Interesting Psychology Team
Putting Time Management Tips Into Action.
What’s the key to better time management? Most people assume that it’s increased efficiency—that is, learning to perform tasks more quickly.
Improved efficiency may help a little, but time management experts maintain that efficiency is overrated. They emphasize that the key to better time management is increased effectiveness—that is, learning to allocate time to your most important tasks.
This distinction is captured by a widely quoted slogan in the time-management literature:
“Efficiency is doing the job right, while effectiveness is doing the right job.”
Here are some suggestions Time Management Tips for using your time more effectively (based on Lakein, 1996; Mackenzie, 1997; Morgenstern, 2000):
⇒ Monitor your use of Time.
The first step toward better time management is to monitor your use of time to see where it all goes. Doing so requires keeping a written record of your activities, similar to that shown in (table next page) .
At the end of each week, you should analyze how your time was allocated. Based on your personal roles and responsibilities, create categories of time use such as studying, child care, housework, commuting, working at the office, working at home, going online, spending time with friends, eating, and sleeping. For each day, add up the hours devoted to each category. Record this information on a summary sheet like that in (table next page).
Two weeks of recordkeeping should allow you to draw some conclusions about where your time goes. Your records will help you make informed decisions about reallocating your time. When you begin your timemanagement program, these records will also give you a baseline for comparison, so that you can see whether your program is working.
⇒ Clarify your Goals for Better Time Management
You can’t wisely allocate your time unless you decide what you want to accomplish. Some people lack goals to guide their time, while others have so many goals it is impossible to meet them all.
For short-term goals (such as finishing a term paper or completing a house project) set smaller priorities that will lead to the desired outcome, and stick to them. Be sure they are realistic. For longer-term goals, Lakein (1996) suggests that you ask yourself, “What are my lifetime goals?” Write down all the goals you can think of, even relatively frivolous things like going deep-sea fishing or becoming a wine expert.
Some of your goals will be in conflict. For instance, you can’t become a vice president at your company in Wichita and still move to the West Coast. Thus, the tough part comes next. You have to wrestle with your goal conflicts. Figure out which goals are most important to you, and order them in terms of priority. These priorities should guide you as you plan your activities on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.
⇒ Plan your activities using a schedule
People resist planning because it takes time, but in the long run planning saves time. Thorough planning is essential to effective time management. At the beginning of each week, you should make a list of short-term goals.
This list should be translated into daily “to do” lists of planned activities. To avoid the tendency to put off larger projects, break them into smaller, manageable components, and set deadlines for completing the components. Your planned activities should be allocated to various time slots on a written schedule. Schedule your most important activities into the time periods when you tend to be most energetic and productive.
⇒ Protect your prime time.
The best-laid plans can quickly go awry because of interruptions. There isn’t any foolproof way to eliminate interruptions, but you may be able to shift most of them into certain time slots while protecting your most productive time.
Reply to emails, texts, and phone messages at scheduled times, perhaps once in the morning and once in the later afternoon. The trick is to announce to your family, friends, and co-workers that you’re blocking off certain periods of “quiet time” when visitors and phone calls will be turned away. Of course, you also have to block off periods of “available time” when you’re ready to deal with everyone’s problems.
⇒ Increase your efficiency.
Although efficiency is not the key to better time management, it’s not irrelevant. Time-management experts do offer some suggestions for improving efficiency, including the following (Klassen, 1987; Schilit, 1987):
● Handle paper once.
When e-mails, letters, reports, and such cross your desk, they should not be stashed away to be read again and again before you deal with them. Most paperwork can and should be dealt with immediately.
● Tackle one task at a time.
Jumping from one problem to another is inefficient. As much as possible, stick with a task until it’s done. In scheduling your activities, try to allow enough time to complete tasks.
● Group similar tasks together.
It’s a good idea to bunch up small tasks that are similar. This strategy is useful when you’re paying bills, replying to e-mails, returning phone calls, and so forth.
● Make use of your downtime.
Most of us endure a lot of “downtime,” waiting in doctors’ offices, sitting in needless meetings, or riding on buses and trains. In many of these situations, you may be able to get some of your easier work done—if you think ahead and bring it along.
● Build in some time to relax.
Everyone needs time to recharge his or her batteries. Taking time to relax and engage in healthy, enjoyable activities can help individuals be more effective when work time rolls around.
It’s not an easy skill to learn, but in today’s face-paced world, time management is crucial. By following the tips provided here and getting your tasks under control, you can avoid stress down the road.
