Success in your career has a lot to do with time management in the workplace. Wouldn’t you want to have time to finish that six-page analysis or report? Unfortunately, you don’t have all the time in the world to do what you have to do.
What then happens is that you overlap your responsibilities with your personal life. However, by employing time management in the workplace, you’ll be able to perform faster, better and just plain get ahead. Here are some time management tips to help you:
1) Don’t let email slow you down.
Of course, you need to check your email for important work-related messages. My advice is that you dedicate specific times in the day for that purpose only.
That sense of having just enough time to read a batch of messages puts you in work mode and allows you to concentrate on responding to the emails efficiently, as opposed to sporadic email checks which you probably do leisurely and without the same sense of urgency.
2) Make use of your planner.
There is a reason planners (both leather bound and electronic) were created. They help you schedule things and assign tasks on a specific time slot.
Planners help you develop better time management in the workplace by keeping you on track. Besides, it can be very fun filling in details in your planner. Having a little fun with planning makes you less vulnerable to slacking off.
3) Know your priorities.
One of the most important tips for time management in the workplace is to know which tasks should be done first. Don’t try to do everything at once.
I tried to juggle several tasks once because I assumed multi-tasking would help me complete my work faster. Sadly, that wasn’t the case at all. I ended up getting tired quickly and unable to put in as much effort into them. As a result, I had to re-do some of them because I wasn’t satisfied with the end product.
Doing things over will cost you; so unless you can settle for mediocrity, I strongly suggest prioritizing your responsibilities. And do it one thing at a time.
Time management in the workplace is an efficient skill to have. Don’t worry if you’re not the most organized employee in the world or if you’re always lagged behind deadlines. It’s not too late to change your habits for the better. You still have time to deal with time.