6 tips to improve your time management
July 17, 2010 by admin
Filed under Time & Stress Management
For many managers, the clock is their biggest adversary. Finding enough time in the day to complete every necessary project can be difficult. But the old adage of “work smarter, not harder” is based on the concept of managing the minutes in your day more efficiently.
Here are six tips to help you work toward that goal:
1. Create quiet times. Essentially, this is time when you block out all interruptions. Inform your staff that a certain time, say 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., is off-limits except for emergency questions. Or you can set aside quiet times on a case-by-case basis by posting something on your door. Chances are, if you create quiet times, your staffers will solve problems on their own more efficiently.
2. Handle paper only once. Productivity experts agree that the number one way to save time is to handle each piece of paper only once. If you pick up a piece of mail, deal with it right there. Act on it! Either toss it in the trash, file it for future reference in the appropriate place or hand it off.
If you read a memo, report or article and then hold it to deal with it later, you’re wasting time. The exception: when you put it in a reading file for those times when you’re waiting at an airport and have time to kill. If you’re not saving it for an otherwise wasted time, act on it immediately.
3. Limit the length of interruptions Be honest with employees or co-workers who stop to chat or run on too long at a meeting. Don’t expect them to pick up on your subtle cues—like a door half shut or your frazzled look—that you’re on a tight deadline. State clearly that “I have to finish this project by noon; can we discuss this problem right after?”
Read the original article at business management daily