It is important for any business to work efficiently but with the pressures business’ place on individuals getting snowed under is all too familiar.
There a plenty of places online where you can get advice on time management, but you have to find the time to look!
I’m sure that most of these tips you will already have heard of, but are you putting them into practise? Sometimes a refresher is good & to be honest even when I was writing this I made a mental note to do one or two a little bit more.
Structuring your workload will increase your productivity & is key to good time management.
- Write a To-do list. At the end of each day or week write down what you want to get done & by when prioritise tasks according to importance or urgency it will focus your mind & plan your day. Don’t put things on post-its or try & remember, write it down.
- Review your workload regularly. Is there a task that keeps ending up on the bottom of your pile? If you’re avoiding it, can somebody else do it? Consider delegating whole projects that you don’t necessarily need to be involved in.
- Workload 80:20 rule. 80% of our work contributes to less than 20% of its value. Concentrate on the most crucial 20% of your workload to get the maximum effect.
- Set realistic deadlines for tasks. Review your to-do list, how much time will each task take? Be honest with yourself about what you can achieve in a day or week, it will help to stop you feeling overwhelmed from the start.
- Build in time for interruptions. Only deal with urgent queries if you need to finish a certain task, you can then pick up where you left off.
- Structure your workload. Deal with jobs one at a time & finish each one before starting another. Your mind will be clear & ready for the next one.
- Don’t let your inbox drive your workload. Don’t check you inbox every time a message arrives. If you get 30 emails a day that’s 30 interruptions. Allocate times when you will check your inbox.
- Tick items off your list. Ticking items off of your to-do list gives a sense of achievement, make sure you tackle the more challenging tasks first it will be a weight off your shoulders when it’s completed.
- Try not to multitask. If you start multiple tasks you won’t give them your undivided attention, start one when you finish another that way you fully focus on the project in hand.
- Workload log. If you’re not sure how long things take to complete or how many times you get interrupted, keep a log of your working week. It will help your planning in the future.
If all else fails consider hiring a Virtual Assistant!