A normal workday can include working on a variety of projects in a setting that can go from calm and quiet to frenetic at the drop of a hat. Well-honed time management skills are the best way to get through your workday, whether it's a "Manic Monday" or "Thank God It's Friday."
Each workday has its own agenda and challenges. Most days go smoothly, and you get your work done and go home to relax before doing it all again the next day. However, some days it seems like you're spending all your time putting out fires. When you have the kind of day when you can barely stop long enough to breathe, it's important to know how to prioritize your time.
Putting together a workable time management strategy requires planning. You have to determine the importance of the tasks you must accomplish throughout the day. There are activities that are directly related to doing your job, which should rank higher than projects that are more like busy work. For example, making follow up phone calls to potential clients would rank higher than surfing the net for research purposes.
Once you have determined how to prioritize your time, you can assign a time frame to each task. Some activities might not have a time frame other than "when it is done," while other tasks, such as ongoing activities, can be spread out for several hours or days. Those activities that must be completed immediately should be done first. Once they're completed you can move to the ongoing activities. Using this method will allow you to complete the tasks that have to be completed and work on the ongoing tasks so they are maintained.
On any given day, there should not be too many "when it's done" tasks. Too many of those means you are not maintaining your ongoing activities. Always having to stop maintenance of your day to put out fires is a sign of a poor time management plan and you should make changes to prioritize your time in a more effective manner. The vast majority of your daily activities should be ongoing activities. Maintaining client relationships, returning phone calls, replying to email and developing marketing plans are ongoing activities that keep your business thriving. You want to create a time management plan that allows you to work on these activities as much as possible.
Knowing how to prioritize your time will make running your business easier. Time management is a tool that has to be practiced. The more your work on a plan and tweak it, the more effective it will be. Once you have a plan that works for you, your time at your day job will vastly improved.
(Photo courtesy of ammer at FreeDigitalPhotos.net)
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