By Kat Sarmiento
Time management is how you assign time to your tasks. Proper time tracking allows you to accomplish more and has time left over in the day for yourself. What are the benefits of time tracking? How can you take advantage of this practice for your business? Today, let’s answer all those questions and more.
Strategies for Time Management
There are several ways to implement time management. These seven strategies are sure to make your business run more efficiently than before. These tips apply whether you are working onsite or from home.
Record Your Time
Recording your time is crucial for data analysis. This goes for both the short-term and long-term. For individual tasks, it’s useful for knowing if it’s an urgent task or not. Does a task originally set for an hour consistently finish in half the time? Reconsider your given time frame.
For the long term, time management helps you manage business productivity. You should set meetings over a month. Have deadlines for the project and its sub-goals. Whenever a milestone is reached, record how long it took. For example, if a budget meeting is needed, record how long it took to finish. See if it can be cut down in the future.
Set Deadlines for Yourself
Deadlines motivate you to be more focused and efficient. This allows you to finish the task at hand faster. By giving yourself a deadline, you give yourself a goal. This goal allows you to see how much time you need for a task. For example, if you finish a task earlier than expected, perhaps the task isn’t as urgent. Vice versa, if the deadline you set didn’t pan out, you can check if the problem was the task or your work ethic. Deadlines are a great way to measure your employees’ productivity or even your own.
Plan Out Your Day
Set out everything you need to do for the day. Set deadlines for each task throughout the day. Make it a habit. At the end of the day, make a new list of tasks for tomorrow you can follow. Routine can help you build a timely attitude. Over time, it becomes second nature.
Learn your Priorities
Think of the tasks you have and decide which needs doing. For one day, record the time spent on all tasks. See which ones are more important to finish quickly and which ones can be set aside for later. Some tasks may be urgent but not important on a macro-scale. Delegate these to others so you can spend time on more important tasks.
Cut Down on Non-Essentials
After recording tasks, take stock of what’s important. Some activities may not be things you need to do. Cut these out of your schedule, or delegate them to others if it has some importance. For example, you notice a non-urgent task takes a lot of time. It takes more time than genuinely important tasks. Those are the kinds of tasks you need to watch out for.
Benefits of Time Management
Time management has several benefits. Industry trends don’t lie. Time management is one of the best business skills to have. It doesn’t just lead to an efficient and productive business. It can also help you on an individual level. Here are some of the benefits that time management can offer you.
Relieves Stress
A task schedule reduces stress and anxiety. Stress can make your overall workflow suffer. You get stressed from lack of time management because you are reactive. Time management allows you to be proactive, and everything is now planned out. Every task you cross off your list is tangible progress. You won’t feel as overwhelmed when you can measure how much you have done. Proper time management makes you glad to reach a deadline, not fear it.
Allows for Extra Time
Time management allows you extra time in a day. That extra time can be used for whatever you choose. You can use it to have more breaks at work. You can line up some tasks from the next day that you can do now. Depending on your workplace, you can even go home earlier than needed. This lets you spend some more alone time to wind down.
Open for Opportunities
More time means more opportunities. When you aren’t busy with a task, it gives you a chance to seek out opportunities. In addition, being efficient lets your employer know you are a desirable employee. This can lead to bonuses or even a promotion.
Efficient Habits
Making time management a habit affects all of your other skills. It lets you accomplish tasks faster. Some may consider it “rushing,” but proper time management isn’t about finishing tasks fast. It’s about finishing tasks when they need to be done, no more and no less. Being efficient in your habits allows you to be a better professional.
