Causes of poor time management:
Behaving as if time were a cheap commodity. Time is a resource to achieve objectives. It is not to be wasted, but to be used wisely. Time is precious and will not wait for anyone.
Procrastination: Decisions must be thought through very carefully and must be carried out, not postponed. And unpleasant tasks should not be avoided at any time.
Lack of Prioritization: This is not a good practice. Unless! something else is a high priority and contributes to the stated goals.
Poor or non-existent planning: If you don’t plan ahead and allocate your time properly, then things can get out of hand; or high priority tasks will be lost.
Inadequate contingency arrangements: You don’t wait for disasters to happen, to plan your procedures and assess potential problem areas, your priority is to allow time in your plan for unforeseen problem areas.
Make good use of your journal: Sometimes you just can’t put every detail or activity on your summary Gantt chart, as there is only room for your key activities. But if you use your journal effectively in conjunction with your plan, you’ll see how much time you can have for project work.
Suggestions of great ideas: Meetings and key events; such as planning time for Christmas, annual vacations, etc., to put in the diary as they are still fresh in the mind. And if you have a regular meeting or activity of some kind, a monthly one for example, it should be scheduled for the whole year, so that when you’re planning later in the year, you don’t forget it. One is to set time limits and assign the most important tasks to their prime time.
Prioritize workload: Make a list each day, so you know exactly what you need to do on a day-to-day basis. You have to separate the tasks on your list into urgent (to be done that same day) and non-urgent. Try to aim to achieve at least the urgent tasks every day. Separate the interesting tasks from the important ones that contribute to the goal. Treat interesting tasks as a reward for completing ones that contributed to your goals. To give yourself some time each week to monitor your inbox. Separate into action, reading, padding, and garbage.
Delegation: You don’t have to limit delegation to the people you are managing. He planned ahead, evaluating what tasks would be suitable for each individual. Challenge people and develop their skills. He doesn’t have to do everything himself. His team should be able to do the tasks for him. If they are not able to do it, he trains them. And brings them to the required standard. And he has to measure his results as part of his development. The team must have the opportunity to show results, the opportunity to excel and a sense of responsibility. You have to be grateful and give recognition to equally distributed tasks when due. He has to hold regular meetings, write memos or notes, and use the phone to keep everyone up to date on progress and who is responsible for what. He has to avoid resentment. Sometimes he has to say ‘No’! He has to assess his workload and delegate tasks that he couldn’t do. And if he says, ‘Yes!’ he would be taken for granted.
Making time in meetings: It happened that very often, a lot of time is wasted in meetings, in the business as a whole. If one were to have them, one needs to try to make them as short and productive as possible. You need to follow the tips given below, which will help you get the most out of your meetings.
(a) You have to develop an agenda to make clear the purpose of your meeting. It always takes minutes, to ensure that actions are delegated. (b) Invite only those who are necessary. Results will be achieved without excessive meetings using the telephone or emails to discuss ideas and agreed actions. (c) Make sure you have a good chairperson to control the content of the meeting and keep an eye on the time. (d) You have to start on time every time, to avoid interruptions and ramblings and up to a time limit. (e) You have to set a specific time for individual items and stick to it.
Wasting time on the phone: Always try to keep conversation to a minimum, going over key objectives and avoiding small talk. You have to become very assertive. He doesn’t let people go on and on. And nothing can take more than a couple of minutes to resolve. otherwise, arrange to speak with them at a more convenient time.