Requests for advice on Time Management

Push through your time constraints with Alison's tips

In response to last week’s blog –“Nomination for Mumpreneur and my thoughts on the current ’can working women have it all?’ debate”, some of my readers have asked me to publish techniques on how I manage my time to help my work-life balance.  As with any skill or approach, these require practice and aren’t guaranteed to work every time. With time management it’s so important to recognise one’s individuality and unique set of circumstances. Time Management is often put over as a rational set of techniques. But we are humans and often irrational and emotionally driven!  So what works for me won’t necessarily suit everyone.  Still, many of you asked me for guidance on managing time, so without further ado, below is a selection of what I’ve personally found works at work and/or at home …….most of the time!  Oh, and by the way, if any of you have time management tips that work for you and you would like to share to help others, please email me at Alison@trainingtoachieveuk.com or leave your comments at the end of this blog post.  I will be only too happy to share your contributions in a later blog.  Many thanks.

My top 30 time management tips

1. Always be clear – at work and at home  – on what you want to achieve.  Only then can you really prioritise – which has to underpin everything else
2. Don’t always gravitate towards urgency – remember importance and how stressed you will become once important stuff becomes urgent because you have neglected it
3. Don’t waste hours of productive time striving for perfection in everything
4. Remind yourself that faster isn’t always better
5. Resist the temptation to continually design and conceptualise – getting ‘in and working with and on a project may gradually get you nearer to perfection – as so much of what we do these days is iterative
6. Reduce the workload for your memory – write things down
7. Have a master list in a book that contains everything you need to do – I include work and personal all in one master list.  Then transfer over into weekly or daily lists to suit.  Again, I include personal and work on the same list
8. Batch routine tasks
9. Delegate routine tasks at home – especially the sock basket.  Incentives may be needed!
10. Look for birthday and Christmas presents throughout the year.  Make sure the bulk of them are wrapped and labelled by the end of September!
11. Be ruthless with time but always gracious with people
12. Really maximise your understanding and usage of all equipment that you have
13. Use ‘Chunking’  for overwhelming tasks especially -set dates/deadlines and deliverables
14. Be prepared to let go
15. Self-authorised agendas – book meetings with yourself!
16. Go by train when you can – you get great uninterrupted time for work or yourself!
17. 80/20 rule – Have this as your mantra
18. Consider your peak energy levels – try and do the huge important tasks when you are at your best
19. Avoid cherry-picking – at home and work
20. Be readily accessible but not all of the time
21. Update your contact lists, password lists and Christmas and birthday lists really regularly
22. Under promise and over-deliver
23. Allow a 20 % buffer minimum – at home and at work
24. Have a strategy for your task list stragglers
25. Have a ‘folder’ of portable tasks
26. ½ hour per week electronic/manual filing
27. Give others early deadlines – but don’t tell them
28. Keep your watch fast
29. Clear your desk and at least avoid ‘stacked desk’ syndrome
30. Have an emergency drawer – at home and work

And finally I would say choose exercise that works for you – I find it gives me a huge boost of energy and is actually worth getting up at the crack of dawn for.

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Alison Miles-Jenkins Sunday Morning Blog – 15 August 2010 Blog Number 13