You’re busy, we’re all busy, but do you sometimes find that others seem to accomplish more in the same amount of time? Why? How?
Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days.”
Zig Ziglar
It’s likely they are deploying time management strategies that work for them. A quick google search will tell you that time management is about planning and prioritising your tasks in order to effectively get the most out of your time. We get it, but it’s easier said than done.
For me, time management is about getting focus, removing distractions, and actually getting stuff done in the block time I’ve allocated.
We know that effective time management can help us achieve our goals, and reduce stress.
Key time management practices from Oprah Winfrey, Sheryl Sandberg and Barbara Corcoran
Oprah
Oprah says “Plan the day the night before, plan the week on Sunday and STICK TO IT!”. Oprah also spends part of her day practicing stillness because it helps to her clear mind and focus on tasks ahead.
Barbara Corcoran
Barbara says “Take control of your time”. Barbara plans her day and her tasks, so that she’s not taking a scattergun approach to getting things done. This allows her to feel in control of her time.
Barbara also has other bits of wisdom including chucking up your time, and mastering your to-do list.
Sheryl Sanderg
Sheryl keeps notebook to keep track of details. This helps her to keep a track of everything that needs to be completed in a day, and serves a smart and simple method of prioritising actions.
How to put time management into practice
- You need to take a personal approach.
What works for others may not work for you, and vice versa. Time management is influenced by many factors including the type of work you do, as well as personal factors such as family, care arrangements, and personal priorities such as health and fitness.
- Be self-aware of your time management skills.
Recognise those behaviours that indicate you may not be doing a good job managing your time, missing deadlines, feeling rushed and stressed and take action to understand why this happening. Learn where you are wasting time. Being self aware, also means recognising when you are most productive and maximising your peak performance time. Many people segment their days – so they can capitalise on peak performance times. If you want to measure your time management – you can complete an assessment with Capsim.
- Set clear goals.
Retail Ritesh reported that:
“14% of people who set goals are 10 times more successful than those who don’t.”
Setting goals allows you to get clear on what it is you need to get done and by when.
- Make a to-do list
Work out how to arrange your tasks, meetings and other important matters in a way that works for you. I personally keep a to-do list of tasks in my diary, which is constantly open on my desk. For all appointments and meetings, I keep these in my online calendar. I prefer to keep this separation, and I enjoy being able to physically tick things off my to-do list once complete. Learn what works for you and implement it.
- Get rid of interruptions
That’s right – put your phone down, or turn on do not disturb. Exit out of your inbox, so you aren’t tempted to check who has emailed when you hear the little ding of a new message. From time to time, you might also like to designate a “POWER HOUR”. During this time, remove all distractions, advice your team to hold non-critical calls, and set yourself some key priorities to complete in an hour. You will be surprised at what you can achieve.
- Avoid the “urgency” effect and learn to say no.
This was a real issue for me, when I started out managing a team. I quickly learnt that I needed better skills in the space, and I was given this table:
| URGENT | NOT URGENT | |
| IMPORTANT |
Crises Deadline-driven projects |
– Preparation and prevention |
| NOT IMPORTANT |
Some phone calls, emails etc Some meetings |
Some phone calls, emails etc “Escape activities” |
I started to align tasks into the table, and it helped immensely – I was also to prioritise or delegate tasks more effectively. I was also able to say no to certain things, or manage the other parties expectations about when things would be done. Instead of saying “I’ll have this you by this afternoon”, I learnt to recognise that tasks urgency and importance level and say “I’ll have this to you by close of business two days from now”.
Conclusion
Ask most people, and they will tell you that they would love more time. Time to get things done, time to spend with their families, time to work on personal hobbies. Yet ask, how many people effectively manage their time and only a few will answer positively.
If you’re serious about managing your time more effectively, you need to start implementing some of the key strategies considered above.
What is your biggest challenge with managing your time?
One thought to “Time Management Habits of Successful Women”