How Can Busy Managers Assume Time Management Control?
Personal time management can be defined as taking control of the use of the most valuable resource ? time. Time undeniably passes quickly, and it is therefore critical for managers to be able to manage their personal time effectively to have a definite or desired outcome effect, and also efficiently in order to be productive almost effortlessly, which is to have minimum waste or effort.
The lack or absence of personal time management is usually characterized by the following:
? Last-minute rushes to meet deadlines
? Double-booked meetings, or those which achieve nothing
? Days which slip unproductively
? Crises which loom unexpectedly from nowhere
Poor time management often arises from the consequence of being overly-confident: techniques which used to work with small projects and workloads are simply reused with large ones. Hence, it is important that managers learn to apply the proper techniques as their responsibility grows and increases; else, they would be outdone by those who do.
Time management which seldom forms a measured part of appraisal and performance review could have attributed to the practice of poor time management. It must be noted that, time management is however, a tool that that enables the systematic ordering of events and underpins many other managerial skills of managers, which include effective delegation and project planning.
Personal time management can be described as a set of tools which allow for the elimination of waste, preparation for meetings, refusal of excessive workloads, the monitoring of progress of projects, and the allocation of time appropriateness based on importance of the task. More importantly, it helps managers to lay effective and efficient daily and weekly plans as well as ensure that long-term projects are not being neglected.
Managers, or anyone for that matter, should start considering the present before planning for the future. One fine approach that gives one greater control over the use and allocation of time is to keep a note of how the time is being spent for a duration period of time. Critical appraisal about the amount of time used for different activities would have to be identified to see if the time might have been better used for more productive work. The most common source of waste is social, which comprises non-work related activities like telephone calls, friends dropping by, and conversations around the coffee machine.
In the time log, managers should essentially prioritize the type of work that would justify the large amount of time being spent on, by looking at each work activity and to subsequently decide as objectively as possible how much time each was worthy of. The next step is to then compare that with the time that has actually been spent on it. In addition, a particular task should also be decided beforehand as to how long it would take so as to enable one to work to that dateline and to move on to the next task.
Another common wastage source stems from the delay of work that is unpleasant, by finding distractions which are less important. In other words, this would mean that the task is being delayed simply because they are dull or difficult. The changing between activities also contributes to the wastage of time; hence, it would be useful if similar tasks are being grouped together to avoid any possible start-ups of delay of each.
Apart from showing one where time savings can be made, the time log can also help one decide how much time should be spent on own tasks and on others. Taking control of time is the first step that leads towards good time management practice, which can be start off with the use of a simple appointment?s diary to help in eliminating the unnecessary.
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