It’s about time!

YESTERDAY is in the bank. Smile and forget it.

TOMORROW is a promissory note. Don’t count on it.

TODAY is ready cash. Use it!

30 techniques to manage your time effectively

1. Do a Time Log now and then – see where your time goes.
2. Prepare ‘To Do Lists’ at the end of the day.
3. Keep a clear desk or workspace.
4. Aim to handle mail once only.
5. Make your replies short and to the point.
6. Remove your name from unwanted circulation lists.
7. Prioritise your work and do ‘the nasties’ first.
8. Identify your ‘Time Robbers’.
9. Identify the ‘Bottlenecks’ that hold you up.
10. Set yourself clear, timed goals.
11. Make, and keep, appointments with yourself – TO THINK.
12. Do a Competence/Satisfaction Grid every three months.
13. Do an Important/Urgent Grid following your time log.
14. List ‘pros and cons’ on decisions, and the criteria by which you judge them.
15. When you make a decision, act on it quickly.
16. Apply the Critical Analysis Technique to all key tasks.
17. Delegate where possible, and be precise when doing so. Are there things that you are doing which other colleagues could and would benefit from doing.
18. Meetings – set a finish time, have an agenda, use the agenda points as questions, only be there if necessary, only hold if necessary
19. Think creatively, do it often, and involve others.
20. Use Salami Slicing technique for complex tasks/intricate problems.
21. Waiting for information. Ensure that you have things to do while you are waiting
22. Do you have same problems with equipment failure / system slow to respond. Would that be a good investment of your time to sort it our at the source
23. Do you have bureaucratic procedures at work. While it is frustrating, it is part of the job. Are any of your colleagues better at dealing with the procedures than you are? What can you copy?
24. Training staff so they can undertake some of the tasks you have to do
25. When travelling, plan your journeys to see the maximum number of people at one go? Could some travel time be eliminated through conference calling or delegating?
26. Receiving phone calls: are you making the best use of voicemail?
27. Are overloading your memory? At best our conscious memory can handle just nine pieces of information. Can you write a to-do list.
28. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Plan what you need to do and how to do this is the most effective way
29. Learn how to say no. You can do everything !
30. Dealing with emails as they come in can cause disruption to what you are doing. Can you allocate a specific times during the day to look at and deal with your emails

So, what are you going to do with all this time you now have??