Have you ever been really available? I bet your answer is “big never!” that is why you came in and reading this Effective Time Management Tips, otherwise you didn’t. Responding tens of e-mail, submitting or receiving memos, phone calls, meeting with lines manager, or you just make yourself busy with things that you enjoy to do it. Those all make your working hour racking up 60 to 80 hours a week. And you start questioning; “is there anything I can do to make me available for golf course, or at least home a bit early once to twice a week? My answer is “YES, sure you can”. As you read it, I can post these tips, means I have time, right? Read and implement these tips.
In term of office roles, there are just two possible ways to cut back:
*** Delegate some of your jobs or eliminate them ***
You may say “that sounds easier then I imagine”. I said “not really”. You are going to ask me “is that hard?”. Not really too, it is going to take you a while to get you there if you seriously take practice with the tips and implement them.
Here we are going to go to the details.
So, you are questioning me “which tasks should I delegate and which I should eliminate?”.
Begin by making a detailed list of everything you do at work for a full month in Excel sheet or any other type of spreadsheet you always use for work. That’s everything—from analyzing your company’s sales to reading the news pages you love the most. Remember, this list is for you, so be honest and include everything.
Next…
Leave space to the right of the activities list for two more columns:
(-). In the first column, next to each activity, answer the question: “Can I delegate it?”
(-). In the second column, add your thoughts about the task: Is it necessary? Is there a better way to do it?
Construct it, and guess what you will recognize, here they are:
First, you’re likely to discover there are a few routine tasks that can be delegated very easily. Not only would that free you for more important work, but it could enrich the work of a subordinate who inherits the job and promote his or her growth abilities. Hey…..That will be a double benefit for your department/division :-)
Second, you will recognize that you’re going to try to hang on to some of your tasks not because of you need to do them but because either you like doing them or you feel especially proficient at them and they give you pleasure even though you probably should delegate or even eliminate some.
Now let’s get to the heavy-duty stuff that not only will cut your workweek further but will enrich it and make you a far better manager, here we break them to two simple practices:
Invite your subordinates to undertake the same task-listing exercise.
Make it clear that you want them to focus on tasks that can be eliminated, simplified or performed more efficiently. Carefully explain that this exercise is not a prelude to layoffs or demotions; on the contrary, it’s an opportunity to make their work more efficient (that means fewer drudge hours, not harder work) and more interesting (because the tasks remaining would be more creative and challenging).
Using their task lists and what you already know about each person, assess their special skills, talents, likes and dislikes.
Since you now presumably have formulated a clearer picture of your critical activities, match them with your subordinates’ skills and preferences.
Review the tasks that each of your staff people seeks to hold onto.
Like you, they may want to do things they enjoy, even when the job is no longer really necessary. Or they may want to hold onto a task that built their reputation even though it no longer represents the best use of their time or talent; in fact, it may be a crutch to avoid taking on a more challenging or risky task.
Using all this information and the newly gained insights about your and your staff’s activities, begin to selectively delegate and reassign tasks. Use this opportunity to share your thinking with the staff, discover their personal goals and engage in a team effort.
You may find that you not only spend fewer hours in the office, but that you enjoy those hours more and your work experience provides you greater satisfaction.
To make this time management tips even more comprehensive that I believe will be well suit for more complex roles, let’s go further down to below 4 time management practices to make your every minute is counted:
Do the worst first.
It’s only human to put off the most unpleasant tasks and do easier or more enjoyable ones first. Instead, do the worst task first thing in the morning. You’ll be amazed at how quickly you’ll get the rest of your work done. Postponing chores destroys efficiency, because people subconsciously slow down their work pace to avoid the unpleasant jobs.
Deal with it now.
When something enters your system; an e-mail, a memo, a phone call, or a project, take one of four actions:
(-). Do it, if it can be completed in less than two minutes;
(-). Delegate it to someone better suited to handle it;
(-). Designate time for it in your calendar, if it’s a more complicated task; or
(-). Dump it, if it’s irrelevant or insignificant.
Filter Out and batch that low-value information.
Almost 40% of executives squander between a half and one full day per week on e-mails, voice mails and meetings with little value. Lighten the burden on your time by reducing those values activities. Multitasking, though often considered essential to effectiveness, actually reduces efficiency by 20% to 40%. Instead, try batching your e-mails, voice mails, outgoing phone calls and even interactions with coworkers.
Improve meeting effectiveness.
Providing agenda and reading material 48 hours before your meeting is a good practice to ensure the greatest return on your meetings investment. Start and end on schedule. Create a follow-up plan with specific action items, the name of the person who owns each item, the due date and an agreement about what constitutes its completion. Publish minutes and action plans within a day, since most people wait for the minutes to arrive before they begin to act.
No comments:
Post a Comment