Time Management

People are always talking about their ambitions, how they work harder than anyone else in the office and how they always take their work home. But when they are turned down for a promotion they can’t understand it. Why?

The answer is they are not organizing their time effectively.

Very often we observe that efforts don’t gain results. Why is this so? In today’s competitive world one has to identify the resources available for achieving something. It is up to each individual how to use these resources, quantitatively and qualitatively. At the same time awareness is also an important criterion.

Time is one of the precious resources available, equally to everybody. Using this resource each of us can become a winner in our own way. While setting priorities one has to take into considerations all the risks involved.

I believe the only people who never fail are the people who never take risks. But these people also never achieve anything. I remember a speaker at a lecture saying ‘Time is capital and not renewable income’. If time is wasted, it is gone forever. Since the capital belongs to us we definitely have the right to waste it, but it is not good to blame someone else when targets are not achieved. People who don’t take responsibilities by giving the excuse that they don’t have time; in a way prove their inability to do a certain job. This leads to ineffectiveness in work.

Basically there is a difference between efficiency and effectiveness. A person who is efficient may not be effective. Efficiency is doing things with minimum loss of resources; effectiveness is being efficient at the right time and the right place. Effective time management needs a certain kind of mind (attitude), followed by the right kind of learning (knowledge). It can lead to:

1- Clarity of thinking
2- Decisiveness
3- Good memory
4- Punctuality
5- Calmness
6- Objectivity
7- Leadership

The following are some techniques that are useful for managing time effectively:

1- Make a list of tasks daily. While noting down a task be clear about the objective of that task so that you can identify what needs to be done.
2- Set priorities to these tasks and re-write them in order of priority. Discuss these tasks with your subordinates.
3- Formulate plans necessary for the execution of these tasks. Set specific deadlines for the completion of the tasks.
4- Concentrate on a manageable number of tasks.
5- Avoid unnecessary meetings and telephone calls.
6- Delegate the tasks that can be delegated.
7- Where paper work is concerned, deal with each paper just once and then pass it on to the person concerned - for necessary action or filing, as the case may be.
8- Clear your desk every evening before quitting your office.
9- Have a place for everything, and everything in its place.
10- Deal with unpleasant tasks first.
11- Distinguish between urgent work and important work and deal with the former first.
12- Concentrate on the core of the work, not the peripherals.
13- Be as brief as possible on the telephone.
14- Use errors as a learning process for improvement.
15- Set aside some time for yourself every day.
16- Set aside time for creative work.
17- Above all, be realistic in all of the above.

"Success is on the far side of failure."
IBM founder T.J.Watson

It is poor time management to do things badly. If mistakes happen, we must acknowledge them, correct them and learn from them. Decrease, and finally removal, of mistakes leads to perfection. Thus is failure turned into success?

Time management is succinctly expressed in the ‘Pareto Principle’ which explains how, in terms of productivity, 20% of the time you spend on something is likely to produce 80% of the final output while the remaining 80% of time will only achieve 20% of the output. Thus, always be realistic. Be more perceptive about what you are doing. It is not enough to be busy - be clear what you are busy about.

Managing time means managing life itself. The benefits are obvious:

1- Job satisfaction
2- Higher productivity
3- Higher creativity
4- Greater well-being, leading to reduced stress
5- Personal fulfillment and self-regard
6- Increased effectiveness and efficiency – more time for yourself

Taking all these benefits into consideration, you are potentially your own best friend or your own worst enemy. The choice is yours.