time management skills : Time Management Tips

Category : time management skills

Doing things right then and there

Jun.3,2010

Have you ever experienced those times wherein you’re too tired to do anything at all? Do you let the lazy bug get the best of you? Do you find yourself postponing things instead of doing them right away? Do you have the habit of telling yourself “I’ll do that tomorrow”? If you have, then welcome to the procrastinator’s club. President: Me.

I’ve always had trouble achieving work life balance. To me, it was impossible. You had to give up something to attain achievement on the other but little did I know that I was doing something very wrong. I was delaying my tasks both personally and professionally. I was slowly building my own nightmare. By delaying tasks, I was creating an enormous pile of things to do – all of which have tight deadlines.

If there’s one time management skill I needed, it was the ability to end procrastination. I needed to stop doing things the next day when I can work on it right here, right now. I needed to have a new perspective and a new approach to my tasks. I needed discipline and a great reminder of what I should do to improve productivity.

Doing things right away entails a great deal of discipline especially when laziness lurks in every corner. You need to be focused on what you want to happen so you can do things that will actually help you attain those. Doing things right away also helps you with time management. If you’re able to end your tasks way before the deadline, you have ample time for other things. Getting things done right then and there is one of the best time management techniques out there. It definitely saves you time.

Tags : achieving work life balance, improve productivity, time management, time management skill, time management techniques

Breaking the always-late pattern

Filed Under : Time Management Training, time management, time management skills, work life balance by admin

May.20,2010

If you’re one of those people who are constantly late for work or personal gatherings, you’re probably suffering from task and time management problems. Being late takes away your allotted time for finishing certain tasks. You are unable to complete your tasks on time and you’ll be in a lot of pressure and not to mention, stress as well. Being always late will disrupt your work Life balance in the long run.

How can you mend your ways?

You need to understand why you’re always late. What is it that’s keeping you? Could it be your habit of staying in bed even after the alarm has gone off, telling yourself you just need 5 more minutes? Keep a close eye on what you’re doing and eliminate those that are unnecessary.

It’s all about discipline. No amount of time management training will work if you won’t help yourself. You need to make a conviction to work on not being late.

Look at the bigger picture and the effects it has on your life. You need to understand that being late is always a negative thing especially when you’re in a corporate world and that it doesn’t improve productivity. It does damage to your reputation and evaluations.

Prioritize. Being late doesn’t only apply to your physical presence in the office. It also applies to your tasks and their delivery dates. One time management skill that comes in handy is planning and setting your priorities. By getting important things done right away, you have enough time for other things.

Own up to responsibility. Learn to respect other people’s time and efforts as they are being affected by your tardiness. You know what time you should be in the office or when the tasks are to be submitted. Be responsible enough to make sure those are met.

Tags : improve productivity, time management, time management skill, Time Management Training, work life balance

A short story on Time Management

Filed Under : improve productivity, personal time management, time management, time management skills, time management techniques by admin

May.5,2010

I’ve worked on writing about time management and personal time management for so long; it seems I’m running out of ways on how to stress the important of time management skills in our lives. As I went on my ongoing research about time management, I was struck by a story I read.

A professor came to his class with a jar, some big rocks, pebbles and sand. He stood before the class and began teaching.

He took out the jar and filled it with big rocks. He asked the class if the jar was full and the class nodded in agreement but at the same time they were confused.

He then took out some pebbles and dropped them in the same jar. He shook the jar and the pebbles rolled to the open areas between the big rocks. He asked the class if it was full and the class nodded in agreement yet again.

He then took out the sand and dropped it in the jar with the pebbles and rock. The sand covered everything else – every space left between the rocks and pebbles. He asked the class if it was full and they nodded in agreement. The class was beginning to wonder what the point of the whole experiment was to which the professor calmly explained: “This jar is your life. The big rocks are the important things in your life such as family, children, partner, health and everything else that’s important to you, the pebbles represent the things that matter on a smaller scale such as your job, car, house, etc. and the sand is everything else. If you placed the sand or pebbles first, there wouldn’t be any more room for the big rocks. In your life, if you spend too much time doing things on the small stuff, you will never have time to do the things that truly matter.”

It led me to thinking that while we strive hard to find the best time management techniques just so we can improve productivity in our lives, we forget the simplest rule there is. We need to determine which things are important for us and set our priorities. We need to work on the big rocks in our lives. We can work on the pebbles and sand afterwards.

Tags : improve productivity, personal time management, time management, time management skills, time management techniques

Write It Down Now!

Filed Under : Time Management Program, Time Management Seminars, Time Management Training, time management, time management skills, time management techniques, work life balance by admin

Apr.14,2010

People have been in a never ending battle of perfecting the right time management skills to achieve more in life. Various tips, tricks and methods have been introduced to society in hopes of being able to master time management. People have been attending time management seminars over and over just to be able to manage their time. But isn’t it funny how doing the simplest things can accomplish something great?

