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Creating A Powerful Time Management System

Douglas Manning — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:00:46 +0000

All of us would like to learn and use a few more time management techniques. We have all ready about them from time to time. Perhaps, we have even bought a time management book. Still, we have failed to integrate these techniques into an effective time management strategy.

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Check it out for some additional information on creating your own effective and powerful time management system.

Creating A Powerful Time Management System.

Time Management Training For Individuals And Employees

Douglas Manning — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 11:00:52 +0000

If you are looking to get some time management training, then there are a lot of options available to you.

Especially in the age of the Internet we have seen an explosion of these kinds of programs.

The fact is that they are not like a regular education.

I don’t believe that anyone can yet major in time management, though I may be mistaken. Instead what you are more likely to encounter is a wide variety of seminars, institutes, personal organization gurus, management courses, and the like. And of course, many of these will be available both in normal settings and online via the web.

Time Management Training Options For For Employees

If you a manager of a corporation or small business and you want to provide time management training for your employees, then you will most likely end up hiring an excellent motivational speaker to come spend anywhere from an afternoon to a full week with your people.

He or she is more like a catalyst than an information provider. Of course, they will have their own particular time management strategies which they advocate, but you could also get this from a book. Instead their real job is to motivate and inspire the employees into trying some new methods of organizing their time.

Many corporations have reported excellent improvements in their workers’ efficiency in the time after such an event.

It may be helpful to do this on a regular basis as people tend to forget what they learned a year ago and will need to be prodded into action again.

Time Management Training For Individuals

If you are an individual, then the route you will want to seek is to attend a seminar, or else take an online course. In a live stime management training seminar you are going to be bombarded with all the latest insights fn the field of personal productivity.

A lot of buzz words come and go and it is easy to look at them more as gimmicks than as real tools which can help your time management skills, but I would caution against this kind of sour attitude. The fact is that hokey as they are, these are all based on real techniques that have been proven to help people manage their time better.

Games for Teaching Time Management

A lot of time management training incorporates games that you or your employees can play in order to get a feel for how a new system of organization will work.

Of course everyone thinks they’re too grown up to participate in these games, but once they get into them it can be a real ball of fun; and, they will intuitively be picking up insights which will last for possibly the rest of their careers.

The bottom line is that this sort of training can’t help but have some effect on whoever undergoes it.

A lot more thought and experience has gone into these time management classes than most people realize. As a result they are much more effective at creating better habits in managers and employee.

Whether you are at work or at home, you can and should find a course of time management training to increase your personal productivity.

Time Management Software To Increase Productivity

Douglas Manning — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:00:09 +0000

In the current economic downturn, businesses are searching for ways to cut costs and increase productivity. As a result, many businesses have begun to take a serious look at time management software as a basis for their employee time management system.

Why Use Time Management Software To Increase Productivity?

From vacation to sick leave, employers and managers are finding that they can use time management software to track their employees’ work time.

But, more importantly, managers are able to track employee time spent working on specific projects. In this way, companies can determine whether or not a project is cost effective in terms of labor costs.

Or, in the alternative, the company can analyze the data from the time management software to focus employees’ efforts on projects with the greatest potential return on investment for the company.

As the managers build a database of productivity efforts on the part of employees, they are better able to schedule and estimate the time necessary to complete projects. As such, cost estimation is much more accurate and realistic deadlines are much more easy to calculate.

Time Management Software For Payroll And Billing

Many companies have long integrated time management software into their payroll and billing packages.

In this way, managers are able to use the software to maximize billing, finance and payroll functions.

In other cases, professionals such as doctors and attorneys, have used the software to simplify the tedious task of billing clients for professional services rendered. In many cases the time management software used by professionals forms the basis of their entire time management system.

Selecting The Right Time Management Software

Time tracking software should be flexible to the needs of your business. It should allow the manager to create custom reports your particular business in a way that makes sense for each unique project or customer.

It should allow you to retrieve detailed information about your employees’ productivity at the touch of a button. If you can quickly identify areas of concern you have more time to take corrective action and solve potential problems before they spin out of control.

You can also streamline your business by linking time management software with your project planning, billing and payroll functions.

Time Management Software As A Tool To Increase Productivity

As you can see, time tracking software is an essential time management tool to allow business owners and managers to respond quickly to their business needs.

Imagine streamlining business and reducing costs, while identifying the employees who are effective and those that need additional training. More importantly, with the click of a button, management can determine whether or not management resources are focused upon those projects that will maximize return on investment.

Time management software is yet another tool the business owner has at his disposal to maximize the effective use of the resources at his disposal.

Time Management Planners: The Key To An Effective Time Management System

Douglas Manning — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:02:35 +0000

Having a time management system is essential for taking control of your life. One tool that is indispensable is the time management planner (aka personal planner). It is a portable command center and the hub of all of the other time management tools that you select to take back control of your life.

If it is properly set up and used, a time management planner can provide you with ultimate control of your time whether you are at work, play, on vacation or even in the vegetable isle at the grocery store.

A Time Management Planner Stores Vital Information In One Location

A time management planner eliminates all of those little scraps of paper scattered all over your desk, in your pocket (or in my case the washing machine), on the table, in your car (or in my case under the seat).

