Time management

If you let it time management can be the bane of your life. People with poor time management skills find it hard to keep up with their work loads regardless of how much effort they put in. At its worst it can make you feel out of control, frustrated, exhausted and really increase your stress levels. It can also make you feel low about yourself and that your best isn't good enough. This all results in the lowering of your self esteem and confidence. Many in fact cite poor time management as leading to a decline in your career. This is something that can practically be dealt with and life coaching is great to help you with this. I've outlined below just a couple of things that my clients have tried with success. There is obviously more to it but it's a great start:-

Tips to effective Time Management: -

• At the start of each and every week (maybe every Monday morning) decide what your goals and actions are
• Make a "to do" list of all your goals and actions for the week.
• Prioritise the actions on your to do list and draw a line across the middle of your list so you concentrate on the top half first. If you are having problems prioritising then actively seek out absolute deadlines on actions and this will help you decide. If many actions have the same deadline then always place your favourite or more inspiring task first as this will get you motivated to get started.
• Once the actions have been proritised then you can start assigning days and times to complete these by. It might be useful to keep a detailed diary, time planner or electronic planner to do this. You can then measure at the end of each week whether or not your goals and action lists are being completed and whether they are realistic.
• At the start of each day look at what actions you have assigned yourself and tally these up against who you will need around you to complete some of them, i.e. do you need a particular person to approve something, edit a piece of work, etc. By doing this you decrease waiting time and as a result optimise your time.
• Be clever about when you work best. If you work better in the morning for example it might be that you decide to tackle a harder task then rather than when you're normally feeling sleepy or lacking in motivation.
• Delegate some of the actions you don't have to do yourself. Knowing how to let go of control is important for your career development and helping others develop. Ask yourself – "do I really need to be doing this myself? "Why shouldn't I trust someone else with this task?". If this is something you worry about then just ensure your briefs are thorough and cover off all bases and then gradually start to learn how to trust people more and more as they complete tasks successfully.
• Learn how to say "no" to things. People will appreciate your honesty and admire your maturity at knowing your limits rather than saying yes and then missing the deadline. It also shows that you have respect for yourself in that you wont overload your working time.
• As well as getting on top of your daily actions make sure you start adding goals and actions beneath these that are going to help you move up to the next level in your career. Sometimes we can get so bogged down on the everyday tasks that we forget about what comes next for us. Just ensure that when you set these career goals and actions that they are realistic and have deadlines set to them for when you want to achieve them. It's really good practice to review these career goals once a week to ensure you are staying on track and not becoming complacent.
• Take regular breaks. Appreciate your time and work out strategies that help you keep going through the day. For example, would it be more productive to go to the gym at lunchtime rather than sit at your desk with a sandwich?
• Before you start your day make sure your desk is clear as well as your mind. Learn to keep yourself organised and departmentalise anything else going in your private life to your work life, as this will all hold you back.

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