Jahnvi has embarked on her journey to discover different aspects of being a first-time manager and so far she has been able to understand the requisites of becoming a first-time manager, her values, locus of control, setting goals, and achieving them, her learnings from The Strangest Secret, how to handle the missed goals, an overview of feedback, the gateway to discovering the blind spot, frameworks of feedback, the concepts of feedforward, the overview of the interpersonal skills, the techniques to enhance interpersonal skills, better team management using people reading guide, and techniques to effectively manage a team.
Jahnvi noticed that she was mostly juggling between upskilling herself and managing her people. She started having a lot on her plate and she had no idea how the entire day’s time shrunk into half for her. She started being overwhelmed with the laundry list of tasks and to-dos and it was the beginning of panic attacks for her. She was feeling like each morning she was wrangling a bear – and that bear was her mind.
She knew that it wasn’t easy, however, she didn’t imagine that it would become a bane to her day-to-day working pattern. She thought, “This has to stop before it gets too late.” She had to find some way to manage her time because if she doesn’t do that for herself, being the captain of her ship would take down her entire team with her. She had to understand the blocks her brain puts up during working hours to create a plan of attack.
Then she started thinking, everyone gets the same 24 hours, so why do some people achieve more with their time than others? When she looked up to get some answers, it was good time management.
It is when she started deep diving into the topic to start working smarter than hard.
What Is Time Management?
It is not enough to be busy, the question is: What are we busy about?
– Henry David Thoreau
The capacity to use your time wisely and efficiently is referred to as time management. It is a way of making time to do what needs to be done without a hustle. It appears simple, however, it is considerably more difficult in practice.
Time management is a valuable skill that enables managers to get the most out of their day, and meet the demands of their positions. It can help managers to prioritize tasks, be more productive, and stay organized. By mastering time management, managers can increase their efficiency and become better leaders. When it comes to time management, there are three key concepts to keep in mind: planning, prioritizing, and scheduling.
- Planning involves setting goals and objectives and creating a plan of action to achieve them.
- Prioritizing means deciding which tasks are most important and should be completed first.
- Scheduling involves making sure that tasks are completed on time, and that the right amount of time is allocated for each task.
Jahnvi realized if she organizes and plans to divide her time between different activities then it will be a lot easier for her to keep track of her time and be able to finish her work on time. She thinks if she gets it right, then she can work smartly and get more work done in less time when time is tight and pressures are high.
Then Jahnvi looked into some of the successful people and how they utilize their day to the fullest, some are up at the crack of the day while others incorporate both *important and *urgent matters in their work schedule.
- Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, wakes up at 5 a.m.
- Anna Wintour, the Vogue editor, gets up at 5:45 a.m. to play tennis before heading to the workplace.
- And before heading to the studio, Oprah gets up at 6 a.m. to meditate and run on the treadmill.
- Rob Rawson, CEO of TimeManagement.com, concentrates on his most important chores first thing in the morning before being distracted by email and other trivial tasks. Breaking goals down into chunks makes it easier to make progress toward them.
It was clear to Jahnvi that she has to form some building habits to move ahead in her journey as a first-time manager. As she quotes a business philosopher,
Success is nothing more than just a few simple disciplines practiced every day. I believe that discipline is a learned behavior — it comes through constant repetition of the habits that YOU choose to form.
– Jim Rohn
* Urgent refers to a task that requires quick attention. These are the tasks that demand immediate attention. Urgent duties cause us to be reactive, with a defensive, negative, rushed, and narrowly focused perspective.
* Important tasks are those that help us achieve our long-term mission, objectives, and goals. Important duties are occasionally urgent, but they are not always. When we concentrate on critical tasks, we are in a responsive state, which allows us to remain calm, sensible, and open to new opportunities.
All this information compelled Jahnvi to look into the benefits of time management and what she can get out of it. So she moved to the next step in her journey.
What Are The Payoffs Of Time Management?
Good time management enables you to achieve bigger goals in less time, resulting in improved focus, increased productivity, reduced stress, and more time to spend with the people who matter most to you.
