Time Management Tips

It is no secret that business managers are extremely busy. Often, managers are left feeling overworked and overwhelmed, and that can be after only just the first day of the week. As a manager, it is important to find ways to simplify the management of your office, yet continue to remain in-the-know. In doing so, you will not feel that you must spend your day micro-managing every detail of the office and can go about business without worrying about whether the office will run or not.

For example, if you find that you are spending much of your time chasing down late employees, or tracking employee breaks, invest in an employee time clock. This way, you have hard data to refer to and you are not taking time out of your schedule to ensure it is collected. Look for other ways to free up your time.

Begin with some “spring-cleaning” at the office. Consider the time at your office fitting into the three categories of thoughts, conversations and actions. These are the areas that your work is made up of. Being that you will be unable to do away with interruptions throughout your workday, you will need to make a conscious decision as to how much time you will allow yourself to spend on each type of interruption. Decide how much each category contributes to your overall success and budget time accordingly.

After this step, attempt to make your average day more productive. Utilize the following tips to become more in control of your own time. Track all of your thoughts, conversations and actions by carrying around a schedule for one week’s time. This way you will be able to see where your time is going on paper.

Evaluate the amount of time that is directly spent on attaining results and how much of your time has been wasted on things which are nonproductive to the business. From here, assess your data. Assign a time in your schedule for any conversation or activity that affects your success.

Appointment books work much better than “To-Do” lists. Allow regular time for high-priority actions, thoughts and conversations by scheduling them in, even if this means that you are scheduling time with yourself.

Plan time to attend to interruptions. As a manager, there is just no way to avoid interruptions. For example, this time could be called “office hours”. This is a time where people know they can come to you. Plan your time daily. Make a ritual of doing so in the first thirty minutes of each day.

At Time Clocks & More, we carry several budget-friendly and quality employee time clocks or tracking systems that will fit your business’s needs. Visit today!