Secrets of Effective Time Management

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Life today is much more fast-paced and hectic than it was just a few decades ago. It seems that there is always too much to do and not enough time to do it.
The secret to being a success and having the time to do what you enjoy doing is effective time management.

There are several methods that you can utilize to save time and energy at home and at the work place. The first thing you need to do is to examine your daily schedule. Begin by organizing and prioritizing the various tasks you perform every day. Decide what absolutely needs to be done to accomplish your goals. Then evaluate the remaining tasks and eliminate the unnecessary ones. You may be surprised at the amount of time you spend every day completing tasks that you really don't need to do.

Once you have reorganized your schedule, you may find that you still have too many tasks to complete. You may want to delegate some of these responsibilities to another person. This is difficult for many people to do. They feel insecure letting someone else complete their tasks. They may feel that they are the only ones who complete the job correctly. You need to trust in your own judgment and chose an assistant who has the right qualifications. Train the person properly and give him detailed explanations of how he should proceed. Remain friendly and approachable so that he will feel comfortable coming to you when a problem arises. You should also make yourself readily available.

If a problem arises and he can not find you, the assistant may try to solve the problem himself. For the first few weeks, check on him regularly until you feel that he is knowledgeable enough to work on his own. Within a short period of time, you may come to realize that you have obtained an indispensable assistant that can readily step into your shoes if need be.

Another way to effectively manage your time is to do one-stop shopping. When having to travel to different areas of the company to complete certain tasks, organize your work so that you can complete your work in that specific area at one time. For example, most companies keep their copying machines at a central location in the building. When going to make copies, gather everything that you need to copy for that day and complete it all in one trip. This is much more time efficient than making ten trips a day.

You should try to organize your work in a way that works best for you. Some people have to have a neat work area, while others cannot find anything if someone straightens up their desk. If you can work efficiently in a timely matter, either way is all right. Some people have an easier time dealing with a numerical system of filing rather than the traditional alphabetical. If this is the case, change it to the one that you prefer. You may want to ask some of your colleagues if they have any ideas to save more time. They may use methods that you had never thought of.

Many companies offer time management strategies. You should be willing to try some of these, and may even suggest a few of your own. No one knows the aspects of your job better than you. Only you can judge what methods of time management work best in your situation

About the Author
Sharon Alexander - Claim That Job.com
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