Margaret Moses Vanhoucke

Margaret Moses Vanhoucke

The Fabulous

CT0270300

                                           Time Management Skills

INTRODUCTION

How many of us have asked to ourselves “Has the day ended?” “How did the time pass by so fast?” Wished there were more hours in the day? Well, there is only 24 hours in a day and for many of us, it’s not enough, you may ask why is that some people can get more things done than others? The answer lies in good time management.

Time Management is essential in the working world and this can be very challenging due to the many distractions, emails, meetings, deadlines, month end closing and more.

It has been stated that “improving your time management at work isn’t nearly as hard as you may think and the gains can be huge” (Wilson, 2009-2016, para 7).

What is “Time Management?”

“Time Management is managing time effectively so that the right time is allocated to the right activity (Management ….)

Here is something easy to remember, the 4D’s of Time Management: Do it, Delegate it, Dump It, Defer it (Hearn, 1999-2012). It’s pretty straight forward, get your work done as soon as possible, if it doesn’t suit you or out of your job scope, delegate it, if it’s not important, dump it and if there is no rush defer it.

Time management plays a big role in your career advancement therefore make great effort to improve your effectiveness and efficiency at workplace.

Below are some tips from the author on work life balance (Frances B, 2014).

1. Start your work the minute you switch on your computer, half an hour or an hour wasted here can be very costly.
2. Ignore emails, phone calls or any other distractions when you are close to your deadline.
3. Take small breaks to recharge and refocus, this will enable you to think creatively and work effectively.
4. Don’t underestimate your work, it can take longer then you expected.

Recommendations

KNOW YOUR ROLES, you have to be crystal clear of your job scopes and what is expected of you, by this you can decide what to spend time on. If you are not sure of what you are supposed to be doing please CLARIFY it instead of guessing.

KNOW YOUR GOALS. There is a saying “if you don’t plant the seeds, you’ll end up with weeds”, so you have to know what you are aiming for. List down your main work goals, then you will be able to know how to spend your time when you’re there.