Time Management and the "to do" listLearn Management Articles on management-info.biz. Time Management and the "to do" list article will help answer your questions on Management Articles.We at management-info.biz specialize in Management Articles. Management Articles at management-info.biz provides the most up to date news and articles. If you have questions please do not hesitate to contact us.
How can you make time management work for you? Really that's the question, regardless of what system you choose to apply to your time management needs, it has to be something that can work for you. If your time management tool, choice or system doesn't work for you then it simply becomes another task that has to be accomplished in an already busy day. Most time management starts with something as useful as a 'to do' list. We all have tasks that must be accomplished within a certain period of time, whether that time frame is a single day or a plan for the next several months. Tasks are added to the list and crossed out as they are accomplished. Your 'to do' list can be as simple as a notebook page, a daily page in your planner, a function of MS Outlook or a task list on your PDA. In general a 'to do' list is a simple and effective way to see all the tasks that impact your day. Just follow a few simple guideline and your 'to do' list will work for you (and not the other way around). Creating and prioritizing a 'To Do' list: 1. First create a simple To-Do List. Using whichever tool you've chosen. 2. List all of the tasks for which you are responsible. 3. Don't worry about accomplishing everything right now. The key is to get the right things done by prioritizing. 4. A To-Do list will most likely be a living, never-ending document. New things appear as old ones are cleared away. For each item on the list, answer these questions: One Time or Reoccurring - Do you have to complete this task more than once? Often? Perhaps on a regular basis? Due Date - When must the task be completed by? Time Required For Completion - How long will the task take to complete? Is the task variable? Other Resources Required - What other resources will be needed to complete this task? Benefits and Consequences - What are the benefits of completing the task? The consequences on not completing it? Use the answers to these questions to decide which tasks must be completed first. Once you have prioritized your tasks you are ready to start scheduling them. Plan the completion of each task. Start with the givens. Block out those tasks with known times. Place the rest of your tasks into the schedule according to your priorities. Build in some flexibility so that you can handle life's little emergencies. Pay attention to the resources required. Remember that you yourself are a resource. Match tasks requiring the most mental effort to those portions of your day when you feel the most productive. Don't forget to include personal time. (if you have scheduled every minute of your day for work, when are you going to refresh, regroup, renew?) Most time management tools are really creative ways of completing a 'to do' list. If you choose to use something like a PDA or a computer program like MS Outlook you can easily manage reoccurring events and meetings by reserving blocks of time and creating reminders for those things that might get lost in the daily shuffle of work and paper. If you choose to use a planner, remember to carry reoccurring event through to the next day, week or month. Once your comfortable working with your 'to do' list you can expand it to include goal setting.
While 'to do' list may get you started on your time management endeavors there are all kinds of thoughts and theories out there about how to effectively manage our time. I would like to think that if I can complete all the tasks I have to accomplish today, and check them off my list, I might be able to schedule an extra hour of sleep. Maybe I can put it on my 'to do' list. ;-)
|
More Articles:1. Innovation Management – IBM Opens Lid On Its Treasure Chest By Kal Bishop IBM, which registered 3248 patents last year, has decided that sharing technology can sometimes be more profitable than jealously guarding its property rights on patents, copyrights and trade secrets (Herald Tribune, April 11 2005).International Business Machines have come to the above conclusion 205 years after the invention of electric light – thus clearly illustrating that even the 19th largest company in the world (fortune.com) with a market capitalization on $141 billion (nasdaq.com) is s… 2. Meeting Your Meeting Expectations By Cynthia Kyriazis "To get something done a meeting should consist of no more than three people, two of whom are absent." ~Author unknownOne of the complaints I hear most often is about the number of meetings people attend during any given week. It isn't only the quantity, but the duration and ineffectiveness that seem to cause problems. Conducting effective meetings is part of practicing effective time management and something we cover during my workshops, so I thought a recap of some meeting guidelines would b… 3. Selecting a Business Broker or Intermediary to Help You Sell Your Business By Gregory R. Caruso As crazy as it seems, some people spend more time choosing a coffee machine than they do selecting the business broker or intermediary that will sell their business. This can be a fatal mistake that can cost time, money, and sometimes the ability to sell the business at all.How do you choose the right business broker or intermediary?What follows is a list of questions to ask any intermediary when interviewing them. We also explain what to look for in the answers given.No one is going to hav… 4. Conflict, Leadership, And The Leadership Talk PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.com Word count: 739 Summary: All leaders have to deal with conflict. The author cites three essentials you must adhere to in your dealings and describes a powerful leadership tool tha… |
||||
