Are you getting the most out of your own biggest asset…? Your Time?
Posted on 05 May 2010
Do these symptoms sound like you and your business?
- I am always in a rush and feel that I am constantly running out of time?
- I tend to work in a mess because I am so busy?
- I need to feel important and involved in everything.
- I keep being interrupted by staff, emails and the phone.
- The more hours I work, the more time I assume I have to finish.
Well, here's a reality check: Everyone has the same amount of time.
- 86,400 seconds per day
- 1,440 minutes per day
- 24 hours per day
- 7 days per week
- 364 days per year (365 in a leap year)
Time can't be accumulated, turned on or off or replaced. We all achieve different outcomes with the use of the same amount of time.
The concept of time management has been in existence for more than 100 years as a management technique. Unfortunately the term "Time management" creates a false impression of what a person is able to do… there are some immovable truths at work here!
- Time can't be managed
- Time is uncontrollable
The truth is that we can only manage ourselves and our use of time.
So - time management is actually self management. It's interesting that the skills we need to manage others are the same skills we need to manage ourselves: the ability to plan, delegate, organise, direct and control. So how should we go about managing ourselves?
Strategies for Success in managing your time:
There are many ways we can manage our time. Here are some very simple strategies that you can use.
1. Always define your objectives as clearly as possible.
Do you find you are not doing what you want because your goals have not been set? One of the factors which mark out successful people is their ability to work out what they want to achieve and have written goals which they can then review regularly. Your long term goals should impact on your daily activities and be included on your "to do" list. Without a goal or objective people tend to just drift personally and professionally.
2. Analyse your use of time.
Are you spending enough time on the projects which although may not be urgent now are the things you need to do to develop yourself or your career. If you are constantly asking yourself "What is the most important use of my time, right now?" it will help you to focus on "important" tasks and stop reacting to tasks which seem "urgent" (or pleasant or at least pain-free to do) but carry no importance towards your goals.
3. Have a plan.
How can you achieve your goals without a plan? Most people know what they want but have no plan to achieve it except by sheer hard work. Your annual plan should be broken down into bite sized chunks and reviewed daily, adjusting it as you make progress towards your targets. Successful people constantly review the things they need to achieve and what they need to do to get there. It enables them to stay on top of priorities and enable them to remain flexible to changing priorities. You should do this for both personal and business goals.
4. Action plan analysis.
Problems will always occur, the value of a good plan is to identify them early and seek out solutions. Good time management enables you to measure the progress towards your goals because "What you can measure, you can control". Always try to be proactive.
Time management (or self management) is not a hard subject to understand, but unless you are committed to build time management techniques into your daily routine you'll only achieve partial (or no) results and then make comments such as "I tried time management once and it's not for me". The lesson to learn is that the more time we spend planning our time and activities the more time we will have for those activities. By setting goals and eliminating time wasters and doing this everyday you will get more done and find you have extra time in the week to spend on those people and activities most important to you.
Richard Dickinson - Ology Business Coach
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