“Time is like a river. You can not touch the same water twice because the flow that has passed will never come again. Enjoy every moment in your life.” — Anonymous
Time management
Time management is a skill that is fast catching up due to the growing complexities in society. Everyone finds it very difficult to manage their available time, and they demand more time as though it were in their hands. Especially when one gets more growth opportunities, one often blames destiny for not giving more time. It is a well-admitted fact that time is irreplaceable, infinite, and treated as money. Time is to be treated more than money because when one loses money one can get back but not the time as the popular saying goes, ‘Time and tide wait for none’.
Time management is the process of judiciously performing multiple tasks within the stipulated time frame. For example, when one goes to a vegetable market, one can also do many tasks on the way. Although it may consume a little more time, it avoids recurrent visits to the market. One can also meet one’s friend for official work or an important meeting or go to a shopping center to fetch groceries, etc.; it is different from multi-tasking.
The importance of organization
At home, if one organizes appropriately, one can save time. For example, when an individual is properly organized, he does not have to waste time searching for things because he regularly keeps things in their proper places and takes them mechanically and routinely, thus saving time and avoiding stress. Effective time management makes people punctual, and when people are punctual, they execute their tasks as per their plans, resulting in better performance. When looking at successful people, it becomes obvious that they are punctual and time-conscious.
Pareto’s principle highlights time management skills in numerical form, which can not be considered the most accurate, but it is supposed to be an approximate method. According to this principle, most people spend 80 percent of their time on activities that yield 20 percent of results, and 20 percent of their efforts give rise to 80 percent. It is also known as 80: 20 principles. As it is obvious, people focus their energies on unproductive, irrelevant, unwanted, and superfluous things, wasting their precious time.
Procrastination
Procrastination is an evil in which people delay or postpone their tasks because they are unable to plan and organize things properly and lack time management skills. When things are delayed or postponed, they pile up, and it is very difficult to finish the pending tasks, thus resulting in stress and strain. It also gives rise to tensions and irritations in their minds. In a nutshell, procrastination is the thief of time.
To overcome these difficulties, everyone must keenly research his or her past 24 hours and evaluate impartially to find out the areas where they wasted their precious time. It gives a clear picture of how one spends one’s time for sleep, again for executing their routine daily essential tasks at home and again at the workplace. This workplace needs to be focused keenly step by step, like post mortem, with further breaks for each task to find out how much time it consumed.
Tools for effective time management
The following are the tools and techniques for effective time management. Wherever possible, try to delegate the task if the person feels strongly that it does not need his attention. By delegating, the person can concentrate on another task that is more important and requires his attention only.
Unwanted engagements are to be cut down as such things result in unwanted stress. The activities that are not required to be performed by a particular individual and that can be done at a lower level, even by an ordinary or unskilled person, must be passed on. It is desirable not to go for false prestige and invite problems by accepting an uncalled and unwarranted workload. Earmark specific time for each task and try to execute within the same time frame so that one can easily go on to the next task. Try to find out your mood swings. If one knows one’s mood swings well, one can take the best mileage out of it and prosper. Usually, people have high energy levels in the morning as their minds are fresh and replete with energy and enthusiasm. Especially at this time, they can concentrate on problem-solving or typical or complex tasks as they can handle them easily and provide good momentum for the rest of the day.
Every organization provides a diary to all staff so they can write down their tasks or appointments properly and pursue the same systematically. Maintenance of a diary not only enhances memory but also paves the way for effective time management. Apart from the routine general information, the diary must contain information on the to-do list on a daily, weekly, monthly, and annual basis. Apart from effective time management, the diary encourages people to stay focused.
Prioritizing the tasks clearly distinguishes between what is essential and what is urgent. It depends on the situation and occasion to decide what is to be focused on, whether it is an urgent or important task. It is usually the urgent task that has to be addressed first, followed by the important task. The same may be left at the discretion of the individual to act upon. Sometimes, the important tasks are delayed by focusing on urgent tasks, resulting in stress.
Executives at the higher levels cost their time. That is, they take into account the amount they get on a monthly or annual basis, then they work out per day, per hour, and per minute in terms of monetary form and decide whether a particular task requires their attention. For instance, when a specific task needs attention for one hour, then they work out vis-à-vis cost, and then they act accordingly as per the situation.
Proper planning, organizing, directing, and controlling tasks through effective coordination also saves enormous amounts of precious time. One should set goals properly, as each goal consumes a specific period. The goals are divided into short-term and long-term goals. Usually, if the duration is less than a year, then it is known as a short-term goal, and on the other hand, if it takes more than a year, it is known as a long-term goal. The short-term goals must be set so that they can directly or indirectly help achieve long-term goals. For instance, if a person’s long-term goal is to become a soft skills trainer, he or she should set short-term goals related to the faculty, especially training or teaching skills, and read many related books. Conducting such classes at a lower level, maintaining a file related to the same by way of collecting relevant articles, compiling CDs of great trainers across the world, utilizing the internet, attending the seminars of great leaders to draw inspiration and motivation, etc., It is also imperative to conduct SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) regularly to convert his weaknesses into strengths, etc.,
Proper goal setting leads people in the right direction, helps with time management, and achieves their objectives, thus resulting in success. As we are all aware, success does not come overnight. Reaching the tipping point requires prolonged, sustained, and systematic efforts.
Time management skills are among the greatest soft skills, apart from interpersonal skills, team spirit, social grace, corporate etiquette, and negotiation skills. This highlights the growing significance attached to it. God has blessed us with a fixed time frame for all, depending on their destiny. Everyone must effectively use this precious resource up to the hilt because the past can not be altered, the future can not be predicted, and what we have is only present. And live up to your present by investing your time cautiously and judiciously.
