Effective Time Management

By Steve Behunin, Director of Consulting, MAP

As a professional business consulting organization, we see that people don't realize that they have only four basic resources at their disposal -- time, people, money and materials. Time is the most elusive of these resources. We are taught in school reading, math, sciences, physics, and computer technology, but we are never taught effective time management. We should manage our time as precisely as the clocks and watches which indicate the time to us. We all have the same amount of time allocated on a daily basis regardless of our age, social status, education, intelligence or income.

At MAP we practice and share with our workshop participants the Pareto principle. The principle states "concentrate on the vital few and ignore the trivial many."

We must concentrate our actions, on doing the right things in a timely, systematic and efficient manner. This requires discipline, creativity, dedication, concentration, analytical skills, leadership, and communication.

The benefits of time management are legion. Schedules are met. Meetings are more productive. The boss is happy. It reduces stress and brings enthusiasm back to our work. Without a doubt we can increase our lifetime personal income and achieve a high level of professional success when we practice superior time management.

There are numerous time planning and strategy techniques that each of us can utilize. It all begins with good self-management.

MAP’s Top 8 Time Management Strategies are:

1. Schedule daily planning time

2. Plan for crises

3. Manage predictable interruptions

4. Publish your schedule and availability

5. Practice effective delegation techniques

6. Handle it once

7. Require solutions, not problems

8. Conduct efficient meetings or briefings

Self-management requires us to concentrate, consolidate, delegate, and reallocate.

In summary, we must recognize that time is a vital resource. We have to clearly determine what our time problems are, assess our time allocation and analyze those critical discrepancies. We need to set time goals and develop time strategies.