When it comes to time management techniques, one principle that works wonders is writing down important things in your head. You don’t have to remember everything but you should always write them down instead.

Notes always come in handy especially in a fast paced world like the one we are living in nowadays. When you’re in a meeting or are in a conversation with your bosses, do not try to remember everything they have just said all in your head. It’s definitely not helping solve your time management issues. Write them down instead. This way, when you get back to your desk, you won’t forget anything – not even one detail. If you wait until after you have talked, tendency is you forget some things in between. And you never know that that something may just be the most important thing.

When you’re in bed and suddenly thought of a great idea that can help improve your work, write it down. When you do this, you are freeing your mind from thinking about it all the more thus giving you more time to rest.

Writing down things help improve productivity because you won’t have to spend too much time remembering what you were asked to do or forgetting brilliant ideas.

Tags : improve productivity, personal time management, Time Management Seminars, time management skills, time management techniques

Are emails getting in the way of effective time management?

Filed Under : Time Management Program, Time Management Seminars, Time Management Training, time management skills, work life balance by admin

Apr.12,2010

Time management is essential when you want to achieve work life balance. It helps make you effective and get things done in lesser time thus giving you more time for other personal matters. But is it true that emails may be getting in the way of effective time management?

Emails are an essential part of a company’s operations. It’s one of the communication channel used to delegate, inform or simply convey important things across several people in the office or across the world. It’s an effective way of communication but it can also takes up a lot of time if not done the right way. Spending too much time in writing or reading emails is not part of time management skills that lets you get things done in lesser time.

Here are some time management techniques in dealing with emails:

Keep your emails brief and write to the point.

Check your emails 3 to 4 times a day to avoid distractions.

Do not show email notifications in a pop up. This will distract you from the current task you’re working on and does not help improve productivity.

Work on each email the moment you first read them. Identify if they should be included in your to-do list, needs a reply, should be delegated or deleted. If they need to be replied to or delegated, do it right away.

Write emails that do not require complicated issues. A phone call or meeting is more appropriate for things that need to be discussed thoroughly.

Emails are great and they are of big importance too but make sure that they don’t distract you in any way or be the reason why you can’t get things done.

Tags : achieving work life balance, improve productivity, personal time management, time management skills, time management techniques

Work life balance for working mothers

Filed Under : Time, Time Management Seminars, time management, time management skills, time management techniques by admin

Apr.8,2010

Working and having a baby is no joke. It’s tough trying to juggle the two and it takes real determination, strong willpower and superb time management skills to make it all work out. But it can be done. So many women have been doing it successfully. Here are some tips to help you in achieving work life balance:

1. Do your best to keep all your attention in the appropriate places. If you’re at home, do not think of work and just be with your family.
2. Do not forget that you have a partner. Divide the workload as much as possible and let your partner be a part of the responsibilities at home.
3. Do not feel guilty every time you go to the office. You’re working to earn a living, not spending leisure time.
4. Do not hesitate to communicate openly with your boss and co-workers. This will give them a clear picture of what you’re going through and how they can help. They can also help in making work life balance attainable.
5. Do not think too much of household chores and keeping everything spic and span. With a baby or toddler in the house, cleaning the house after them is a never ending task.
6. Try to think of ways to maximize time. You can take advantage of a flexible schedule or other arrangements that can help you spend more time at home. With time management, you can gain more time to spend with your family.
7. Always have time for your partner once in a while. Go out on dates; watch a movie or anything that allows the two of you to be alone. This helps maintain a good family work life balance.
8. Always have time for yourself. Enjoy a day with your closest girl friends or treat yourself to a spa. You need time to be with yourself to stay focused.

Tags : achieving work life balance, family work life balance, time management, time management skills

How to set Family life apart from Work

Filed Under : Time Management Training, improve productivity, time management, time management skills by admin

Feb.28,2010

A lot of us work a lot these days. By a lot, I mean spending more hours in the office rather than at home. Yes, we value our work. We want to be as dedicated as possible and we want to finish whatever is pending on our plate. But as much as we want that, we must also maintain a work life balance that allows us to enjoy and live our life.

Dedication does not mean overstaying at the office. Finishing pending tasks after working hours is not a sign of hard work. It displays the opposite. It only means that you do not have proper time management skills to be able to finish given tasks effectively and efficiently. When you know how to prioritize things and to avoid distraction while you are at work, you’ll find that you can improve productivity and lessen your need to stay longer in the office.

With the right time management techniques, you have more time for your family and other stuff you need to do for yourself. You can finally treat yourself or spend some time with yourself. With this, you are achieving work life balance. You’re performing well at work and you get to spend time with your love ones.

