Resource Guru is a company I am proud to work with. This article contains our tried-and true time management tips for work.
What’s the deal with work these days? How will we ever be able to take a deep breath? These time management tips will help you increase productivity even if you feel like you don’t have enough time.
1. Schedule Your Time
2. How to choose between urgent and important
The priority of a task can change over time
3. Understanding Your Priorities
4. Delegate and help
5. Plan at Different Levels
6. Know when you are most productive
7. Get Deals by Email
8. Integrate your Schedules
9. Handle Conflicts
10. Keep Positive
These time management tips can be used in many ways.
I can’t say that I have mastered my personal time management. I don’t know what’s coming or what tasks I have to complete for the next 72 hours as I go through my work week.
I find myself checking my calendar every night and then figuring out what tomorrow will bring. But I have tried every suggestion in this article. Because I know this advice works, I am trying to follow it all the time.
Take a look at my 10 time management tips, then comment below to let me know how you plan your time.
1. Schedule Your Time
This is my top tip so I wanted it to be the first.
When my time is well-planned, I am most productive and get maximum value from my time.
It doesn’t matter if you do it in your bullet journal, on paper, in your calendar, or in your bullet diary. It doesn’t matter how you do it.
This is how I plan my time:
I set my priorities for the week.
I take a look at the commitments and meetings I have.
I divided my priorities over the week, making sure that I have time each day for something that will help me get closer to my goals by Friday.
This is the only way I can ensure that all my priority work will be completed.
“Employee capability planning” is a fancy way to say that you should ensure that work is properly scheduled for all members of your team.
You must ensure that they don’t have too much time and that they aren’t being over-allocated. It’s easy to see who’s doing what and to move activities to next week if you don’t have the time.
Managers, Bonus Time Management Tip: Even if your team books their own time, it’s worth looking at resource utilization reports to ensure that no one is over-optimistic about the amount they can accomplish in a week.
2. Learn the Difference between Urgent and Important
This is a time management tip you will learn if you take a course. However, it’s probably the easiest thing you’ll ever use for managing your overloaded schedule.
Not all urgent matters are important.
Not everything that is important must be done immediately.
Important is something that:
Has high significance
Others believe it is a good use your time
We can help you or your organization achieve your goals.
Examples of important work include your annual targets. Achieving a strategically important project on time and within budget. Ensure that document version control is current.
Urgent tasks are those that must be done immediately.
Examples of urgent tasks include donating to Claire’s birthday collection, as someone is buying Claire a present today. Your manager drops by your desk to request a report by close-of-play
The image above shows more examples of the distinction between urgent and important work.
How to prioritize your time between important and urgent tasks
High-priority and important tasks should consume the majority of your time.
You should, however, also make time for the less urgent but more important tasks. These tasks should be included in your daily schedule.