Time management is a common struggle for employees in many industries. Whether you work in the healthcare field, in tech or in a government role, it seems like everyone is either too busy or too far behind. That’s the bad news. The good news is there are TONS of useful strategies for helping your employees better manage their time. We brought our top ten:
Time Management: Where do I Start?
The flow of your entire day is often decided by the way that it begins. Try this:
- Set your momentum before work. Don’t roll out of bed, space out in traffic and drag yourself to your desk. If you’re remote – this is an even bigger temptation. Instead, wake up a bit earlier, adjust to being awake, and kick start your energy!
- Do the short and snappy tasks first. When you get to the office, take a look at what you’ve got to do today. Anything that can be done in under 10 minutes, get it checked off. You’ll be 1/3 of the way through your list before your first bathroom break and that is motivating.
- Complete the most important tasks of your day by lunch. Your top-tier tasks should be done in the first half. This leaves room for issues that arise on these tasks to be cleared up before EOD and ensures you’re not racing to the finish later.
How to Do and Stay Doing
Everybody hits a wall at some point – that 2 p.m. hour hits and we’re all taking a really slow walk to hand-deliver a post-it to the tenth floor. That’s okay. In fact, it’s our first tip:
- Get moving. Okay, you can’t just leave all of your work and go on a hike every day. However, when your body is re-energized and cared for, your mind will be too. Get up and walk, twist, bend and stretch every 1-2 hours.
- Break it down… The best way to support your time management is to compartmentalize and focus on each task individually. Multitasking is a great skill, but not a great strategy.
- …But don’t get lost in the details. Make sure you’re not spending 45 minutes deciding on a font color for a report that’s due in two hours. Focus on big ideas and polish minutiae if there’s time.
- Learn to say “no.” While you can’t “just say no” to your responsibilities, you can say “not right now” to the 15 colleagues who have asked you to review their work or choose five boxes of cookies to buy from their little girl. It’s okay, really.
How to Wrap Up the Day
Some of us are hustle-to-the-finish types who have saved everything until now; some of us hit the brakes an hour ago. There’s a better way:
- Save the tasks you enjoy most for last. Having something to look forward to, even if it’s still work, is a great way to move through a full day of tasks that aren’t quite as fun.
- Prepare for tomorrow’s beginning. By having your notes organized, your calendar loaded and a filter in your coffee pot, you can shave massive time off of tomorrow morning.
- Sleep at least 7-8 hours. Sleep is not for the weak, it’s an essential contributor to the performance of our bodies and our minds. While the demands of our lives can keep us up too late, it is important to set boundaries and get the required shut-eye.
No two employees benefit from the same structure or rhythm. For your employees, the most important thing will be to find their rhythms and figure out the best ways to serve themselves and their workdays. Share these strategies with your team and tweet @mgmtregistryinc to share YOUR best tips for time management!