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Time Management Training
Whether we waste our own time or other people waste it for us, we need to be disciplined and vigilant if we want to gain some time. Managers most often point to interruptions from other people as one of their main time wasters.
You cannot eliminate interruptions completely but you can manage them by some of the following strategies. These are covered in more detail on our 1-day Time Management Training Course in Brighton, Sussex.
Be firm, clear and assertive
- Ask the interrupter what it is they want to discuss and how long they need. Then negotiate around their expectations.
- Use active listening to hear what is being asked and summarise what is being asked
- Be realistic about what you promise.
- Don’t be pressurised into giving unqualified yes answers you might use YES if… or YES when…
- Deliver what you promise if you’ve agreed to something stick to it or tell the person in good time if you can’t realistically deliver.
- Learn to say no sometimes
- Develop phrases to end discussion, e.g. Well, is that settled, then? Good; I’m glad we’ve got that sorted out for now I’m looking forward to talking to you more about this on Friday
- Be respectful of the other person’s need at that time
- Be prepared to be flexible sometimes!
Keep control: Be proactive NOT reactive
Pro-activity: Owning the power to act.
Reactivity: Letting circumstances and others set your agenda.
One of the key principles in effective Time Management is accepting your own power to affect how things happen around you. Although it may seem that you are completely driven by outside events your own behaviour affects your results.
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Posted by Faye Binfield in Time Management Training on October 26th, 2007 | No Comments »
A key area for improving time management is delegation. When you keep a time log, you may find that many activities, which are eating into your time, should not be done by you at all!
For more in-depth coverage of delegation, we can arrange Effective Delegation Skills course with content tailored to meet your requirements.
It is important that you ask three questions in relation to each of your activities.
- What am I doing that need not be done at all?
- Which of my activities could be done by somebody else as well, if not better?
- What am I doing that wastes the time of others?
Why delegate?
Many managers see delegation as the answer to all their time management worries and almost as the quick fix we are all seeking. It isn’t!!
Successful and effective delegation involves giving a task to someone else ensuring that they know what’s expected and when it’s expected. Delegation is not the dumping of an unwanted task on unsuspecting members of staff with no instruction!
The result of effective delegation should be a saving of your own time so you can reallocate that time for more developmental tasks as well as:
- a saving of other people’s time
- developing the people you manage
- developing your competencies as a manager
See delegation as an investment of time now to save time later!
Delegation skills
- Know the strengths and limitations of your people
- Delegate responsibility not accountability
- Delegate WHOLE tasks
- Delegate in a fair way even if it means taking more time with individuals to develop skills
- Always check that an individual knows what’s expected. Be sure to be clear and specific
- Give as much responsibility as you can, making sure to take into consideration who, what, why and how
- Ensure the necessary resources are available to do the task
- Indicate that you are available for support whilst also allowing people get on with the task
- Be prepared for the fact that the task may not be carried out as you would have done it
- Give the person feedback on his/her work
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Posted by Faye Binfield in Time Management Training on October 26th, 2007 | No Comments »
Here’s a simple checklist to help you to delegate more effectively. These strategies are explored in greater depth on our Effective Delegation Skills training course
- Analysis of the task
First and foremost decide if the task is appropriate for delegation. For instance make sure that it isn’t anything that you alone have been trained to do. What is also very necessary for you to bare in mind is that you must choose the right person for the job, you can’t be biased towards this sort of thing otherwise it will undoubtedly be your downfall. If there is no one capable then I’m afraid the responsibility falls to you to do it once again. But remember delegation is as much a reflection of you as it is on the people you delegate to, as it shows your ability to judge people correctly and can often be a marking that you are capable of this on a larger scale
- Make sure that there is a firm understanding of what needs to be done and why.
The person or people who give the job to should be fully aware of any responsibilities and expectations that come with it. Make sure that they know what sort of a priority this task is and why they were chosen. From the beginning state what you expect and what needs to be achieved, the person or team you have assembled should be under no pretences about what the results should be and when the deadline is. Similarly your team should be properly equipped with the resources and/ or equipment that they will need to get the job done.
Also it is vital at this stage, before the project gets underway, that you reach an understanding with the person, or persons delegated to about how you are going to monitor and check their performance on the project. If you do not breach this topic with your delegates then when you do begin to monitor the situation they might find it interfering or meddling.
- Monitoring and checking results.
This is a very important part of delegation, even though you yourself are not now working on the project at hand it is essential that you take an active interest in how things are going. As was said before it is as much you on the line as it is your delegates, so it is vital that you are fully aware of what is happening and are there on hand to correct any mistakes. If something does go wrong in the project make sure that you understand what went wrong and why it happened, so you will be able to rectify the problem and hopefully stop it from reoccurring.
When your team or delegate has finished the job successfully make sure to let them know that they have done a good job and that their efforts are appreciated. It can sometimes be the case that a manager will take the credit for work done through delegation and whilst you are entitled to credit you should remember that this should include your delegates also.
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Posted by Faye Binfield in Time Management Training on April 3rd, 2009 | No Comments »
Career planning is a concept most managers are familiar with. It has been proven that people who plan, get what they want in their lives. You are a whole person so, whilst work may dominate your life currently, you probably have other things you want to do and other people you want to spend time with other than your work colleagues. People used to put the emphasis on work first and the rest had to fit in around it; nowadays we are more aware of the issue of work/life balance and its importance in developing balanced, and more effective, human beings (and, as a consequence, satisfied and motivated employees!).
I am more than my work!
