If you're like most people, you want to get better at managing your time, whether at work or at home. The question is, do you know where to start?
Unless you have a clear idea of where you are right now, no road map is going to help you get to your destination. That's why, before you can think about managing your time well, you need to analyze how you're using your time today.
Let's backtrack a bit. Have you ever made statements like these?
"I'll come over in a minute."
"Just give me a couple of minutes to get dressed and finish breakfast."
"I'm on my way; I'll be there in two minutes."
If you think about it, all the above statements are probably false. There's no way most folks will get dressed and finish breakfast in two minutes. And arriving at your destination in a minute or two is usually quite unlikely.
Yet we make such statements regularly. That's because we often do not realize the amount of time we actually take to finish certain tasks.
To get a better grip on your time usage patterns, try and estimate the time you take for the following activities.
* Draft a letter to a customer
* Look through a file and sign it
* Have a cup of coffee
* Hold a meeting to brief your team
* Confer with your boss
* Prepare a presentation to senior management
* Lead a seminar
* Chat with colleagues
* Read emails
* Respond to emails
* Read through a one page letter
Feel free to add to the list above. Include activities you do regularly.
Have your time estimates ready? Here's what to do next.
Pick out the three fairly time consuming activities you do repeatedly. Get a stopwatch and time yourself when you do those activities. Take care not to try to speed up those tasks while you're timing them. Just work as usual.
Now compare the results with your estimates. Surprised? Most people are, when they discover that doing certain tasks takes much longer than they imagined.
The previous exercise had one goal -- to convince you that you need to take some effort and find out how you actually use your time.
Your next step is to maintain a running log of all your activities and the start and end times of each. Do this for a full week. Don't stop and analyze your performance in between.
You can get your secretary to help you do this. But it works just as well if you keep the records yourself.
It's not important to get your timing down to the microsecond! Just note down the approximate start and end-times of each activity, in serial order as you do them. The objective is to get a snapshot of what you do and how long it takes you to do them.
At the end of one full working week, sit down with your logs. Make a list of each of the tasks you do. Jot down the amounts of time you took to do them, for each day of the week.
Which are the repetitive activities? Which ones consume the most time? Are the tasks that consume the maximum time also the tasks that contribute the most to your performance? If not, is there any way you can eliminate those tasks -- perhaps by delegating them?
Are you taking on work that is not yours to being with? If so, perhaps you need to say no more often.
Take the time to think through what your log reveals about your work habits -- and about you. By doing so, you've taken a big step towards managing your time excellently. Repeat this process every few months and you'll get far better results that others whose notion of time management is limited to writing a to-do list.
Burt Carlson is a top corporate executive whose passion is helping people get more out of life by managing their time better. He has written on time management and work, time management and work, time management and work for better results and many other topics.
scheduled cleaning services Winnetka ..Many of the clients I work with in success coaching... Read More
As a home-based, self-employed woman, mundane tasks can be as... Read More
Looking out through my picture window during a recent winter... Read More
When a good friend asked me to contribute a little... Read More
"It's just been one of those days?I can't seem to... Read More
An appointment is simply a mutual agreement to meet with... Read More
If you're like most people, you want to get better... Read More
OK...let's assume that you're truly motivated to change. Great. But... Read More
Show me, O Lord, my life's end and the number... Read More
Clarity brings accomplishmentOne of the most important things you can... Read More
Get a grip. Is it possible to manage time? Can... Read More
Yesterday, I'd just gotten comfortable at my favorite table in... Read More
How do you know what's the best use of your... Read More
"There is never enough time, unless you're serving it." -Malcolm... Read More
Does it seem like there is never enough time in... Read More
How do you eat two elephants? The same way you... Read More
Too much to do, too little time, constant stress. Most... Read More
Partnering with the University of Pennsylvania Law School and the... Read More
When I sit down with a client to work on... Read More
Does it ever feel like there is never enough time... Read More
Where does your time go? We all know we are... Read More
A year and a half ago I was introduced to... Read More
Recently I've experienced a barrage of time wasters. Everything you... Read More
1. Do tasks less frequentlyClean house every 10 days rather... Read More
The techies could do a lot more to make our... Read More
reliable maid service Lincolnshire ..Are you a worrier? Do you frequently spend time and... Read More
Goal Planning-Achieving balance in a person's life requires assessment of... Read More
We are all born equal! We all have the same... Read More
Years ago clients would tell me they could not identify... Read More
What are the most important things you should accomplish today?... Read More
Time - it is the one thing that we are... Read More
Time management consultant Stephen Young claims that the average time... Read More
In this world there is something more precious than gold.... Read More
Perhaps it is merely semantics, but an underlying problem I... Read More
Microsoft wanted to know how individuals around the world were... Read More
The concept of Mercury Retrograde is very well known even... Read More
The Internet is increasingly becoming a major time killer for... Read More
When you decide to become self-employed, you automatically become the... Read More
When do you want to make time for a networking... Read More
As a home-based, self-employed woman, mundane tasks can be as... Read More
Would you like to know how to get 10 times... Read More
Zak is my three-year old godson. He is the apple... Read More
"You will never find time for anything. You must make... Read More
"If you control your time, you control your life" -... Read More
Time is our greatest and most precious asset. Time is... Read More
If you have ever missed an appointment, forgotten to pick... Read More
Most of us know how to manage our time. It... Read More
The biggest time management mistake you can ever make is... Read More
Your productivity depends on good tools and effective environments, and... Read More
I'm sure we've all had the experience of having a... Read More
Time Management |