43 Tips On Time Management^©

by Ernest F. Oriente, The Coach

 

Having spent 8,000 hours as business coach, I am often asked by my corporate clients and their executives about the best ideas and systems for time management—the tips that really work!  This article is a collection of the best ideas you can use to improve your time management skills. Remember, there is no such thing as a perfect time management system, but there is a time management system that is perfect for you!

 

Maximizing each day:

§      Begin each day with 15 minutes of silence to focus on the most important goals for each day

§      Think with a pen in your hand.

§      Print a birthday list of important contacts and post this list to your daily planner.

§      Carry a list of frequently used telephone, fax and cellular phone numbers.

§      Master your software systems, learning the five most frequently used skills.

§      With E-mail software, learn how to send a message to large groups in one keystroke.

§      With fax broadcast software, learn how to fax one message to an entire group in one keystroke.

§      Use powerful contact management software such as ACT or Goldmine to keep important information and records at your fingertips.

§      Learn how to synchronize your contact management software with a pocket organizer so your information can follow you wherever you are.

§      Program your cellular phone, your office telephone and your company fax machine with the most commonly needed numbers.

§      Take a speed-reading course to double your reading and learning capacity.

§      Be selective in what you read.

§      Use an accordion file marked A-Z to file or store information alphabetically.

§      Use an accordion file marked 1-31 to file or store information by the day of the month.

§      Replace written notes by using a tape or digital recorder.

§      Instead of in-person meetings which require you to travel from around the country, use teleconference calls to maintain regular communication.

§      When leading a meeting, begin and end on time.

§      Accumulate telephone calls and/or voice messages and return them during a designated time each day.

§      Be certain your verbal and written communication is clear so each project, task or request can be done correctly the first time.

§      Groom and grow those you lead so they can handle projects and tasks with increased productivity.

§      Move the decision-making process to the lowest level within your company/organization and tie compensation to these decisions.

§      With those on your team, ask them to bring you multiple solutions to any problems they want you to help them with.

§      Ask yourself, “what am I doing right now that doesn’t need to be done by me?”

§      Ask yourself, “am I doing genius work today, the kind of work that only I can do…the kind of work that delivers maximum revenue and profits?”

§      Master your delegation skills.

§      Create a training system for new employees that allows error-free learning and anticipates their questions or obstacles.

§      Run your meetings standing up, which means they will be shorter in length.

§      Double your meeting preparation and cut the actual meeting time in half.

§      Use a carefully planned meeting agenda and be selective in who participates.

§      Prioritize the papers in your office by “ABC” stacks.

§      Clean your desk and work area at the end of each day.

§      Remove everything from your desk accept the information you are currently working on.

§      Handle every piece of paper, every E-mail, every fax page…only once.

§      Master the system of the four-D’s… Do it, Delegate it, Decide or Dump it.

§      Learn to say “no” when a request is not vital and say “no” often.

§      Use temporary employment services if you are short-staffed or are working on a large project that needs to be completed in a short period of time.

§      Hire a personal assistant to take care of personal projects or errands that need to be done while you are working.

§      Shift your most important projects/tasks to the time in the day when you have peak energy.

§      Set a deadline for every task.

§      Discard your to-do list and place every project/task in your daily planner as a scheduled appointment.

§      When working on a large project or task, start with the big steps first and use this momentum to quickly finish the smaller steps.

§      Go to bed early and wake-up early, seven days a week because your body loves a consistent schedule.

§      Establish a regular exercise program as a healthy body makes for a healthy mind and increase time efficiencies.

§      Move your home closer to work or work closer to home to reduce your commuting time.

§      Simplify everything in your professional and personal life…less is more!

 

It’s true, the list above is huge and can be overwhelming.  As a first step, try to weave one or two of these ideas into each day.  Remember, it takes 21 days to develop a new idea into a habit.  Next, try to assimilate a few more ideas from this list and then begin to create your own best ideas.  Lastly, share this article with others because when they incorporate these time management ideas, everyone benefits.