6 Tips For Better Time Management At Work

6 Tips For Better Time Management At Work

Do you feel constantly rushed? Are you always running to the bus stop? Are your reports always late? Do colleagues shake their heads in despair when you clatter into the office 20 minutes late every day? If so, then you’re probably not as organised as you could be. Read on to find out how to manage your time better and stay ahead of the game.

Prioritise

Faced with an overwhelming amount of work can be paralysing. Not knowing where to start is the biggest problem, and so we end up trying to three or four things at the same time. Even if you’re an expert multi-tasker then this normally doesn’t work out very well. So before you start, take five minutes to write a list of all you need to do, and then prioritise it into Urgent and Non Urgent. The result? Important jobs get done first.

Delegate

Even better than prioritising is delegation. Passing the buck onto someone else is a tried and trusted method for reducing the workload – and you won’t even have to take the blame if anything goes wrong.

Get to Work Earlier or Leave Later

This isn’t really a time management technique, but it will certainly help you to get more done. Even an hour a day can make a world of difference. Hopefully, you won’t have any other distractions either, as, like homework club, anyone who is there with you will be there to work too.

Handling Information

As fast as we process information, even more seems to arrive. Painting the Forth Bridge never seemed so attractive. So looking at ways to reduce the time spent managing information is vital. For example, set a specified time for dealing with emails, make the most of information software and idea management software, properly file your desktop documents and audit them once a month, and keep a tidy desk. Remember that vast amounts of time are squandered through disorganisation, so always be as organised as you possibly can be.

Get Rid of Distractions

It might be hard to get rid of your more attractive and therefore distracting colleagues, but you can still do a lot to help yourself keep focus on work. Make a strict rule not to do anything non-work related until you have finished a task, and resist the mighty temptation of logging into Facebook or Twitter. (Unless you’re in marketing, in which case this is more tricky). Smartphones too, are the devils own work in terms of distractions, so unless it’s work related do not respond to calls or texts. Or at least, try.

Use the Weekend

Yes, this is deeply unfair when you want to pretend you live a life of leisure or simply lie in the recovery position in front of Downton Abbey, BUT just a little bit of preparatory work can make all the difference to the horrors of Monday Morning. Make some notes on that meeting, or write a bit of your report. It won’t kill you – and you’ll be ahead of the game already. Promise.

Wendy Lin is a free-lance writer who enjoys the simple things in life. She enjoys living in the peaceful countryside in Reading and traveling Europe with her consultancy company.