Where Does our Time go?

In these days of increased time-saving devices and technology, you might expect that the average person has more time to spend on fun and leisure activities. However, it does not seem to be the case. Since the arrival of mobile phones, instant messaging and the internet, are we any better off? I’m not sure we are, as many of us still complain that time is in short supply.

What can we do to make more time?

The answer to this question is two fold. Firstly we cannot ‘make’ more time, there is one constant in life and that is the time available to us each day never changes. Secondly, it is what we do within that time that can be changed – how we manage ourselves is what can make the difference – ‘Time Management’.

Manage yourself and not your Time!

Nowadays many business people are on call almost 24 hours per day, courtesy of their mobile phones, Blackberries or wireless internet connections. If you are serious about finding time to do other things, then here are some questions and tips to help you manage yourself better.

1. Are you a busy fool?
Ask yourself if you are productive? Do you spend your time doing things you like to do, rather than things you should be doing?

2. Are you efficient or effective?
Efficiency is doing things right – following the rules and systems that are in place. Effectiveness is doing the right things – focusing your attention on the things that need to be done to produce results.

3. Are you clear about your role?
Do you and your boss share the same understanding about what your job is, and what you are expected to achieve?

4. Stop procrastinating!
In other words, don’t put off until tomorrow what you should be doing today. Procrastination is a bad habit that should be broken and changed to a good habit of dealing with things promptly.

5. Set Priorities
By setting priorities, it can help you overcome the dilemma of having too much to do. We can train ourselves to concentrate on the high payoff activities – or those that produce results.

Priority Setting
80/20 Rule
It is said that 20% of what you need to do will produce 80% of our results ie. they have a high payoff or return for our efforts. Are you spending 80% of your time on tasks that are producing 20% of your results?Analyse your daily activities using the 80/20/rule to see where most of your time is being spent.

It is very important that we manage our time. We cannot create extra Time, it is constant, but we can manage ourselves much better. Here are some questions and tips for your Time management.

Adrian Randles

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