You will save hours of time, without anything more, just because you will be able to find things when you need them.

Everything will be in one central place where you have easy access to it.

My Choice: A Time Management Planner By A Reputable Company

I have tried most every “homemade” time management system and I have come to prefer a purchased time management planner over a homemade one.

You can purchase many prepared time management planners online or at an office supply store. It will already contain many of the forms to allow you to get started. The greatest advantage of the preprinted forms is that it will prompt you to actually gather and transfer all of those little scraps of paper into your planner.

I eventually settled on a small version of a Daytimer. It was large enough to write in but small enough to fit into my computer bag or briefcase. There are other excellent paper based Daytimer systems including the ones made by Dayrunner and FranklinCovey.

Creating Your Own Time Management Planner

The cheapest alternative to a purchased time management planner is a small three ring binder with dividers. You can still have the convenience of preprinted forms. You just make the forms up, print them out and place them in your planner.

You can set up a planner of your own with a notebook so long as you keep it to a size that you can easily carry with you.

But, it also needs to be large enough, and customizable enough to handle all of the important aspects of your life.

In short, it’s all going in there.

So, it needs to be small enough to carry with you at all times, while providing the flexibility to handle the different types of information and resources we will be stuffing inside.

Time Management Software To Compliment A Planner

Also, there are a software programs that that complement the time management planner. The simplest ones simply print out a variety of forms for inclusion in the time management planner. Others actually track your schedule, to do list and other essential time management functions.

You can find these programs online or at your local office supply store.

Use A Time Management Planner As The Centerpiece Of Your System

Indeed, a well-organized time management planner serves as the centerpiece to an effective time management system.

You can purchase a commercially available planner or make one yourself. However, the commercially available time management planners are so well organized that they serve as the greatest time management tool you can add to your toolbox.

Time Management Tools: Creating An Effective To Do List

Douglas Manning — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:00:02 +0000

Overwhelmed by work? Do you constantly face deadline and deadline? Do you repeatedly forget one or more important tasks at home or on the job? You need a better time management system.

The centerpiece to an effective time management system is the simple and effective to do list.

To Do List: Defined

At its core, a simple “to do” list is a

(1) prioritized (2) written record of (3) tasks that (4) need to be accomplished by a (5) date certain.

If your time management system lacks any of these key elements, it is doomed to failure. Often projects feel overwhelming and exert insurmountable demands on your time.

Left unchecked, this leads to excess stress, then depression and, ultimately, burnout.

On the contrary, a well organized list can increase your efficiency and organization. Furthermore, a to do list is an easy first step for you as you begin to incorporate more time management tools into your personal management system.

To-Do Lists are deceptively simple but very powerful.

They serve as a method of organizing yourself, reducing stress and as a way to review and reward yourself for a job well done.

Preparing a To-Do List

Write it down. Preparing a “to do” list is simple. Start with a blank sheet of paper and brainstorm all of the tasks that face you. You will find that the act of writing everything down will relieve a certain amount of the anxiety that you are experiencing. If a task is large or seems to be overwhelming, break it down into component steps. Remember, that you eat an elephant one bite at a time.

Prioritize. Go through the list and begin to prioritize each task. I write a letter by each task;

D = today
W = this week
M = Month
S = someday

If too many tasks have a high priority, go through the process again and take all of the tasks that “need” to be done today and allocate them to a certain day over the next week. For example:

M (Monday) – balance the checkbook (1 hour)
Tu (Tuesday) – mow and weed eat the yard (1.5 hours)
W (Wednesday) – repair the fence (4.0 hours)
Th (Thursday) – paint the fence (2.0 hours)
F (Friday) – change oil in vehicles (1.5 hours)

Always place an approximation of the amount of time necessary to complete the task next to the item. Also, remember, there are only 24 hours in each day.

Make an honest evaluation of the amount of “free” time that you have to accomplish these tasks. If the tasks are work related, this might be easy to do. If the tasks are non work related, you need to understand that you probably have no more than 3 or 4 hours a day to complete these tasks, assuming you are employed.

Using Your To-Do List

Depending on your type of work, you will probably utilize your to do list in your own unique way.

I personally prefer to keep the list short.

Authors Note: I limit myself to no more than two major projects at a time with 3 to 4 errands on any given day. If I consistently find myself with more to do each day, I begin to delegate what I can or eliminate it altogether if possible. I have faced burnout and do not intend to face it again.

Others might find it more useful to keep one large list and chip away at it day by day.

You will often find that unimportant tasks get carried over from day to day as other more pressing things seem to get accomplished.

Author’s Note: I would caution you to take a hard look at a task that never seems to get done. It may be that the task is unimportant or it may be that you are procrastinating for some reason. It is imperative that you figure out why it is not getting done and deal with it immediately.

If you feel unorganized and overwhelmed, then your first step to an effective time management system is a well planned “to do” list. If you use successful “to do” lists, you will ensure that:

You remember to carry out all necessary tasks;
You tackle the most important jobs first, and do not waste time on trivial tasks.
You do not get stressed by a large number of unimportant jobs.

So, take some time and write it down, prioritize it and enjoy the fun of putting that little black line through each task as you accomplish it.