Time Management Tips That Will Save Your Job

In Kenya, time management seems to be a myth for many people. However, at the workplace time management is one thing that is key to completing tasks, pleasing the client and the HR, and also a good supplement to help you keep your job. Time management is simply the process of consciously planning and controlling time spent on specific tasks to increase how efficient you are. When you work smarter, not harder, you achieve better results in less time with less effort.  

First, let’s begin with the benefits of good time management;

• Less stress
• Better work-life balance
• More time freedom
• Greater focus
• Higher levels of productivity
• Less procrastination
• Things are simpler and easier
• Less distraction
• Increased energy
• Time to think

Know How You Spend Your Time

How do you often spend your time? Do you even have a time log? Are you the person that uses work hours to watch Tiktoks and message your ex? Whatever it is, it is very important that you know how you spend your time. Knowing how you spend your time helps you know how much time you waste on useless things and how you can channel it into something more useful.

Set Priorities

Managing your time effectively requires a distinction between what is important and what is urgent (MacKenzie, 1990). Experts agree that the most important tasks usually aren’t the most urgent tasks. However, we tend to let the urgent tasks dominate our lives. Covey, Merrill, and Merrill (1994) categorize activities into four quadrants in their Time Management Matrix: urgent, not urgent, important, and not important. Get your priorities straight and this will enable you to spare time for the things you actually love to do.

Get Organized

Disorganization leads to poor time management. Research has shown that clutter has a strong negative impact on perceived well-being (Roster, 2016). To improve your time management, get organized. When I wake each morning, the first thing I do is go through my email to make sure everything is in order, then i check the work whatsapp group to make sure we are all on  the same page. When you are organized in the way you do things, work becomes easier.

Schedule Appropriately

Scheduling is more than just recording what must be done like meetings and appointments. Be sure to build in time for the things you want to do. Everything you have to do should be properly scheduled, this helps you not to leave room for error.

Avoid Procrastination

A quote commonly attributed to Mark Twain says, “If it’s your job to eat a frog today, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the big frog first.”

I won’t say much on this since I still battle the same demon.

Manage Time Wasters

When we talk about time wasters, I am referring to the things that often waste your time. For starters, reduce your screen time, put the phone aside and focus on accomplishing your tasks. Avoid unexpected meetings especially if they can be done virtually. More to that, have specific times to check and respond to your email.

Avoid Multitasking

Psychological studies have shown that multi-tasking does not save time. In fact, the opposite is often true. You lose time when switching from one task to another, resulting in a loss of productivity (Rubinsteim, Meyer, and Evans, 2001). 

Always Meet Your Deadlines

Manage your time, and it’ll be easier to deliver your work on time. With the right strategies, you can leave behind the days of procrastination and last-minute cramming before deadlines.

With the above tips in play, you could better manage your time and get the level of productivity you or your team desires.