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Managing your Time

What is in this guide?

This guide will looks at how to manage your time to be effective and efficient. It contains the following sections:

  1. Important things to know about time management
  2. How to identify time wasters
  3. 2.1 Time wasters caused by others
    2.2 Time wasters caused by you

  4. Dealing with time wasters
  5. How to prioritise and manage your time

  1. Important things to know about time management

Any busy person who wants to be effective must also be able to manage their time properly.

To manage time properly you have to do the following three things:

  1. How to identify time wasters

Time wasters are all those things that are not essential to your core tasks. You may do them because you are used to doing them, or because they are easier to do or because of other people and the demands they make or problems they cause. These time wasters can either be caused by your organisation or by yourself.

2.1 Time wasters caused by others:

2.2 Time wasters caused by you:

  1. Dealing with time wasters

Start by identifying time wasters. Try keeping a log of your time for a week, on an half-hourly basis. At the end of the week ask yourself the question: "Was that the best use of my time?” You may be surprised to see much of your valuable time is wasted on nonsense. You may also find that the meetings that you attend are taking more time than they should. List all your time wasters, and then, for each of them try to find out the cause of the problem and come up with a solution.

  1. How to prioritise and manage your time

Here are some basic tips for a system to manage your time better:

  1. List goals and set priorities for the week. List work and personal tasks – if you leave out personal tasks like paying accounts, taking your child to the dentist, etc, you cannot plan properly and they may end up disrupting your work.
  2. Classify all tasks as A [must do on a specific day - urgent and important], B [should do as soon as possible or C [must do sometime this week].
  3. Develop a daily to-do list for each day and put down all your A's that have to be done on a specific day. Use a form like the one at the end of this guide or write it in your diary for every day.
  4. Do the most important and urgent things first. If you do not have time for your B's move them to A for the next day. If you finish all your A’s for that day, start with the B’s and even the C’s. Do your C's whenever you have time, but keep an eye on them so that they do not pile up at the end of the week.
  5. Try to handle each task only once and finish the job before moving on.
  6. When confronted by conflicting demands about which task you need to do the following three questions are quiet helpful :
    • Is it necessary to do it now?
    • Am I the only one who can do it, or can it be delegated?
    • What is the most efficient and quickest way to do it?
  7. Delegate any task that you do not have time for and that someone else can handle. Make a clear request about the nature and quality of the work you want done, set a deadline and ask for a report once the task is complete.

For efficient time management you need the following basic tools:

You can copy and use the form which appears below.

To-do list for ............................................. [Week]

A: Must do today
Mon
1.
2.
3.
4.
Tues
1.
2.
3.
4.
Wed
1.
2.
3
4
Thurs
1
2
3
4
Fri
1
2
3
4
Sat
1
2
Sun
1
2

B: Should do today if possible
Mon




Tues




Wed




Thurs




Fri




Sat


Sun

C: Must do this week (work):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

C: Must do this week (personal):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

 

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Filing   |   Efficient Office Systems   |   Office Public Relations   |   Managing your Time   |  Writing Effective Business Letters


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