Effective time management is about prioritising and planning your time
Managing director at Ecardshack Chris Rowson shares some expert advice for employees on how they can manage their time more effectively in the workplace.
In today’s busy working environments, prioritising workload can be a huge challenge, and research has shown that we spend almost the same amount of time in work, as we do at home.
(1) Prioritise
Being able to prioritise is the cornerstone of good time management. It ensures that the time available to you is being spent on the most essential activities.
The mistake that is most commonly made is failing to differentiate between important and urgent tasks. Important tasks have longer deadlines and often come in the form of short to medium-term projects that you knew were going to be assigned to you.
On the other hand, urgent tasks take priority over important tasks from time to time as they will result in a negative impact on business if they’re not dealt with.
(2) Planning your time
It seems obvious, but planning your time wisely can help you be more productive at work.
Create to do lists, and block your diary out to work on specific tasks. Some tasks need doing every day, so by slotting in an hour every day designated to that particular thing, your progress is continuous rather than attempting to catch up if and when you have time.
Inputting information about meetings, events, deadlines or reminders to contact someone on a specific date into a calendar completely eliminates your chances of forgetting something, and therefore efficiently using your time in the workplace.
(3) Use technology to your advantage
If you are not taking advantage of the hundreds of apps and tools out there, you are certainly missing out. With so many apps to choose from, how do you know which ones to use?
If your work life balance is becoming increasingly uneven and you are finding it difficult to cope, don’t forget support is available. Employee assistance programmes, can provide confidential advice on a range of subject areas and help you take control of a situation.
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