 |
| Photo is in the public domain. |
By Jim Hingst
We all would like to accomplish more in the time that we have. If you have taken a time management course, you probably are aware of many of the techniques that I list below. This list is a reminder of what you should be doing. If you put these reminders into practice, you should achieve more, worry less and have more time to spend enjoying your life.
Evaluate
How You Use Your Time. Do you really think that you are making the best use of
your time? There is only one way to know. Record how you spend your time for a
day or two. Then decide how you could have used your time better.
Identify those activities which waste your time. For many of us, some of the biggest wastes of time include TV and
the internet. By reducing the time you waste on non-productive activities, you will have more time to concentrate on those activities that will make the biggest contribution to achieving your most important goals.
Planning
More Efficient Meetings. Meetings can easily get out of control resulting in a
big waste of time. If you are the one organizing the meeting, here are a couple
of ideas to make better use of the time in them:
● Establish a beginning time and an ending
time for the meeting.
● Outline a specific agenda.
● Limit the amount of time for each agenda
item.
● Stick to the schedule.
● Conclude by reviewing any decisions arrived
at during the meeting.
Prepare
a “To Do List” Daily. When I worked as a construction manager, I ended each
day writing my list for the next day. What often happens in list making, is
that your list often requires more time than you have. That’s why you need to
prioritize your list. At the top of your list should be those activities that
you absolutely, positively must get done. Sometimes these are the most difficult
tasks that you would like to put off until later. Instead, these are the
activities that you need to work on first. Writing a “To Do List” also helps
prevent urgent or important tasks from slipping through the cracks.
In the grand scheme of things, what is most
urgent in your day may not be what is the most important for your business long
term. The really important activities on your Things To Do List are those that
align with your primary business goals.
In prioritizing your list you should also
identify those tasks that are not that important to your business now and
probably will not be significant in the future. In all likelihood these are the
tasks that you will not have time to do anyway. If the tasks are not urgent and not important, you should either put them on the back burner for another day or eliminate them all together. Devoting your resources to insignificant assignments, wastes time. What's worse, is can sap your energy and distract you from the
important and urgent activities.
Instead, focus on those important projects that are essential to growing your business. These key activities will usually demand concentration,
time and planning. In fact, these activities are often so involved that they
require that you set aside a significant part of your day in which you can close
your door and focus on the task without any interruptions or distractions. Your
phone is likely one of your biggest distractions. For that reason, when you
need to concentrate on an important project, hide your phone.
For these complex projects, an effective
practice is to divide them into several, more manageable parts, each with a
separate deadline. By doing this, a major project will seem less overwhelming.
As the saying goes, how did the ant eat the elephant? One bite at a time.
Plan
Your Phone Calls. Sports Agent Mark McCormack, who founded International
Management Group (IMG), said that he tried never to spend more than five
minutes on any phone call. That’s easier said than done. We all know how phone
calls can get out of hand. To make the most use of your time on the phone, plan
your calls in advance. Do this by outlining those points that you want to cover
in the conversation.
Another way to be more efficient on the phone is to make a list of all of the calls that you must make and then make them one after another in one block of time.
Delegate. There are some tasks
that only you can do. But there are many more that you can delegate. As you
review your Things to Do List, decide which tasks that your employees can do.
When you delegate a task, explain to your subordinate what needs to be done,
how you want it done and when it needs to be done.
By delegating activities you will not only
free up your time for what is most important, you will also gradually train
your employees at the same time. Little by little as they learn more about the
business, they will become more valuable and gain more confidence. Eventually, by delegating more and more responsibility they will require less direction.
Use a
Calendar. Use a calendar, such as Outlook or Google Calendar, to plan your
activities and keep you on schedule. Also use the calendar to mark deadlines
for projects.
Be
Punctual. Famed basketball coach John Wooden had three rules for his players. One
was “Never be late.” It is important that we not only make the best use of the
time that God had has given us during our brief stay on earth, but that we
respect the time of others. Early in my career as a salesperson, a manager
impressed upon me that my prospects would judge me on several factors which
included appearance, professional communication skills and punctuality. These
factors will also make an impression on your employees.
Learn to Say "No". "Yes" is so much easier to say than "No". As a result, too often we commit to doing things that distract us from focusing on and achieving those objectives which can make a significant difference in our businesses and our lives. There is a polite way to say no. Repeat after me: "I would love to help you, but I just don't have the time right now."
RELATED ARTICLES
About Jim Hingst: After fourteen years as Business Development Manager at RTape, Jim Hingst retired. He was involved in many facets of the company’s business, including marketing, sales, product development and technical service.
Hingst began his career 42 years ago in the graphic arts field creating and producing advertising and promotional materials for a large test equipment manufacturer. Working for offset printers, large format screen printers, vinyl film manufacturers, and application tape companies, his experience included estimating, production planning, purchasing and production art, as well as sales and marketing. In his capacity as a salesman, Hingst was recognized with numerous sales achievement awards.
Drawing on his experience in production and as graphics installation subcontractor, Hingst provided the industry with practical advice, publishing more than 150 articles for publications, such as Signs Canada, SignCraft, Signs of the Times, Screen Printing, Sign and Digital Graphics and Sign Builder Illustrated. He also posted more than 485 stories on his blog (hingstssignpost.blogspot.com). In 2007 Hingst’s book, Vinyl Sign Techniques, was published. Vinyl Sign Techniques is available at sign supply distributors and at Amazon.
No comments:
Post a Comment