:: Time
Management Tips ::
How you can manage your time
Following Tips will help you in Understanding and Analysing
Time:
1) Set aside time each
day to review and prioritise demand on your time.
2) Take a small chunk of
a difficult task, and deal with it straight away.
3) Think through your day
while making your way to work
4) Always delegate your
tasks that are not time-effective for you to do.
5) Split your working day
into chunks of 30 minutes each.
6) Review your time log
to assess your work efficiency.
7) Allow for some
thinking time in your schedule.
8) Estimate how long a
task will take you, and see how accurate you were.
9) Update your time log
as often as possible-memory is often unreliable.
10) Break down long term
plans into weekly and daily action plan.
11) Draw a flow chart of
your career, and plan where you want to go next.
12) Ask for a second
opinion if you cannot prioritise competing tasks.
13) Identify conflicts of
priority between you and your boss.
14) Find out whether your
colleagues priorities conflict with your own.
15) Classify all work
engagements in your diary according to their importance.
16) If your schedule is
full of A-tasks, then delegate or redefine them.
17) Alter priorities
continually in line with changes or new information.
18) To keep discussions
short, avoid open-ended questions.
19) Ensure that you have
some quiet time every day.
20) Do not be afraid to
leave the phone hook.
21) Time your physical and
mental peaks so that you know how long they last.
22) Keep some energy for
home life and leisure activities after work.
23) Suggest working
flexible hours to improve company productivity.
24) Choose a diary that
looks good and that you will enjoy using.
25) Always keep your pen in
your diary for noting information and dates.
26) Use coloured pens to
denote tasks of varying importance
27) Set realistic
deadlines. A deadline is meant to be helpful, not a major cause of stress.
28) Delegate enjoyable
tasks as well as unpleasant ones
29) Reward yourself when
you meet your deadlines
30) Plan your diary no more
than one year ahead.
31) Make sure you do at
least one thing every day that you enjoy.
32) Read a passage by your
favourite author last thing at night.
33) Concentrate on your
colleagues' and clients' positive attributes.
34) Use an organizer to
list weaknesses, and then plan how to combat them, one by one.
35) Keep your desk clear of
everything but the current job in hand.
36) Beware of self-sticking
notes. They are easily lost.
37) Clear up daily. Never
leave a mess for the morning.
38) Highlight key points on
paperwork to speed up rereading.
39) Position a clock in
your office so it is visible to you and to visitors.
40) Review your filing
system at least every few months.
41) Set up a filing system
that will grow with you and your business.
42) Go through your files
regularly and discard documents that you no longer need.
43) File papers with no
obvious home in a folder labeled " Miscellaneous".
44) File only essential
documents that will be referred in future.
45) Ask your secretary or a
colleague to screen incoming phone calls for you.
46) Pick up the phone to
indicate the end of a meeting.
47) Do not sit down if you
are followed into your office.
48) Place your chair out of
view if your door is open.
49) Throw away any
information that you think you do not need.
50) Keep all chance
meetings short by standing- it will then be easier to get away.
51) Copy information only
to those who need to know.
52) Stop subscriptions to
magazines you no longer read.
53) Remove magazine and
newspaper articles you wish to keep, and file them for reference.
54) Assess each piece of
information for its relevance to current projects.
55) Keep only essential
reading on your desk.
56) Think before you
interrupt anyone. Their time is as valuable as yours.
57) Call a meeting only
after considering other options.
58) Do not make assumptions
about work colleagues.
59) Take a deep, relaxing
breath before you make a phone call.
60) Avoid distractions when
taking on the phone. Focus on what the caller is saying.
61) When making a phone
call, have another project to hand to work on in case you are kept waiting.
62) Tell people when they
can call you, and note the time in your diary.
63) Reroute your calls when
you want to avoid interruptions.
64) Never delay dealing
with any written material-it will just mount up.
65) Underline key phrases
in reports you have to read.
66) Skim-read the headlines
in your daily newspaper.
67) Keep essential
reference material separate from your other documents and papers.
68) Clear unwanted
documents from your computer once a month.
69) Consider carefully your
computing requirements.
70) Keep your e-mail
messages short, and address them accurately.
71) Encourage people to
express views, even if they are contrary to yours.
72) Ask a colleague to
interrupt "urgently" if a routine meeting lasts over an hour.
73) Keep meetings short by
listening rather than talking.
74) Allocate a specific
amount of time to each subject on an agenda.
75) Encourage people to
attend only the parts of a meeting that concern them.
76) Remind everyone what
was agreed at a meeting in a follow-up memo.
77) Before traveling,
assess whether the trip is necessary and cost-effective.
78) If possible, fit
everything you need to take into one small piece of hand luggage.
79) Take work to do in an
airport lounge in case of delays.
80) Set your watch to the local time at your destinations.
81) Check how much your
hotel charges for phone calls before making any.
82) Find out whether you
need adapters for your electrical equipment abroad.
83) Take two or three short
holidays instead of one long one.
84) Schedule regular time
off to pursue your hobbies and leisure interests.
85) Aim to experience
something new everyday.
86) Maintain high
expectations, and people will live up to them.
87) Persuade others of your
case using facts, not emotions.
88) Take an interest in
what others are trying to achieve.
89) Hearing is not the same
as listening. Learn to listen.
90) Make sure you define
objectives clearly when you delegate a task.
91) Reserve some time for
the task that you only can do.
92) Keep a checklist to
help you monitor the progress of tasks that you have delegated to others.
93) Reward good work
generously, and chastise in moderation.
94) Set precise and
realistic deadlines for tasks that you delegate.
95) Try not to allow
colleagues to distract you with unimportant issues.
96) Hold meetings in
colleagues' offices, so you can leave when you need to.
97) Set aside special times
when your office is open to all.
98) Visit colleagues only
when you have more than one issue to discuss.
99) Be aware of your boss's
working patterns, and try to adapt to them.
100) Ask about your boss's
home life-it will help to build up a relationship.
101) Remember that time is
perfectly democratic. Nobody has more or less of it than you.
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