Name: Successful Time Management
Rating: 4.5 (316 reviews)
Author: Patrick Forsyth

What’s in it for me? Save time to get ahead.

Are you drowning in a sea of paperwork, never-ending emails, and time-consuming meetings? Is work so hectic and overwhelming that you feel you can never get enough done?

Well, fear not!

This Blink will help you develop a key skill that’s imperative to navigating the modern workplace: the art of time management. Here, you’ll find the tools and techniques you need to be efficient, effective, and focused on what truly matters – no matter your line of work.

So let’s not waste any more time. Jump in, and get ready to unlock your true productivity potential.

Time-saving foundations

If you work in a modern office, you’ll agree that time is precious – and that there never seems to be enough of it.

But ask yourself this: How much time do you actually spend working, and how much time do you spend figuring out what to work on, searching for documents, writing repetitive emails, and so on?

Actually, don’t just ask yourself this. Keep a time log for a week. Record every task you do throughout the day and sort them into plannable time, reactive time, and wasted time. Plannable time is the time you take for your actual work. Reactive time is the time you spend responding to people, fixing tech problems, and putting out other fires. Wasted time is, well, wasted time.

You’ll be shocked how much of your week the latter two take up.

But with the right strategies, this can change.

Time management is an indispensable skill for anyone looking to get ahead in the workplace. Since time management is essentially self-management, what works best for you will depend on your unique situation. But there are a few foundational elements of good time management that apply across the board.

The first element is planning. Before you do anything, figure out how to do it best. The golden rule here is that the time you invest in understanding and organizing a task is time you’ll save doubly when executing it.

You may have heard the acronym “SMART objectives”. Setting SMART objectives means setting objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timed. Such clear-cut goals provide clarity and direction.

The second element of good time-management is proper implementation. The most important strategy here is to break your big tasks into smaller, more manageable subtasks. If you’ve set SMART objectives, this should be relatively easy. Breaking up tasks also allows for easier progress tracking.

Which brings us to the third element: monitoring. Regularly evaluating your results and methods will help you stay on track in the long-term.

The fourth and final element revolves around communication. Clear briefing and efficient reporting can minimize costly misunderstandings and unnecessary back-and-forth with your colleagues.

So, now that you have an overview of the elements of good time management, let’s get into the nitty-gritty.

Minimizing time-wasters

Picture this: You're engrossed in an important task, making progress, when suddenly your phone rings. It’s your boss, so you pick up. When you do, you realize she’s only calling to get your input on where to go for lunch. Yet somehow, the call still takes ten minutes and completely derails your workflow.

This is something everyone can agree on: the only things more frustrating than interruptions are unnecessary interruptions. And whether they mean to be or not, the cause of both is almost always people.

Deciding on priorities

Have you ever noticed that a small percentage of your efforts produces the majority of your results? That's the essence of the 80/20 rule established by Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist. Pareto asserted that roughly 20 percent of causes lead to 80 percent of effects.

Make the right 20 percent of tasks your priority at work, and your productivity should skyrocket.

Key ideas in Successful Time Management

About the Author

Patrick Forsyth is an author with expertise in marketing, sales, and management. In addition to Successful Time Management, he has over 100 other published titles, including How to Write Reports and Proposals and Marketing: A Guide to the Fundamentals. Through these publications, Forsyth has established a reputation as an influential thought leader, imparting valuable insights and practical advice to professionals across various industries.