Time Management

“Time is totally inelastic, perishable and cannot be replaced"(Peter Drucker, The Effective Manager)

Due to lack of correct time management many individuals face the consequences of not being able to manage the workload in their day to day work routine. As we all know for the correct method to occur, the capacity should be properly managed and as this is done the capacity of time can be managed without any difficulty.

Time management can also be identified as one of the gifts that humans have, called common-sense. When common-sense is used in the appropriate manner, this skill would enable an individual to manage tasks well and order in a effective and productive manner.

What can you gain from time management?

• Determine the least important and the most important. 
• Managing and utilizing time in an effective manner. 
• More free time. 
• Able to control distractions and increase the smooth flow of work. 
• Reduce work stress due to unnecessary pressures of not being able to complete the dead line at the appropriate time. 
• Able to enjoy the work you do. 
• Able to relax and enjoy quality time. 

According to Mind Tools(2007), in the Pareto Principle, or the 80/20 rule it states that typically 80% of unfocused effort generates only 20% of results, and that the remaining 80% of results are achieved with only 20% of the effort. Therefore it can be gathered that to get a high result an individual should focus more on the effort.

What can crisis management lead to?

• High level of stress 
• Tiredness 
• Disrupted private life 
• Failure to projects 

Mind tools

• Evaluating the working hours 
• Focusing on priorities 
• Planning usage of time 
• Avoid distractions 
• Creating free time 

Tools to Aid Time Management

• SWOT Analysis 
• Activity log 
• Phone skills 
• Reading skills 
• Writing skills 
• TO DO Lists 
• PERT 
• Delegation 
• Time assessment 
• Prioritization 

Management Strategies

• Keep track of due dates
• Keeping track of long term reminders
• Keep a clean desk
• Keep current work in one area
• Purge unwanted files and documents
• Backup online files and purge unwanted junk

Time Management Activities

• Mark the average hours per day or hours per week spent doing the activities on the left. While filling this out, think about where most of your time is wasted. The time remaining total will automatically update to show the amount of time that could be used for studying per week. (Adopted from http://pennstatelearning.psu.edu/resources/study-tips/time-mgt/exercise).

• Prioritize your daily activities. This can be a powerful method of identifying your main goals in life and prioritizing your activities accordingly.

1st Priority ~ Urgent & Important:  

Mainly this priority can be identified as "Important Goals". These activities will be mainly activities which have been not foreseen or neglected to the last minute.

2nd Priority ~ Not Urgent & Important:

Aids in achieving professional and personal goals. Helps deal with work stress due to these activities not being urgent. These priorities can be identified as "Critical Activities" 

3rd Priority ~ Urgent & Not Important:

These activities may stop an individual from achieving his/ her goals. Prevents completion of work. Reschedule tasks and concentrate on the more important priorities. This priority can be identified as "Distractions"

4th Priority ~ Not Urgent & Not Important

These can be only known as distracting activities. Should be avoided and ignored completely. These activities can be identified as "Interruptions". 

• Which person are you? The main focus would be to shift from being a Doer, Slob and a Perfectionist to being a Time Manager.

Perfectionist:

• Spends a lot of time prioritizing 

• Don't focus on tasks

Slobs:

• Always in disarray 

• Fail to prioritize 

• Fail to focus on tasks

Doers: 

• Focus on current tasks 

• Fail to accomplish 

• Important tasks 

• Fail to prioritize 

Time Managers:

• Prioritize tasks 

• Knows the important tasks to accomplish 

• Focus on tasks at hand