The Art Of Time Management For Business Growth – Mastering The Clock

As Business Owners, are you confronted with issues such as these, time and again?

• Producing poor-quality work
• Missing deadlines
• Lack of professionalism
• Victim to procrastination
• Avoidable  stress levels
• Ruining your work-life balance
• Harming your professional reputation
• Fatigued with multitasking
• Incurring financial penalties

Then, wake up. Faster you do, better it is!

You are suffering from lack of respect for TIME MANAGEMENT.

Time is the scarcest and irreplaceable resource.

You are failing to capture success in the rapidly transforming dynamics of modern business.

Mind you every second saved is second earned towards exponential business growth.

Better be Alert to this stark reality.

Only efficient and effective Time Management can help you trigger growth on profitable trajectory.

Connotation of Time Management

Time Management entails the process of planning and exercising conscious control of the time spent on specific activities. It implies working smarter rather than harder.

Improving Time Management enable boost the performance. It facilitates you to achieve your desired goals with less effort and more effective strategies.

The strategy of Time Management revolves around planning out your available time and controlling the amount of time spent on specific tasks to work more efficiently.

As an inevitable corollary it is possible to achieve:

• Better work-life balance.
• Decreased stress levels.
• More time for family and loved ones.

Time Management Defined

The quality of Time Management depends on the impact of three decisions made each day:

DECISIONS ABOUT:

• What to do 
  Do they accurately reflect your dearest values and deepest beliefs?
• When to do things 
  Is your life organized to achieve the optimum in your day, week or month?
• How to do things
  Are things done in a manner they truly deserve to be done? 

Why is Time Management Important?

Time is an irreplaceable asset. It is more valuable than money, especially in today’s fast-paced, overly-competitive business world. You can get more money, but you cannot get more Time. Be sure that you spend your time where it matters most to you.

Because it offers the following benefits instantly :

• Increased productivity
• Reduced stress
• Better control of your workflow
• Ability to consistently meet deadlines

Vital Role of Time Management

Dictates the quality of life.

Time is finite, None of hours can be reclaimed.

It cannot be stored, saved or borrowed.  Once it is gone, it is gone!

Importance of Time Management stems from these factors:

• Improves efficiency
• Creates calm and gives more in control
• Creates sense of fulfilment
• Creates more energy for work
• Develops more qualities
• Facilitates faster achievement of goals
• Maximizes life pleasure

“Time management is not a peripheral activity or skill. It is the core skill upon which everything else in life depends.”

– Brian Tracy

Prioritisation

Prioritization of tasks will allow you:

• To complete all of your allocated tasks done in a timely manner.
• To complete work on time.
• To spare time for other activities outside of work which is equally important..

Planning

• Keeping a diary or To-Do List
• Facilitates completion of work in the correct time frame.
• Affords plenty of time to complete any outstanding tasks.

Productivity

• Application of certain tools and techniques you can
• Increase your productivity in the areas where you want to get things done more quickly
• Leaves more time to focus on your own happiness.

Positivity

• It is essential to maintain a positive attitude.
• This will give you the boost you need in wanting to do well in the rest of your workload.

“People tend to take time for granted, and then begin to realize its value and importance only when there is hardly left of it”

(Bible)

Notable Benefits of Time Management inWorkplace

1. Timely Delivery of Work

With time-boxed tasks, your brain gets rewired to follow the structure and accomplish those activities within the desired time-frame.

2. Improvement in Work Quality

Prioritization helps you focus on important tasks by keeping them in the highest priority which enables you to work on them with full attention and focus.

3. Enhanced Productivity Coupled with Efficiency

Effective time management skills enhance productivity and efficiency. These skills help in finishing tasks early without compromising on the quality of work.

4. Reduced Procrastination

Time Management is reducing the urge to delay and procrastinate over essential tasks. Applying good project time management tricks enable you to work smarter rather than harder.

It instantly eliminates procrastination by ensuring that familiarity with the tasks. The tendency to say ‘I will do it later’ is practically renounced!

5. Reduction in Stress and Anxiety Levels

There are times when employees feel overwhelmed on account of excessive workload taking toll on their overall health. Excessive stress and hypertension can lead to heart disease, depression, obesity and more. By knowing what to do, it is feasible to reduce unnecessary stress and tensions in life.

6. Improvement in Quality of Life

Effective Time Management enables focus on personal life and relationships. Keeping tasks and activities on track will bring a sense of calmness to personal life. The net outcome is automatic improvement in quality of life.

7. Enhancing Professional Reputation

Being punctual with your work will increase your effectiveness and help you earn a good reputation at work.

8. Sparing More Time for Leisure and Recreation

Effective Time Management frees up more time in the day to do the leisure and recreational activities to accomplish happiness. As a result, the perfect balance is created by working smart all day and bagging a reward of choice in return.

Time Management Skills as a Booster to Entrepreneurial Success

Time Management is altogether crucial ball game for Business Owners.

Fiercely growing competition in the ever – expanding marketplace makes it imperative for businessmen of any hue to master basics of Time Management.

Agenda for the purpose can be laid down as:

Mind you if you fail by any chance, consequences of poor time management are serious, rather precarious.

It can lead to issues like:

• Poor work-life balance.
• Wastage of money on inefficient approaches.
• Deteriorating professional relationship problems with peers, clients, and collaborators.
• Adverse impact on focus.

A Multitude of Time Management Strategies for Implementation

A broad spectrum of Time Management strategies can be adopted to improve work productivity and management efficiency.

