How to improve your Time Management Skills
There is a strong link between time management skills and productivity. It is only when you master the first aspect of that combination that you can hope to get the latter part right. The truth is this: Organisations are often inefficient as employees are not taught the importance of time management.
It should be top of the list for practical skills at work, yet it is often an afterthought at best. If you can display excellent time management and organisational skills in the workplace, you will stand out. As a handy bonus, this skillset will help you in other areas of your life as well.
What Are Time Management Skills?
Everyone has 24 hours in a day, seven days in a week, and 12 months in a year. How come some people seem as if they have much more? The primary reason for this seemingly ‘supernatural’ ability is their capacity for time management.
Time Management Definition
The essence of time management is the ability to plan and organise your tasks in a way that an optimal amount of time is spent on each one. The entire ‘work smarter, not harder’ mantra was probably coined by someone with exceptional time management skills! The benefits of this transferable skill for work should be obvious, and include:
- A lower level of stress.
- An improved professional (and personal) reputation.
- A better chance of promotion.
- Higher efficiency and productivity.
- A greater capacity for achieving the career and life goals you have set.
A lack of time management skills may lead to issues such as:
- Missed deadlines.
- Increased stress levels.
- Lower work quality.
- A damaged professional reputation.
Time Management Skills
The theory behind improving your time management skills is relatively simple. You ‘only’ need to get organised and understand how to prioritise specific tasks. Alas, surprisingly, few people know how to do that.
One of the most crucial overall management skills to learn is ascertaining the difference between important and urgent. An important task is necessary, but NOT completing it on time won’t make a massive difference to you, a project, or your company. An urgent task requires immediate attention and not finishing it could have serious ramifications.
Some things are neither important nor urgent. For example, checking non-work-related emails or browsing Facebook at work is a waste of your employer’s time, not to mention a waste of your time.
Practical Skills List
There is no single ‘best’ way to improve your time management skills. Indeed, it is best if you adopt a range of strategies. Here are five to consider:
- Stop Procrastinating! It is not called ‘the thief of time’ for no good reason! The essence of procrastination is to waste valuable time and energy with no result.
- Learn to Delegate: Sir Alex Ferguson is widely regarded as one of the all-time great soccer managers. He was a master of delegation and understood that it was a sign of strength and proper management. When you delegate specific tasks, you can avoid burnout and stress.
- Prioritisation: Create a list of tasks that need your immediate attention. You can do this either the night before or in the morning. Once you separate the urgent from the important and irrelevant, you get to focus on priority tasks first. When they are done, move to the next most relevant jobs.
- Become Deadline Orientated: When you create a deadline, you immediately have a sense of urgency. It is also a good idea to reward yourself for completing an especially tricky task within the timeframe to a high standard.
- Avoid Multitasking: Saying ‘NO’ to multitasking is one of the best practical methods of improving time management. Contrary to what you may have heard, multitasking hurts productivity. Give all of your attention to a specific task, get it done, and move on to the next one.
Time Management Skills Examples
Here are ten examples of how you can use time management skills at work:
- Allocate time for certain tasks.
- Place them in order of importance.
- Avoid an excessive level of ‘water cooler’ talk with colleagues. It is nice to chat with co-workers now and then, but don’t allow it to consume your day.
- Break up large projects into bite-sized chunks and tackle them one by one.
- Delegate routine tasks to lower-level employees.
- Ensure your work station is organised.
- Take short breaks at regular intervals to retain focus and energy.
- Set goals on a daily, monthly, and weekly basis.
- Avoid being a perfectionist and, instead, set reasonable standards.
- Don’t spend time answering non-urgent phone calls, texts, and emails.
How to Improve Time Management Skills in the Workplace
To impress a new company, it is necessary to put the time management skills you added to your CV into practice. You should try to implement as many aspects of what we have written above as possible. However, don’t attempt to make a dozen changes at once. Doing so will only overwhelm you.
When you feel confident that you have begun to learn the art of time management at work, continue the process with the following:
- Understand That Not All Distractions Are Bad: Most workers know about the ‘3 pm slump.’ You feel tired and lethargic all of a sudden. We say embrace such occasions and use them as an excuse to take a break. Learn how to incorporate such ‘distractions’ into your day. Take a coffee break or go for a short walk to refresh the body and mind.
- Create Boundaries: Let colleagues know when you are not available barring emergencies. Simply outline the hours when you are NOT available via email or in a face-to-face chat. Let them know what constitutes an emergency, and also tell them when you are ready to discuss basic requests.
- Embrace Technology: There are some excellent apps and devices available to help you in your time management quest. Download the likes of Toggl or Rescue Time to aid you. Trello is an outstanding option if you want a more organised to-do list.
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