10. Deal with procrastination (Top Tips for Time Management)

Procrastination occurs when we keep delaying the execution of certain tasks or execute low priority tasks over high priority tasks. There could be various reasons for this including:

·         Fear of failure

·         Lack of knowledge in how to execute the task

·         Lack of interest or dislike of task

·         Distraction from task

·         Insufficient time management skills

It is important to understand why procrastination is occurring in order to address it appropriately. A few suggestions are:

·         Rewards for completion of tasks

·         Training on how to execute the relevant tasks

·         Seeking assistance with difficult or time consuming tasks

·         Training on prioritising and time management skills

·         Reviewing priorities on a regular basis

·         Monitoring progress to identify tasks that are being procrastinated

9. Train staff (Top Tips for Time Management)

A business can invest time and money in various time management tools, processes and procedures, but unless their employees are trained in these, it does not necessarily result in improved efficiency and productivity.

It is recommended that all employees are trained in:

·         Time management

-          Setting goals, deliverables and tasks

-          Prioritising tasks

-          Executing tasks

-          Monitoring progress

·         Processes and procedures

·         Organising work spaces

·         Software that they will be using

·         Use of equipment that they will be using

·         The company specific goals, deliverables and tasks

8. Organise Work Spaces (Top Tips for Time Management)

Businesses can reduce time spent on performing tasks and improve productivity and efficiency by ensuring that general and individual employee work spaces are organised:

·         Identify all general and individual work spaces

·         Determine guidelines for organising the work spaces to be efficient, for example:

-          Ensure that all equipment are stored in the same place after being used

-          Ensure that equipment is easily accessible

-          Organise the work spaces to compliment the relevant processes and procedures

-          File all documents on a daily basis according to an agreed filing system

·         Train employees in these guidelines and ensure that they adhere to it

·         Review the guidelines on a regular basis to ensure that they are still relevant

Some advantages of organising the work space (apart from saving time) are:

·         Information or equipment/tools are easier to find by all employees

·         Reduced health and safety risk – employees are less likely to injure themselves

·         Better control and security over information, equipment or stock

·         It encourages employees to be more efficient which could increase productivity

·         It could reduce stress for employees

7. Streamline Processes and Procedures (Top Tips for Time Management)

Most businesses have routine tasks that need to be executed on a regular basis which take up a large portion of time spent by employees on business activities. Employees may not all use the same or most efficient methodology which could result in unnecessary time spent to complete these tasks. One way to get around this and to save time is to create formal business processes and procedures which all employees should follow:

·         Identify routine tasks or tasks that need to be performed on a regular sporadic basis

·         Determine what the most efficient processes and procedures are to perform these tasks which would take the least amount of time without compromising on the quality of work performed

·         Document these processes and procedures

·         Train all relevant employees in these processes and procedures

·         Test or revisit these processes and procedures on a regular basis to ensure that they are followed and to determine whether they can be improved to increase efficiency

Advantages of creating and streamlining processes and procedures are:

·         Saving time on routine tasks

·         Increased efficiency and productivity

·         Employees know what is expected of them and how to perform the tasks

·         Increased productivity when there is staff turnover – new employees are better informed and trained in how to perform their tasks

6. Monitor and Evaluate Progress (Top Tips for Time Management)

It is important to continuously monitor and evaluate the progress on tasks, deliverables and goals to determine whether they will be completed within their specified time frames. This enables a business or employer to:

·         Identify important tasks which are unaddressed or slow in progress and approaching their deadlines which can be rescheduled or increased in level of urgency and priority

·         Identify low or no priority tasks which are taking up more than their scheduled time which can be delegated or investigated to determine how they can be reduced in frequency or eliminated

·         Determine whether deliverables and goals will be achieved within their specified time frames or whether these time frames need to be amended

There are various ways of monitoring and evaluating the progress on tasks, deliverables and goals. It is recommended that a business determines and implements a methodology that is practical and best suited to their business or industry. Here are a few examples:

·         Create dashboards or scorecards

·         Regular progress meetings

·         % completion method for each task/deliverable/goal

5. Schedule and execute tasks (Top Tips for Time Management)

Once a priority has been assigned to each task based on its importance, urgency and deadline, these tasks can be scheduled and executed accordingly.

There are various methods of scheduling tasks:

·         Creating daily, weekly or monthly lists of tasks to complete

·         Diarising tasks in a physical or electronic diary

·         Using time management software applications or systems (for example the Task Manager application of Microsoft Outlook which is part of the Microsoft Office suite often used by individuals and businesses)

When scheduling tasks, the following is recommended:

·         Sort,  schedule and execute the tasks in order from high to low priority

·         High priority (Important/Urgent) tasks: Important tasks can be urgent when something unexpected happens. This can be managed by scheduling enough contingency time for unforeseen events. Important tasks that are urgent due to unaddressed tasks approaching their deadline can be prevented by regularly monitoring your progress on tasks and rescheduling if possible

·         Medium priority (Important/Not Urgent) tasks: Schedule quality uninterrupted time to complete these tasks. Monitor the progress on these tasks and reschedule if necessary and possible to prevent the task from becoming urgent

