Time Management Skills

Have you ever wondered how it is that some people seem to have enough time to do everything that they want to, whereas others are always rushing from task to task, and never seem to finish anything?

Is it just that the former have less to do? No, it’s much more likely that they are using their time more effectively and practicing good time management skills.

Time management is not very difficult as a concept, but it’s surprisingly hard to do in practice. It requires the investment of a little time upfront to prioritise and organise yourself. But once done, you will find that with minor tweaks, your day, and indeed your week and month, fall into place in an orderly fashion, with time for everything you need to do.

The Key to Good Time Management

Understanding The Difference Between Urgent and Important

‘Urgent’ tasks demand your immediate attention, but whether you actually give them that attention may or may not matter.

'Important' tasks matter, and not doing them may have serious consequences for you or others.

For example:

• Answering the phone is urgent. If you don’t do it, the caller will ring off, and you won’t know why they called. It may, however, be an automated voice telling you that you may be eligible for compensation for having been mis-sold insurance. That’s not important.
• Going to the dentist regularly is important (or so we’re told). If you don’t, you may get gum disease, or other problems. But it’s not urgent. If you leave it too long, however, it may become urgent, because you may get toothache.
• Picking your children up from school is both urgent and important. If you are not there at the right time, they will be waiting in the playground or the classroom, worrying about where you are.
• Reading funny emails or checking Facebook is neither urgent nor important. So why is it the first thing that you do each day? See our page minimising distractions to help you recognise and avoid other things that may distract you from getting your urgent and important tasks done.

This distinction between urgent and important is the key to prioritising your time and your workload, whether at work or at home.

Try using a grid, like the priority matrix, to organise your tasks into their appropriate categories:

Remember, too, that you and your health are important. Just because you have lots to do doesn’t mean that doing some exercise, going for a 10-minute walk or making time to eat properly is not important. You should not ignore your physical or mental health in favour of more 'urgent' activities.

Warning!

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Urgency and/or importance is not a fixed status. You should review your task list regularly to make sure that nothing should be moved up because it has become more urgent and/or important.

What can you do if an important task continually gets bumped down the list by more urgent, but still important tasks?

First, consider whether it is genuinely important. Does it actually need doing at all, or have you just been telling yourself that you ought to do it?

If it really is important, then consider delegating it. See our page on Delegating Skills for more.

Case Study:
A Win-Win Situation from Delegating

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Jenny was the leader of a busy, highly reactive team, with constant and urgent demands on her time. She knew that she needed to spend some time thinking through the implementation of a particular policy, but it was very hard to set aside the time.

In a development discussion, Sara, one of her team, expressed her desire to do some more strategic work to build up her skills. Jenny saw an opportunity for both of them, and offered Sara the opportunity to prepare the initial paper on implementing the policy.

Sara jumped at the chance, and produced an excellent, well-thought-through paper which was a great foundation for further work.

Further Principles of Good Time Management

Keep tidy

For some of us, clutter can be both a real distraction and genuinely depressing.

Tidying up can improve both self-esteem and motivation. You will also find it easier to stay on top of things if your workspace is tidy.

If you have a system where everything is stuck on the fridge or notice board pending action, then take off anything that doesn’t need action and/or has been dealt with! That way, you’ll be able to see at a glance what needs doing, and you'll be less likely to miss anything.

Top Tip for Tidying:

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Create three piles: Keep, Give Away, and Throw Away.

Keep, if you need to keep it for your records, or do something with it. If it needs action, add it to your task list.

Give away, if you don’t want it, but someone else might be able to use it, and/or it is work that can and should be delegated.

Throw away (or recycle) for things that have no value to you or anyone else.

Resource: skillsyouneed.com