Another note on family work life balance. When you’re spending time with your family, never let interrupt you and do not spend all your time hidden in a little room you’ve transformed to be your work area. You should learn to leave work at work. Spend time with your loved ones, enjoy and have fun with them. The laughter and happiness is incomparable and no amount of money can ever compensate for that. By maintaining this, you’re bound to have a great life ahead.

Tags : family work life balance, time management skills, Time Management Training

How Managers manage time

Filed Under : Better Use of Time, Time Management Seminars, Time Management Training, family work life balance, time management skills, work life balance by admin

Feb.22,2010

“With great power comes great responsibility.” This adage is proven true by managers. They have bigger pays and a higher rank but with it come a lot of work too. Managers need to oversee the operations for the entire department or team that they’re handling. They are the eye and they see to it that things are moving and meeting the customer’s needs. They are overloaded with work which is why they need time management skills to be able to make everything work out. Good managers know how to balance time and family. They have a good work life balance.

Here are a few time management techniques that came from managers themselves:

You must be able to determine the things that you can do and the things that need to be done by others. For things that can be done by others, learn to delegate and let others do the said task.

Review the entire operation procedures for any tasks that are too time-consuming. There may be areas where changes can be made to improve productivity.

Always be prepared and learn to prioritize. Think of the things that need to be done by tomorrow and list them all according to urgency and priority. When you get to the office the following day, you know where to start right away and not waste time fiddling and thinking of what to do first. Proper planning and goal setting must be done to ensure an increase in productivity.

Remember these things and try it out. You’ll see a huge difference in the way you manage time. Through effective time management, a manager’s job is made stressful and easier.

Tags : achieving work life balance, time management, time management skills, work life balance

Different arrangements in achieving work life balance

Filed Under : Time Management Program, Time Management Seminars, Time Management Training, time management skills, work life balance by admin

Feb.9,2010

We used to live in a world where work starts at exactly 8 or 9 A.M and ends at 4 P.M. or 5 P.M. The schedule was fixed and we couldn’t do anything but to adjust and adapt. With the internet on a rise, new opportunities and new doors have opened. Things that were standard and unchanging before were now flexible. There’s more room for understanding and better opportunities in achieving work life balance.

There are different ways to attain work life balance:

Flexible rules – Some companies offer flexibility in terms of work schedule. If you have important events or appointments that you need to attend, you can get off work early and then come back to make up for it or make up for it on other days. For some who are really good at time management, you can render 9 hours of work from Mondays to Thursdays and have Fridays off.

Sabbaticals – some companies also offer a long vacation after you’ve completed a certain number of years. They give you three weeks or a month tops to enjoy yourself and your life.

Special arrangements – There are also some companies who adjust to their employee’s needs but only those that are reasonable and justifiable. For example you’ve worked in a certain place for a number of years or you’ve been travelling back and forth for work and you suddenly want to have a more stable life. It all depends on what you can work out with your employer. The important thing is you have a good relationship with your employer and that they know and have seen that you possess time management skills so what you’re asking for wouldn’t be a problem.

Part-time Work – The most famous arrangement of all is the part-time work. Companies often retain their employees by offering them this arrangement. It’s more convenient and will improve productivity for them rather than hiring another one and do training all over again. Employees can now work from the comforts of their home for a specified number of hours every week.

With the evolution in the professional world, there are a lot of arrangements you can make to succeed in your work while maintaining work and life balance.

Tags : improve productivity, time management, time management skills, work and life balance, work life balance

Can Fathers balance work and life?

Filed Under : Time Management Training, time management skills, time management techniques, work life balance by admin

Feb.3,2010

Fathers are the breadwinners of the family. We all know that. They work as hard as they can to be able to bring in money for the family. Most often than not, they are the ones children hardly see because they’re busy earning a living to support them. But how can fathers support and spend time with their families? How do they attain a family work life balance?

First of all, you need to slow down. You do not need to get rich right away. By slowing down, you get to enjoy life and still reach your financial goals. If you’re slowly becoming a workaholic, get out of those habits that are making you become one. Learn how to prioritize things to make sure that you’re only doing important tasks rather than wasting time on unimportant ones. This is one of the time management techniques that work. By doing so, you’ll have a better work life balance.

It’s always best to find a workplace who values their employees. You get better benefits and they understand you better especially when it comes to familial matters. When you know that the company you work for values its employees, employees improve productivity more.

When you’re at home, try to eat at least one meal together. Families should also set aside one night every week to be together. No interruptions should happen and no excuses should be tolerated. It helps the family bond and you get to know your family in a deeper sense.

Fathers do not necessarily need to suffer stress and being away from their families. Once you’ve mastered time management, everything is possible.

Tags : time management, time management skills, Time Management Training

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