Time management, according to research findings, boosts productivity and helps achieve targeted outcomes more efficiently. Furthermore, it enhances health and assists individuals in living more balanced lives. These outcomes are well worth pursuing:
- Adequate time management is connected with higher team performance in demanding and deadline-oriented industries such as event organization. It enables employees to stick to timetables and complete work obligations within a set time range.
- A well-developed sense of time control aids in reducing the psychological strain experienced when attempting to meet both career and family-related responsibilities.
- Individuals who grasp time management techniques begin to spend more hours on high-priority work, resulting in an improvement in personal productivity and pleasure.
- Regular and precise time tracking can eliminate billable time leaks and boost business revenues by up to 61%. (Time Is Money).
Here are the notable benefits of time management:
Better work-life balance
There will be a better chance to enhance your productivity at work and give time to the people who matter in your life by establishing a better work-life balance. It ensures a healthy balance between your career and personal life. Working long hours at work puts you in danger of burnout and exhaustion.
Understanding the value of time is an important benefit of successful time management. You gain clarity on how to attain your goals in less time at work while still having time for the people that matter at home.
Enhanced focus
Greater focus enables you to seize larger possibilities. It also allows you to devote more time to the initiatives, ambitions, and people that are important to you. Time management is essential for achieving increased focus and prioritization. Once you set to effectively manage your time, it automatically boosts your attention and gives you the opportunity to have better control of your day.
Effective time management does not mean you have to add tasks to your to-do or work extra shifts. Instead, it makes you work smarter, not harder. When you manage your time, you may devote more time to your most productive tasks. It enhances optimism in your behavior. It ascertains that you invest more time in the tasks that will anchor your path toward your goals.
Boosts productivity
Effective time management clarifies your goals and prioritizes your most important tasks. It will increase the bandwidth of time at hand to gain better and more efficient results. You can plan your day ahead of time and enhance your performance.
Daily planning boosts productivity. Planning your time is a crucial element to boost time management as it boosts efficiency and effectiveness. Set your daily priorities by identifying them on the scale of important and urgent and investing the most effective time in them.
Intensifies energy
The most significant payoff of time management is that it uplifts energy and motivates you to work. When you work longer and harder, your energy levels may plummet and you may feel exhausted all of the time. Good time management skills assist you in controlling your energy and productivity levels. The more you are energized, the more it helps you to concentrate on the work at hand.
When you have more energy, you can stay focused and productive for longer periods of time. When one’s energy levels fall, it’s simpler to become overwhelmed and begin postponing. Excellent time managers plan their days and take frequent breaks throughout the day. Keep your energy levels high to boost productivity when managing your time.
Time to think
Investing your time in planning your schedule allows you to achieve your top priorities. You will have more time to focus on attaining your goals if you have more time to strategize. Poor time management implies you don’t have time to work on your most important goals. Identifying your steps moving forward is as important as taking the action.
A good time management system ensures that you have time for strategic and creative planning. Resultantly, you utilize your time to be more productive and focused.
Take action. Write down three things you were glad about and three things you were irritated about at the conclusion of each day. Find ways to do more of what makes you happy and eliminate the frustrating things from your work schedule.
Jahnvi found that the advantages of time management include increased clarity, capability, and confidence. When she learns how to make the most of her time, she will become more focused and productive. Good time management will allow her to do more, eliminate procrastination, and boost productivity. It will minimize overwhelm and allow her to prioritize, allowing her to work smarter and reach her goals more quickly.
As she delves into the depths of time management, she has covered the “what” and “why” part of time management, the next she will bring the “how” part into the light, the techniques and models to manage time dexterously.
https://www.actitime.com/time-management-guide/importance-of-time-management
https://lucemiconsulting.co.uk/benefits-of-time-management/
https://drnikoleta.com/podcast/md-minute-how-high-achievers-plan-their-day/
https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ps/time-management.html
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Written By: Jimmy Jain
Edited By: Afreen Fatima
Society of Design Thinking Professionals
