Surely you are wondering, how to manage my time in the office? You like what you do, but you have not been able to better balance your personal life with the time you dedicate to your work.
There are many books, videos, and lectures on time management, however, we want to get to the point so you don’t get bogged down in making changes correctly.
We found these 5 tips in Gutenberg and we want to share them with you.
How to manage my time? 5 tips
Technique #1: Make and use lists
There isn’t a single time management discipline that doesn’t revolve around creating and using lists. And simply because it is not possible for you to store all the information in your head.
Recommendation:
In the agenda you must have the most important data of each day.
Have the list of daily tasks, calls that you must make or return, the schedule of your meetings and the topics that you must communicate to the people who work with you.
Try writing down your tasks, it’s the easiest way to remember your daily responsibilities.
Technique #2: Support your memory with folders
The idea is simple: You have 90 pending: you divide them into blue, red and white folders that have, for example, documents from last, present and next month. Let’s say you plan to follow up with a customer next month.
Recommendation:
Take a document (note, post-it, whatever) and mark it with the number of the day you plan to call and place it in the corresponding folder so you remember. Used well, these folders reduce clutter, serve as automatic memory, and help keep you organized.
Although there are many programs and apps that help you with this, having a physical and automated system can work better for you and you can complement it with a virtual version.
Do not exaggerate either!
Technique #3: Minimize meetings
Not everything needs a meeting to take place. For many people, meetings are a place to hide, or to show off. But most of these are not necessary, functional or useful to work. You need to have a strategy to minimize them as much as possible.
Recommendation:
If you are the one who directs them, try to be brief and focused. If you have to attend one, analyze if it is necessary for you to do so. If not, find a way to avoid it.
Technique #4: Block your time
Most people’s schedules only have time blocks when they are meeting with other people. But have you tried to block your personal time for your work activities?
Recommendation:
Plan work appointments with yourself, the goal is to have as little time as possible without assigning appointments. By blocking your time for important, high-value tasks, you prevent other activities from cluttering up your list.
Technique #5: Take advantage of downtime
Nowadays everything is portable, . A seminar by a great speaker, any book, useful information on any topic – everything is available on the Internet, through your iPad, smartphone, Kindle, etc., or on CDs and DVDs. You can use YouTube to watch cats skiing, or you can read about a topic that helps you in your business.
There’s no excuse to waste time while you’re at the airport, stuck in traffic, or waiting for an event or meeting to start.
Many people use this time to answer calls, messages or emails. But it is a mistake for three reasons: one, you are probably not prepared to do it and if it is something important you will do it mediocrely; two, it is a bad precedent for those with whom you will communicate; and three, it takes away your time to think, learn, read or listen.
Also, the disciplined use of time that everyone else is wasting gives you an edge. Legal thriller writer scott turowwrote his first novel using morning train transfers. Everyone around him was just killing time. For most people, these minutes are irrelevant. Do not be one of them.
Taken from Gutenberg Rocks