5 Essential Time Management Tips

Time management is a core business skill, without it you are doomed to fail. Everyone faces conflicting demands on their time, so it is critical to plan and prioritise how you spend your time.

Here are some tips on how to effectively manage your time:

Make a to-do list and stick to it. 

There are many virtual applications that assist with planning your time and prioritising tasks.  Most phones have already installed apps where you create a list. 

Learn to prioritise.

Tasks will vary in levels of importance, how much time is needed to complete, and resources required.

Regulate email.

Schedule time during the day to check your email.  Avoid checking it every five minutes as this is the fastest way to reduce your efficiency.  Some senior executives have been known to only check and action their mail twice a day – once at 10am and then again at 2pm.  They even have this specified in their email signature!

Avoid email.

Think about those situations you can follow up a request, obtain a sign off or ask a question without spending time crafting an email.  Can you call the recipient? Or walk up to their desk?

Avoid decision fatigue.

Decision fatigue essentially means you are worn down by making decision, often resulting in taking a disproportionate amount of time to make a decision about those repeated daily decisions.  Think about the length of time spent on deciding what to buy for lunch, what font to use for a report, what email to action first, or what to wear.  These types of decisions can be automated or planned in advance.  For example, choosing what to wear the evening before, meal planning for the week ahead and perhaps even using a rotating meal roster for those who are really time poor.  Eliminating decision fatigue will result in better decision making and ultimately free up much of your valuable time.

To effectively manage your time, make sure you have a prioritised ‘to do list’ with clearly defined tasks.  Think about those daily repeatable tasks and plan accordingly.  Remember some days do not go as planned, so be flexible!