Time Management

by Dawn Duffy

Time is one of our most valuable and precious resources. Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day, but does it feel like some people manage to squeeze a little extra out? Your personal accountability and your potential for success lie in how you use your time. You cannot change the passing of time, but you can spend it wisely by taking the right steps to achieve your goals.

Time management skills are essential to surviving in the workplace. If you are unprepared for important meetings or missing deadlines because you "didn't have enough time," you can expect to miss out on the next promotion or raise or you may be risking your job altogether. If you find yourself frequently blaming the clock, it's probably time to take responsibility for how you live and take charge of your calendar. Take charge of your life and be responsible for your time by following some basic guidelines.

Start with a goal.

What do you need to accomplish? If you're on a big project or your "goals" seem too huge to write down simply, break down what you have to do into something more management. For example, say your boss has given you the project of upgrading all of the company's office supplies and equipment for all 500 employees by the end of next month (and of course you have to do it in a way that makes everybody happy, saves money, and doesn't cause any delays). A daunting task? Your goals should be smaller pieces that you can manage and achieve, for example, "distribute staplers, tape dispensers, staples, tape and pens to the first floor by next Friday, and to the second floor by the following Thursday," and so on.

"When I begin to feel as though I have too much to do, I literally stop and make a list of everything that I have to do, down to buying a birthday card for Aunt Mary. Once it's all in front of me, I star the items that absolutely must be done as soon as possible. Then I try to find the time to do them. When I think that I can't fit anything more in, I look at my schedule to see if I'm spending my time on lower priority tasks. At the end of the day, I can look back and see what I accomplished. Even if I didn't get everything done, I still feel that I did my best. I freed up as much time as I could and I allocated it efficiently to the most important things. If I didn't finish them all, I don't feel guilty. I did everything I could conceivably do in the time I had."
Charles G. Morris, Professor Of Psychology, University Of Michigan

Plan your schedule on a monthly, weekly, and daily basis.

First organize your month by marking dates with the goals you've set up plus any special events that you must attend, such as a budget or executive update meeting. On your weekly calendar, focus on scheduling the time it will take you to accomplish those bigger, monthly events. Estimate how much time you need for each one, and then spread out the work across a week or two in advance. Block out the time you'll spend on each goal on your calendar and don't schedule more than one thing a time.

For example, in your office supply upgrade project, let's say on Friday you have a presentation about the new copy machine. You know that it takes you somewhere around four hours to write and design the presentation. Looking at your weekly schedule, you see that you can spend an hour on Monday from 10 am until 11 am, and ninety minutes on both Tuesday and Wednesday starting at 9:30 am. Block that space out on your calendar so nothing else can happen during that time, and then spend the time working on your presentation. Since you've planned ahead, and you left Thursday completely open, if something does come up on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, you have Thursday as a buffer period.

Take a few minutes before you start your day and plan it. Review your goals for both the month and the week, and review how today's tasks fit those goals. In planning your day, expect the unexpected and never overload your calendar - give yourself some buffer space, just in case.

Be Flexible.

You never know what could come up. Flexibility is essential no matter how well you plan your time. The changes that life may bring can make you feel as if you have lost control. Budget time for the unexpected, do not cram your calendar with no room for error. By planning out your entire week and giving yourself buffer room, you'll know you don't have to freak out when things come up suddenly.

Review Your New Schedule.

See where you have wasted time and energy, making any adjustments that are necessary. Re-evaluation is always a good tool. At the end of the day, take five minutes to see what you've accomplished. Check the progress you've made toward your goals and change the next couple days' plans accordingly. At the end of the week, review the entire week and plan the next one.

Never say you don't have time to plan. If you take responsibility for your schedule and make time management a priority, the clock won't be your master. Then your workdays will be a little less stressful, projects will seem less daunting, and you won't freak out (as much) when new tasks fall on your plate.

Dawn Duffy was a staffing consultant with Headway Corporate Resources.