In the fiercely competitive world of business, many of us can feel at risk of burning out. However, it can also often feel as though urgent responsibilities keep arriving in quick succession. There just aren’t enough hours in the day to get through them all… or are there?
In truth, you could realise, from scrutinising your current time management practices, that you have long been frittering away time without realising it. Why not streamline your hours with these tips?
Plan the next day’s schedule the night before
Just before you settle down to sleep, list what you will need to do on the following day. Whether you will have appointments to attend, deadlines to meet or, indeed, any other corporate responsibilities in the next day’s pipeline, write down your to-do list over a soothing cup of coffee.
You should also prepare all of the necessary tools, which shouldn’t take you longer than 10 to 15 minutes, says Entrepreneur. In this way, you can help yourself to start the next day in sparkling form.
Wake up – and start work – earlier
If you set your alarm for earlier in the day than usual, you can free up more time to get your preparation into gear. Furthermore, the ensuing workday can feel longer than usual.
In an article for Business Insider, Ben Gold, president of privately-held financial services firm QuickBridge, enthuses: “By the time I get to the office at 7:30am, I’ve already looked at my schedule, grabbed Starbucks and attended a fitness class.”
Log your time
If the idea of closely tracking your time feels a little daunting or draconian, just give it a go for a day or week at first to see what you think. With time logs, you can see how your time is getting spent and where you could amend your schedule to help yourself save more time.
For example, if you usually send multiple emails throughout the day, try sending more of them at once. Meanwhile, if you dislike particular tasks, investigate whether you can minimise them.
Get more adept at prioritising your time
As quoted in an Inc. article, Laura Vanderkam, who wrote Off the Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done, advises that you ask yourself two specific questions before doing anything taking time.
Those questions are: “What is my purpose here? Why am I doing this?” If the task is purposeful, add it to your schedule; otherwise, abandon it. Furthermore, do the largest and most difficult and crucial tasks first, once you have assigned a value to each entry on your to-do list.
Occasionally work remotely – and allow your staff to do so
Did you know that 65% of workers say that they would work more productively from home, due to factors like fewer distractions and less commuting-related stress?
Fortunately, implementing the infrastructure necessary for your staff to work remotely doesn’t have to be arduous. Users of Microsoft Office 365, for example, could consider the collaborative Work Hub tool from AddIn365.