·         Low priority (Not Important/ Urgent) tasks: These tasks are usually not focused on achieving the business goals and deliverables but require your immediate attention because it is important to someone else to achieve their goals. They usually manifest in the form of interruptions. These tasks should be delegated or if not possible, schedule minimum time or regular short meetings to address these tasks/interruptions

·         No priority (Not Important/ Not Urgent) tasks: These tasks should be disregarded or delegated as they are a distraction which will eat into your time to complete the prioritised tasks. Learn to say no to time wasters

General tips:

·         Ensure that the time scheduled/taken for a task is worth the expected result

·         Make/schedule time for relaxing. Regular breaks and movement will improve concentration and productivity

·         Determine the times of the day when you concentrate at your best and schedule the high and medium priority tasks to be executed during these time slots

·         Only schedule or attend productive meetings

4. Prioritise Tasks (Top Tips for Time Management)

It is a common occurrence to have a number of tasks that need to be completed within the same time frame.

Unfortunately it is not always possible to complete all these tasks within their assigned time frames when they have conflicting deadlines. Even if it is possible, some tasks will carry more importance and urgency and will need to be completed before the rest.

The Eisenhower Method is a useful tool to help determine the priority of each task and was used by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower to organise and prioritise his tasks:

·         Assign a criteria of important/not important to each task

·         Assign a criteria of urgent/not urgent to each task

·         Place each task in a quadrant of a matrix as illustrate below and prioritise accordingly

Important tasks are those that are necessary to achieve the business deliverables and goals within their specified time frames.

Urgent tasks are those that require immediate attention and are usually unexpected unless they are unaddressed tasks approaching their deadline.

 

3. Identify Tasks (Top Tips for Time Management)

Tasks are the smallest identifiable activities to be performed as part of a bigger piece of work.

Deliverables should be broken down into tasks to identify the activities that need to be performed in order to achieve the deliverables in the specified time frames.  A business can also have standard routine tasks and ad hoc tasks which can’t always be linked to a specific deliverable.

The following tips for tasks could be applied by businesses or individual employees:

·         Identify the tasks for each of the business deliverables

·         Identify standard routine tasks that need to be performed on a regular basis

·         Identify ad hoc tasks

·         Ensure that tasks are achievable and measurable

·         Assign a time frame to each task

·         Create a list of standard routine tasks and their deadlines – this saves time rewriting the same tasks

·         Create a list of non-routine tasks and their deadlines

·         Assign responsibility for each task to the relevant employees

Figure 1:  Relationship between Goals, Deliverables and Tasks

2. Identify Deliverables (Top Tips for Time Management)

Deliverables are specific products or services to be delivered in order to achieve goals.

Once the business goals have been set, it is important to determine what physically needs to be done to achieve these goals in the specified time frame. For each of the business goals:

·         Identify the deliverables

·         Ensure that the deliverables are achievable and measurable

·         Define each deliverable focusing on the intended outcome and not the activities

·         Assign a time frame to each deliverable

·         Communicate the business goals,  deliverables and their time frames to employees – it is important that staff know what they are working towards and it might promote teamwork, productivity, a sense of purpose and job satisfaction

·         Include the deliverables in the strategic and operational plans

·         Assign responsibility for the deliverables to the relevant employees or departments – deliverables can be set as objectives in annual employee performance management plans

Once the deliverables have been identified:

·         Evaluate the relevance and achievability of the deliverables on a regular basis, especially if the goals have changed

·         Evaluate whether the deliverables can still be achieved in the specified time frames

·         Amend the deliverables and their time frames if necessary in all the relevant strategic, operational and employee performance management plans

1. Set Goals (Top Tips for Time Management)

Most businesses will have a business plan which summarises the medium to long term attainable goals of a business and includes a plan to reach those goals. Business plans can be internally or externally focused.

Externally focused business plans will concentrate on goals which are important to external stakeholders like investors while internally focused business plans will contain specific goals to reach the external goals.

A business plan that suggests strategies to achieve the organisation’s mission and goals within the next three to five years is called a strategic plan.  An operational plan is derived from the strategic plan and focuses on the day-to-day management of the business for the next year including specific tasks, responsibilities and timelines to implement the strategies in the strategic plan.

If a business does not have any of the above plans, the following is recommended:

·         Set short term, medium term and long term goals for the business in the form of a business plan

·         Ensure that the goals are achievable and measurable

·         Assign a time frame to each goal

·         Create a strategic plan for the next three to five years and update this every year

·         Create an operational plan for the next year on an annual basis

If a business has set goals or has the above plans, the following is recommended:

·         Evaluate the relevance and achievability of the goals on a regular basis

·         Evaluate whether the goals can still be achieved in the specified time frame

·         Amend the goals and their time frames if necessary in all the relevant business plans

·         Amend the strategic and operational plans if necessary to achieve the revised goals

Business goals can be affected when the focus of the business changes or when there are external or internal factors which impacts on the profitability and productivity of a business. It is therefore in the best interest of a business to reassess its goals, strategic and operational plans on a regular basis to achieve sustainable growth.

Top Tips for Time Management

Businesses invest time and money in managing resources like labour, assets, materials and capital, but they often do not actively manage the time invested in business activities.

Time, if managed efficiently, could be a valuable resource available to a business to increase productivity and achieve sustainable growth.

The following tips for time management could be used by business owners, management and employees.