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6 Great Ways to Make the Most of Your Time We all have the same amount of time. There are only 24 hours in every day. We can’t change that. However, we can learn to take the greatest possible advantage of our time. The better we are at using our time the more we will accomplish and the greater will be our rewards. Focus on what you do best. We all perform better when we’re doing something we enjoy and we do well. If your work situation allows you to delegate work to others, figure out those things that you enjoy and do well, and delegate everything else. One of the challenges will be finding the right people to delegate to. Once you’ve distributed work so everyone is doing something they enjoy and do well productivity increases. You’ll find you have time to accomplish much more. If you’re an employee and want to make the most of your time, try this exercise. Make a list of the results you’re supposed to produce in your job. Put them in priority order from your point of view. Now, ask for an appointment with your manager. Explain to your manager that the list you prepared is the way you understand the requirements of your job and you’re checking in to be sure your view is the same as hers. The intent is to focus on your work based on what your manager expects. You’ll complete your work in a much more efficient and effective manner, and you’ll have more time. Evaluate and prioritize all of your activities. One of my clients commented a while back that, “We have too many people busy being busy”. That’s a great summary statement for the fact that most of us spend time working on the trivial many activities of our work and our lives rather than the vital few. When your intention is to accomplish something important focus on those things that have the highest impact on producing the results you want to achieve. You’ll produce the results you want in less time and, therefore, have more time for yourself and other activities. Block time for certain activities. If the phone, people or email constantly interrupt you, set some rules that stop the interruptions and allow you to make better use of your time. Blocking time for returning phone calls and email messages is one way to accomplish this. Let everyone know that unless you mention otherwise you’ll return phone calls and email from 11:30 to noon and from 4:30 to 5:30. Pick time frames that work for you and stick to them. You can do the same with personal appointments, especially when you need focused time to complete an important task. Let people know that for the next two, three, four, or however many hours you’re not to be interrupted except for emergencies, expected phone calls, or other things that apply to the work you’re doing. Make sure that everyone knows your definition of an emergency. Their definition may not be the same as yours. Get organized. The better organized we are and the better we manage our time the more we feel in control of our lives. Feeling out of control contributes to stress, anxiety, and unhappiness. The better we can organize and control the activities of our lives and the requirements of our jobs the better we’ll feel, the happier we’ll be, and the more productive we’ll be. So, take some time to organize your life and your workspace in a way that makes sense for you. Know where things are so you don’t have to waste time looking for them. Do things right the first time. We often hurry to get something completed because of an unrealistic deadline or because we procrastinated. This hurrying usually produces an incorrect or inadequate result. And, we have to do it all over again. Take some time at the beginning of a project to make sure you fully understand what’s expected. Make sure you have all the resources you need to produce the required result and make sure the established timeframe is realistic. Now, go to work. You’ll be amazed how smoothly things get done. And, they're done right the first time. Make a list. Develop the habit of making a list of the five or six most important things you want to accomplish the following day. Make the list at the end of the day and prioritize the items on the list. Read and think about each of the items on the list at the end of the day. Right before you go to sleep is a good time. When you’re sleeping your subconscious will often work on how to accomplish the items on your list. Be prepared for some insightful thoughts and ideas when you wake up. Regardless of whether or not you wake up inspired stick to the order on your list. It’s better to complete one task than to do parts of more than one. As the saying goes, “Do first things first and second things not at all”. Continued success. Make the most of your time. It's the one thing we can't replace.
(c) 2006 Brian Silverthorn ABOUT THE AUTHOR |
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