You may already have very clear ideas about how you want your career to develop or you may not. You may be prepared to put in all hours if expected to get on in your organisation, or you may not!
Think about your WHOLE life. Divide it into three simple sections:
- Work
- Family/friends
- Social
What percentage of your time do you current give to each section?
How happy are you with the balance between work and other things?
How would you like this to look in a year’s time? 5 year’s time? 10 years?
What steps can you take to get from the immediate to the desired future situation?
Planning is as important outside work as it is inside. As you develop your planning and prioritising skills to be a more effective time manager, don’t forget to apply them to the rest of your life.
Knowing more about yourself will help you to feel more in control of surrounding situations; feeling more in control can help your time management.
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Posted by Faye Binfield in Time Management Training on October 26th, 2007 | No Comments »
When learning to manage your time, make sure that you allow yourself time to do things that make you happy. What do you enjoy doing? Don’t fall into the trap to ignoring your need to take time out occasionally. It may mean having a little less time to accomplish tasks that need to be done, however it can give you the energy and put you in a state of mind that can actually help to accomplish tasks more quickly in the long run.
Writing a list of goals will give you the idea that you are in control that in turn can help your confidence to accomplish these goals as you are already anticipating success when you start your plan of action. This will boost your self confidence
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Posted by Faye Binfield in Time Management Training on October 26th, 2007 | No Comments »
When you are moving close to a deadline you may start to feel anxious. This in turn can reduce the quality of your work. Believing that your remaining time is enough for you to produce a quality product can speed up the time with which you can accomplish your task, and improve the quality of the end product. Using lack of time for an excuse for not thinking straight is not helpful, we can accomplish much more if we believe in the quality of our work and our ability to perform. It can be useful to shift your perception of and relationship with time. Try some of the techniques below:
- Look at your relationship to perfection and procrastination think about whether fear is the source of your problems
- Watch busy people and learn from them, how do they manage to accomplish things effectively
- Set up basic and effective methods that work for tasks that occur routinely
- Use specific times for reading/writing emails
- Learn to say no
- If you still find yourself saying yes when you mean no try delaying your response “I’ll let you know”, “I’ll call you back”
- Be realistic about what you can achieve in a give time space
- Ask for help, delegate
- In your schedule allow time for the unexpected
- Use templates for administrative tasks that you do regularly
- Organise your workspace and keep it in order, don’t waste time looking for things
- Believe in yourself and your instincts, make decisions quickly
- Back up your work!
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Posted by Faye Binfield in Time Management Training on October 26th, 2007 | No Comments »
One of the main benefits of proper time management is that it allows you to get done what you need to on time and in an efficient manner. This in turn not only will make your life a lot easier but also, as one might expect, a lot less stressful. Stress is a common symptom amongst any group of working individuals, however this does not have to be the case, all that is needed is a mixture of proper time management and taking time out every once and a while to relax. However whilst it is the case that how you manage your time will have one of the greatest impacts on lowering your stress levels, here are some other useful tips on relieving stress that you might find helpful.
We also offer a practical Stress Management course.
Take a deep breath.
This one may sound old and clichéd but there is a good reason for this. You’d be surprised just how relaxing it can be, take several if you need to, and just shut your eyes and take long drawn out breaths until you feel yourself relaxing.
Get perspective.
It may seem as though what you are concerned about now is the most important thing in the world, but I can almost guarantee it is not. Try and realise that some things are out of your control and that there is a difference not completing a task and failure.
Be an optimist.
If your one of those people that always sees the worst in a situation then try it the other way round for a change. Many people tend to have a very negative outlook when it comes to something as important as work and don’t realise how damaging that this can be. It will not only make it a lot harder to enjoy your job but is will also affect people around you and the working atmosphere in general, which will only make things worse.
Organise office.
Your office, or working area, is where you will get the bulk of your work done and consequently where you will spend the most time. If then it is the case that you can’t even remember what colour your office floor is then it might well be time for some spring cleaning.
Stay on top.
Don’t allow your self to be overcome by the work, know what you can and can’t handle and stick to your limits. If you have stretched yourself too far and are working on too many things at once then prioritise which ones are of the greatest importance to you and focus on that. There is no point in doing a dozen jobs badly, instead try for quality not quantity.
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Posted by Faye Binfield in Time Management Training on April 17th, 2009 | No Comments »
image by Umberto Salvagnin
Trying to fit too much into a little time can be very stressful. Stress and lack of sleep are also bad for your health and can contribute towards heart disease and high blood pressure. Staying up late and getting up early can take it’s toll. Your may think that sleep seems to be a waste of time, that you have far more important things to accomplish.
For more time management tips come on one of our popular time managment training courses in Brighton, Sussex.
A recent study in the Archives of Internal Medicine in America shows just how good a midday siesta can be for you.
The study of Greek people shows that those who took a break from the stresses of their job by taking a nap showed a much lower risk of heart disease, they also had lower stress hormone levels.
Between one and three in the afternoon is the most effective time to nap when the body’s temperature has peaked and is dropping. How does this save time? If you nap for 15 minutes midday then your performance levels are considerably higher. You make less mistakes and can think more clearly. Naps should be for not longer then 45 mins. You do not have to lie down, just get comfortable, support your head and shut your eyes – you should not fall into a deep sleep. It can help to darken the room if possible. A power nap of 15 -20 minutes right before an important meeting or a test can dramatically improve your performance and concentration..
Other strategies for coping with stress are covered in our Stress Management training course.
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Posted by Faye Binfield in Time Management Training on November 16th, 2007 | No Comments »
