Never again think, “Darn! I could have been working on …”
February is National Time Management Month in the U.S.A. When I saw that, I immediately had an urge to say something about it. I have always been interested in time management and have learned a few useful things along the way.
If you have an interest you have likely heard that old saw ‘you can’t manage time, you can only manage yourself/your activities.’ So I’ve listed a few of the more important lessons learned about managing yourself and your activities to make better use of your time.
I’ve learned from reading books and articles about time management, but I’ve verified that information and learned more from experience. I used time management techniques as: an undergrad, a grad student, a soldier, a medical coder, an organizational specialist, a hospital director of staff development, small business owner and writer. How I managed time was unique in each situation so I’ve tried a lot of techniques. Yet there are concepts that transfer across situations. Here are some useful tips:
* Write everything down. Whether in a simple journal, a planner, an online program etc. We all forget things from time to time. The busier you are the more important this is. The more important the things you write down, the more necessary this becomes. It keeps you from forgetting things and helps you avoid being late - ever remember an appointment at the last minutes and needed to rush?
* In the intro I said these would be ways to make better use of your time, not be more productive. That’s because better use of your time includes higher productivity AND a more enjoyable life. Reading for fun, playing a board game with your kids, going to a weekend flea market and similar things may not directly improve productivity but they make life more fun and meaningful. Do something that allows you to distance yourself from worries and problems. It will renew your energy for the necessary things. It can provide encouragement to work harder or faster to allow time for those enjoyable activities. Also, having fun memories makes for a richer life down the road than a bunch of checked-off to-do lists ever could.
* Be flexible and productive. The way that has worked for me very well is use of an ITP list. That is a list of things to do “if time permits”. What I put on my ITP list are things I want/need to do sometime in the next few days, but not necessarily tomorrow. Sometimes we get surprise time - a meeting ends early, weather causes a cancellation, a small project is completed early, etc., and there is suddenly time available. I check the ITP list and if something will fit in, it’s done without the need to “look for work”. The other way I use the ITP is to begin each day’s schedule/plan. When I make tomorrow’s plan I look at the ITP and see what is most time-pressing or important and it migrates from the ITP to the daily plan.
* Stay ahead of the game. Stay prepared for things you know are coming. To clarify what I mean, here are some common examples, some you may already know. Extrapolate from these ideas to as many other activities as possible.
Students know when tests are scheduled and papers are due. Don’t wait until the night before to study or write the paper. Do it early. Results will be better and stress will MUCH less. Remember, too, things don’t always go right. Sometimes something might happen to prevent you studying or writing the day/night before.
Lay out your clothes for tomorrow and prep anything else you’ll need. If your alarm fails, you’ll be glad you did.
Use a crock pot, prepare dinners for a week at a time and freeze, use throw-away utensils and plates during the week, etc.
If you are self-employed and use social media, you know it can be a time drain. So, prepare ahead of time. Example: On Sunday prepare a list of posts for the coming week for each social channel you use, including images.
* Stay/get healthy. If you are not in good physical condition, you cannot accomplish as much as you could if you were healthy. If you are unhealthy, any free time that appears may encourage sitting back, doing nothing. If you are healthy you are more energetic and more likely to tackle another task in that free time. An important part of this is exercise. Do it every day no matter what your job is. Few if any occupations use your entire body. You need to move every joint every day. You need to do resistance exercise and that does not necessarily mean join a gym or buy barbells. Light dumbbells or water bottles will do. Any weight is more than the air. Pushups are terrific. This post isn’t about exercise but you can find plenty of free information with a simple search online.
* This is a biggie with lots of ‘sub-hints’. It was hinted at earlier. Use a planner. I use hard copy. That is what I’ll be referring to but I assume a digital planner can do as much. This may seem like a lot but it’s only every year and it helps immensely.
When you start your planner write in everything with set times for the entire year.
- Work hours. If you work a job where you go to work, do your thing, then go home, just mark out the entire 8 hours for every work day. If you have a job that requires you to do various activities, mark begin and usual end for work and leave open to add activities as you plan them.
- Cross through appropriate and usual travel time to and from work and any other activity.
- Students would do the above for all classes, and part-time job(s).
- Add all other routine activities, both work and fun related, like: Toastmaster club meetings, Saturday mornings to watch daughter play soccer, church services, gym, etc.
- Every project you are working on whether personal or for work, schedule time for it. If there is a deadline involved, work backwards, determine how much time it should take, add at least 10% and schedule it. Hopefully, you have some personal goals and this is where they fall in. Ever think you would like to do something and decide - I’ll work on it when I can? Then the next time you think about it is months later or longer and you have done nothing. Plan it, divide it into steps and schedule the steps. Write them! Respect yourself as much as you do an employer.
- Mark birthdays and other special occasions. I remember the birthdays of people important to me. What I do anyway is mark a week ahead that it is coming up. That reminds me to get a card, gift or take any desired action with time to spare.
- Never completely fill your days. Leave yourself some wriggle room. You may find additional prep is needed for the next item on the schedule or the last item may have required longer than projected.
- Whenever activities / interests change, note them. Add as necessary, remove as needed. (That’s why I use a pencil)
* Get help if needed. This can come in many forms.
- spouse assistance in a crunch.
- hiring family members; check with an accountant or other pro to do it right.
- hire help.
- hire a virtual assistant to do a single repetitive task that eats time.
- hire domestic help - how much time could you save if you didn’t do laundry, cook, clean house, do yard work?
- SCORE, Service Corp of Retired Executives. Gives free consulting to small businesses.
- Check out the possibility of an unpaid or paid intern from a local college
* Batch or chunk activities. One way I currently use this is planning ads. I spend 2-3 hours one time per month. I decide on and schedule ads for the following month. Info for one place an ad is inserted is the same or similar to others. Not pulling it all up multiple times - just once - saves a lot of time.
Those are some of the best techniques for managing you use of time that I have used. Don’t think you need to do these or tips from anyone just as stated. Tweak things to fit your situation. The concepts are always useful but the methods you employ them will vary. Hope you find something useful. If you have more tips to share, please put them in the comments.
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