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.