Stress! Work pressure! Overwork! These are some of the very common terms that we hear from people who lack time management in the workplace. To some extent, work pressure is based on factors like working conditions, nature of job and excessive demands of management. But the main reason for increasing level of stress at work is the lack of time management. Generally, we keep on procrastinating tasks till they get accumulated into a big burden, which causes stress. This stress leads to less efficiency and less productivity at work, which further causes more stress, making us feel the pressure all the more. The increased level of stress causes ill effects on the mental health and in many cases, also causes problems in personal life. Wondering how to break-free this cycle of work pressure and stress? Note that the cycle would never have been there in the first place had you incorporated time management in the workplace. Time management not only helps in managing time, but it also helps in prioritizing things in life, which makes our tasks easier. Time management facilitates completion of tasks in time and provides us with extra time for our family. Here are some tips that will help you in managing time in the workplace.
Time Management In The Workplace
Planning Ahead
A person should make plans in order to direct his focus towards the goal and stimulate his brain to perform more efficiently when it comes to doing things. Planning also facilitates in identifying possible conflicts and crisis, hence reducing the chances of "unexpected" hindrances.
Be Organized
One of the very simple and effective ways of time management in workplace is being organized. Start organizing your files, schedules, desk and notes in an orderly way so that you don't waste time looking for things. Spending some time to set up your repetitive procedures and routine work will eventually result in saving lot of time on a daily basis.
Understand Your Responsibility
It is important that you should understand your role and responsibilities in the office. It will help when work is assigned to you. If you are new to the workplace, probably you would not be aware of the things that are needed and expected of you, which can cause delays and as a result, hamper your efficiency. So, it will advisable for you to clarify in order to prevent wastage of time.
Know Your Goals
Not many people know what they are aiming for. So it is recommended that you should know your goals just like you have the awareness of your role. You should know what you want to be and what you are doing otherwise you will end up doing nothing but waste of time. It will be better if you make a list of your major work goals, this way you’ll know how to spend your time on the important things.
Prioritize Things
Another very important thing to keep in mind while managing time in workplace is to prioritize tasks at hand. Many times, you will be asked to complete several tasks simultaneously. Also you could have to face situation where colleagues or clients come in with last minute requests. So, it is advisable to prioritize your work doing urgent work on a priority basis and keeping others in the line.
Delegation
Remember, hard work alone does not pay today. You need to work smartly so that you can complete all the tasks in time. For executing the same, learn to delegate more routine job to people whom you can rely or are efficient enough to take care of the task, without increasing their burden. This would save you some extra time to do what is important. The saved time would also come in handy in situations when you need to deal with interruptions such as emergencies.
Stop Procrastinating
It is a very common for people to procrastinate. There are several causes of procrastination that are required to be addressed. One quick and simple way of time management in the workplace is to complete the task immediately. Stop the habit of over rationalizing and don’t expect to craft a perfect plan. Instead execute a good plan and finish off the tasks immediately.
Get Rid of Time Wasters
One of the very common mistakes with a to-do list is that there is no time allocated for each task. Due to no time allocation to the tasks, often the list becomes a source of stress at the end of the day. People very frequently waste a lot of time on a task that may have required less time than what they have spent to complete. While managing time in the workplace, you should be aware of time robbers such as taking long tea breaks, long smoking breaks, chatting on the phone and surfing the internet. Realize that these ‘luxuries’ have a price tag attached to them.
Learn To Saying No
Inability to say no to tasks that have little impact on the set targets is one of the reasons for people having poor time management in the workplace. People rarely have the ability to politely and firmly say no. It is true that, for enough valid reasons people cannot say no, but frequently saying yes can lead to poor time management at work and more stress.
Let these time management tips help you manage your precious time at work, so that you can live a stress-free and successful life. Best of luck!
