TIME MANAGEMENT

OWN YOUR TIME   

Pallavi Pinakin takes a break to overcome the time crunch

“There just aren’t enough hours in the day!” If you work in the corporate world, chances are that you frequently use these words. After all, there’s always so much to do and such little time. Therefore night after night, you end up working late, which reduces the precious hours you would much rather be spending with family and friends.

On the other hand, you could leave tasks unfinished, which would lead to missed deadlines and serious ramifications at the workplace. What’s more, the junk food dinners, missed exercise sessions, sleep deprivation and stress can eventually take a serious toll on your health.

Is this time crunch an inevitable evil in the corporate jungle? Or are there ways to improve our efficiency and enable a higher quality of life?

Theoretically, we all know that time management is a way to better organise our day and improve effectiveness. But how many of us practice even the simplest time management measures when it comes to our professional lives?

Companies around the world have begun realising the importance of time management and are investing in training programmes, workshops and material that can help employees organise and facilitate a healthy work-life balance. After all, happy employees score higher on productivity – so implementing time management is in everyone’s best interest!

There are also a few simple yet effective methods to handle our workloads better. Firstly, plan each day. Many of us get
to office and jump straight down to work because there’s so much to be done. Instead of this haphazard approach, take a few minutes to create a ‘to do’ list, arranging tasks by priority. Keep this list somewhere accessible, so you can refer to it during the workday. Check off each item as it’s completed – the sense of personal accomplishment this gives is satisfying and can drive us to work harder.

Next, learn how to prioritise. Are you spending an inordinate amount of time on things that are relatively unimportant? I used to proofread my written work at least three times, even when it was going to be proofread professionally. Curtailing that tendency has given me a few extra hours each week.

The Eisenhower Matrix is an excellent tool for prioritisation. Draw up a list of your daily tasks and plot them according to importance and urgency on the matrix. Important activities help you achieve goals. Urgent activities require immediate attention and are usually linked to someone else’s goals. In the words of former US President Dwight Eisenhower: “What’s important is seldom urgent and what’s urgent is seldom important.” The activities in quadrants one and two are top priority and high priority respectively, while those in quadrants three and four are distractions and time wasters respectively.

Thirdly, learn to say ‘no’ to non-essential work. If someone approaches you with an additional task, consider it
before you agree. Does it contribute to your goals? Do you have the time to do it well? If you take it on, will your other work suffer? Saying ‘no’ can be hard, but it will serve you well in the longer term, allowing you to spend quality time on the work that really matters – focus on the tasks in quadrants one and two in your personal Eisenhower Matrix.

Next, limit interruptions. When you are fully engaged in a task, the work seems effortless while your output is of high quality. However, numerous distractions such as emails, IM chats, phone calls, colleagues stopping by for chats, internet browsing and so on can hinder your workflow.

Have you ever opened the internet browser to check something and ended up wasting an hour online? Regain control of your workday. Schedule a time to check your email and social networking sites, instead of keeping them open all day long. When you have a critical task at hand, put your phone on silent mode for a few hours. Close your cubicle door when you’re busy. If you don’t have a cubicle, put on a pair of headphones (no, you don’t have to listen to music) and colleagues will be less likely to interrupt you.

Also, create an environment that is conducive to effectiveness and innovation. Clear your workspace. You may think your messy desk has no impact on your producti­vity, but chances are that it does. A cluttered space usually leads to a cluttered mind. For better clarity and focus, become organised – sort through the piles of papers, buy a stationery tray and store non-essentials out of sight.

Finally, take intermittent breaks! Working at a stretch for 8-10 hours isn’t smart;it saps your focus, preventing you from doing your best work. Have a cup of coffee, take a walk or listen to music. It’s important to rest your brain and recharge your batteries every few hours.