1. Start your Day with a Plan

The easiest way to start planning workday is to make a to-do list of all the things you want and need to do.

After completion of each task, on your to-do list, ensure to physically cross it off. As a result, it is possible have a sense of accomplishment .It is essential to review all of the things finished on the day.

2. Prioritization  

Prioritization enables use of time productively. It helps to focus on the day’s most important tasks. Different approaches while prioritizing tasks are:

1. Pick out your most important three items to accomplish and get started.
2. Classify the tasks into three tiers of importance:- high, medium, or low.
3. Rank every item on the list on a scale of 1-10, and then order them accordingly.

3 Division of Larger Projects into Smaller Tasks

When overwhelmed check the tendency to procrastinate.

Break large projects into smaller, more manageable tasks.

4. Minimize Distractions

It is vital to make a dedicated effort to limit the number distractions such as emails, social media co-workers, or random thoughts.

5. Earmark Email Schedule

Schedule a specific time to check your email and make sure that you communicate this to your co-workers and set clear expectations.

6. Batching Time

By grouping the tasks, you can knock them out quickly without devoting the brainpower and energy to adjusting to a new job. This time management technique applies regardless of the specific job or industry.

7. Reduce Multitasking

Multitasking makes you less productive.

If you want to use your time more effectively, wait and complete the task before moving on to the next item on your list.

8. Block Time off on your Calendar

Keeping all of your events, meetings, deadlines, and tasks on your calendar can save you time

 Online calendar apps such as Google Calendar and Calendly are an even more efficient way to schedule time.

9. Learn when to say NO to Meetings

If the number of meetings continues to climb, it may be prudent to Say No citing your busy schedule or seeking be replaced with an email.

10. Self- Reflection Exercise

The end-of-day review gives a chance for honest self-reflection about utilization of day. Self-reflection, helps to identify what is working and where there is room for improvement

11. Eye on Future Projects

Looking at the future pipeline of projects can assist in preparation of upcoming projects. It can ensure that you are not overloaded with future projects.

12. Devote Time to Rejuvenate

Ensure to you take time to decompress. Give the rest to your body.

Such rejuvenation energizes your mind and body to take up further challenges of work.

Advanced Time Management Techniques with Refinements

Another layer of effective Time Management techniques give primacy to   technology and more structured work time.

These are delineated thus:

13. Delegation and Outsourcing

There are situations when delegation of specific work to others accelerates the pace of work to your entire satisfaction. 

An alternate viable option shall be to Outsource the  work to some Third Party specialized company or hire a freelance contractor.

14. Eisenhower’s Matrix

Eisenhower Matrix is a task management tool. Its name is attributed to its founder Us President Eisenhower.

It helps to organize and prioritize management tasks by urgency and importance. In application.

Tasks are divided into four boxes based on the tasks

• To be done first.
• To be scheduled later.
• To be delegated to someone
• To be deleted.

15. Follow Pareto Principle or the 80/20 Rule

According to  Pareto Principle, 80% of the results come from 20% of the work.

This means that you can work smarter. .Ensure more is done by identifying the 20% of the things leading to the majority of your results. This observation maintains that 80% of the output is determined by the 20% of the input.

16. Rapid Planning Method (RPM)

Rapid Planning Method (RPM) is designed by the motivational speaker Tony Robbins to inspire massive action.

To utilize this method 3 questions need to be asked:

1. What do I really want?
2. What’s my purpose?
3. What do I need to do?

As a result, it is possible to, create a clear plan of action for the tasks needed to use time effectively and help in accomplishment of goals.

17. Pomodoro Technique

Pomadaro Technique is a Time Management device. It is based on 25 minute stretches of focussed work broken by 5 minute breaks

Longer breaks of 15 to 30 minutes are taken after two consecutive work intervals

Each work interval is called Pomadaro- meaning Tomato in Italian language.

18. Flowtime

Flowtime technique gives the power to design your own structured schedule.

Steps for application of Flowtime Technique are:

• Choose a specific task
• Note down the start time
• Keep working until you stop
• Note down stop don time
• Note down distractions
• Take a break
• Repeat the cycle

New Technology Platforms

To proceed further with Time Management techniques with new technology platforms four different time management tools may be helpful:

A. Time Trackers

By automatically tracking your time spent on specific tasks, it is possible to  get a more accurate picture of your time allocation and productivity.

B. Productivity Apps

Productivity tools and apps are used to limit distractions .They help  to stop wasting time.,

These  productivity apps make it possible  to block specific unproductive activities .They also  provide feedback on the productivity of a task based on the amount of time spent vs. the intended allocation of time.

C. Project Management Tools

Project Management tools manage entire projects all in one place. They provide

• deadlines
• project details
• project descriptions, and
• file-sharing capabilities

 These tools enable workers to boost productivity while increasing time on task.

D. Collaboration Platforms

Programs like Slack and Zoom make it easier for remote teams to work together on projects, even when they are not in the same room.

 Some collaboration programs allow:

• video conferencing to make communication more comfortable,
• detailed comment features for providing feedback directly on documents.

In Retrospect       

The clock stops clicking for none. With passing of every minute our intensity for efficient and effective time management is desperately called for. Various   tasks need to be prioritized. Clear focus has to be directed to activities that align with business goals and vision. It is imperative to refine strategies to stay ahead in the rrace in the ever-expanding vistas on global plane

Embrace Time Management as the catalyst for business elevation and enhanced productivity. Probably, nay surely, here lies the SALVATION.

“Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest other people spend it for you”

(Carl Sandgurg)