recruitment Organisation. She is also a
Corporate and Personal Coach and delivers
corporate training on a variety of topics
including Customer Service and Mentoring in
the Workplace. Jane can be reached by email
jane@tic.com.au or called on 0418 338 367.