How effectively do you manage your time? Is it possible to manage it more effectively? And could poor time-management even be costing your business money?
For many companies, the poor time-management could actually be a hidden drain on profitability. Think about how much time wasting eats away at your patience, energy, production volumes and, ultimately, your bottom line.
In our experience as trainers, many professionals others think they’re doing fine, only to be stunned when we review their performance when they realize just how much more effective they could be and how much easier their days could also be as a result.
For instance, for all you multitaskers out there, did you know that reports and studies regularly demonstrates that focusing on a single task for short blocks of time is far more effective than trying to “multitask” five things at once?
Stanford University report shows how multitaskers were actually worse at multitasking than those who like to do a single thing at a time.
I remember reading on Forbes.com in an article by Travis Bradberry last year about how research conducted at Stanford University found that multitasking is less productive than doing a single thing at a time. The researchers involved found that people who are regularly bombarded with several streams of electronic information cannot pay attention, recall information, or switch from one job to another as well as those who complete one task at a time! What’s more when the Stanford researchers compared groups of people based on their tendency to multitask and their belief that it helps their performance, they found that heavy multitaskers—those who multitask a lot and feel that it boosts their performance—were actually worse at multitasking than those who like to do a single thing at a time.
But just how can we manage our time better so we do all the things we need to in the best, ideally quickest way possible? Here are three super useful Time Management Tips to remember:-
1.Expect Interruptions and allow for the time they could occupy
At work, you may be frequently pulled in different directions. While you can’t eliminate every interruption, you DO get a say on how much time you will spend on them and how much time you will spend on the thoughts, conversations and actions that will lead you to success. So allow 10-15% (around one hour per day) for the unexpected or unplanned. Plan time to be pulled away from what you’re doing. And if it doesn’t happen, then good news is you’ve just created yourself some valuable free time!
2.Think “80-20”
Also remember that it’s impossible to get everything done – by thinking you can, you’re only setting yourself up for disappointment and frustration later on – so don’t even try!
Keep in mind that 20% of your thoughts, conversations and activities will produce 80% of your results. So get clear on what the really critical things are for you – and focus on completing these ‘high return’ things before tackling anything else – the rest is largely irrelevant anyway (i.e. the 80% of your time that delivers just 20% of your results).
3.Keep a time log
Carry a schedule and record all your thoughts, conversations and activities for a week. This will help you understand how much you can get done during the course of a day and just where your precious moments are going.
You’ll see how much time is actually spent producing results, and how much time is wasted on unproductive thoughts, conversations and actions!
If you would like to join our Virtual Time Management Training Course on 5th October 2015, visit the following link for details and to register:-
