What time management techniques do you use? There’s a whole plethora of different things we can do to make sure we’re keeping on top of our work and deadlines. It can be difficult to manage our workload sometimes, so it’s always worthwhile reminding ourselves of the things we can do to manage our time and boost productivity. So, here’s a list of our top time management tips for work.
Create a schedule
A time management skill that can really help you focus is creating a schedule for yourself. Do you have all your tasks for the day/week? Great! Then set aside ten to twenty minutes at the start of the day to create a schedule for yourself. Give yourself as much time as you think you need for each task and create a plan. It’ll give you a time target for each task and give you a useful time management schedule. Time yourself whilst doing the tasks too to find out how long they take you and implement your findings into your scheduling . A plan is never not useful. It’s like that old saying, if you fail to plan, you’ll plan to fail. This is the first step in successful time management strategies.
Don’t multitask
Following on from the schedule, make sure you stick to it. Don’t multitask. Why? As soon as you start mixing your tasks together, you’ll end up losing track and stressing out on where you are. You’ll find yourself losing focus on the task at hand, and that’ll be no good for your time management. Sort your tasks accordingly, one at a time with the most important tasks first. This is key to a good headspace and making sure there's no overlap.
Don’t let yourself get distracted
When figuring out how to manage your time effectively, this time management tip may be easier said than done, especially when working from home. But as obvious as it sounds, it can really help you focus on your workload and manage time effectively. If you’re working from home, remove yourself from anything that could stray your mind away from work. The TV you put on in the background, the chores you need to do, the people you live with for example, will all be there when you finish your day. Get your head down and concentrate on the task at hand, you’re at work afterall.
Take a break
How does taking a break help time management? More than you think. Pen it into your schedule. Some people will work through their breaks and sure, that is all well and good if it works for you. But it’s worth remembering that you can really burn yourself out if you do this and your work can become sloppy and unfocused. A break can let you recharge your batteries and set you up for the second half of your day. Does it take time out of your day? Yes - but we’re all entitled to a break to make sure we’re all ready for the second half.
Make the most of your gaps
How can you get more done in between your big tasks for the day? We all have small admin tasks we have to do such as sending off an email or scheduling a meeting for example. Basically, a five-minute job. It’s best to do these when and where you can, but probably best when you finish a task in your schedule and before you move onto a new one. Don’t let these pile up as they can seriously disrupt your schedule and how you manage your time at work.
Organise your workload
This time management technique can be as simple as just creating separate folders for your emails to make things less messy, or using apps such as Trello to keep your tasks and notes organised in a way that makes your workload more streamlined. Organisation is crucial in time management and if you leave your work in an untidy state it’ll make you stress more when looking for that important email you’ve misplaced. You could be searching for something for ten minutes, ten minutes that could really be valuable time spent to one of your crucial tasks.
So those are our top workplace time management tips. Do you have any advice or different tips to help manage your time at work? Check out our socials to let us know!