What does Bill Gates, Jack Maa, Mark Zuckerberg, Jan Koum and we all have in common? Think and you won’t be able to guess. This is the thing that we use daily and waste daily. Think hard and think fast.
Did you get it?
NO!
OK, fine. Because this thing we use is very limited but we don’t use it wisely. And most importantly, we don’t think it is that precious.
Those who know its worth and manage it well go places, and those who don’t get displaced.
Now, you got it right. IT IS CALLED TIME MANAGEMENT.
All the persons named above have the same 24 hours in a day that we all fewer mortals have. The difference between them and us is how we use our 24 hours. And that is where TIME MANAGEMENT comes. They use their time for the most effective use. Now, what is TIME MANAGEMENT? It is the process of optimal utilization of time in productive work while cutting down on the time spent on the unproductive work. And now the question is how does one differentiate between Productive and unproductive work. Now, there is not any concrete definition of productive and unproductive work. What may be productive for one may be unproductive for the other? Thus a person has to decide upon himself as to what is productive for him and what is not. But on the experience of all the successful persons following are the TIME MANAGEMENT SKILLS found common to majority of them:
- ORGANIZING. Those all people who are successful and believe in time management generally startup with organizing things. Whatever they are currently doing and plans to do in the future, first organize all the details, before they are ready for the action. They organize their task to the minutest possible details, and don’t leave anything to chance.
- Setting Priority. All the time management advocates are champions in setting priorities. They know very well what things to take up first and what to leave for later. So, once you have set your priorities right, everything falls in order.
- Setting Goals. Once your priorities are set, the next step in time management is setting up goals, i.e, which task to be completed by what time, and completed the project within the decided time frame.
- Communicating the goals. Merely setting the goals is not enough for time management to be successful. For time management to be successful, goals need to be communicated to all the concerned persons/departments and made sure they understand it in letter and spirit.
- Planning. When the goals are communicated, it is also to be planned. And a roadmap to reach your goals has to be laid. Well, planned things work out better and help in efficient utilization of time.
- Delegation. One of the fundamental rules of management is to don’t do it yourself what you can delegate. Hence try to give small and unimportant tasks to your subordinates to have more time for yourself. And slowly and steadily try making leaders in your team who can take over your role while you focus on strategically important tasks.
80/20 RULE OF TIME MANAGEMEMT
Also referred to as the Pareto Principle in Time Management states that 80 % of your results are the outcome of only 20% of your efforts. That means whatever you do, only 20 percent of that ends up in giving 80% of your results. So, you should make the minimum effort for maximum output. The 80/20 rule is named after the Italian economist, Vilfredo Pareto who discovered it. He noticed that 80% of our efforts results in 20% of the output. And this is true in all cases in human life. It says that 80% of your sales will be taken by 20% of your customers. So, you should focus on these customers to retain maximum benefits with minimum efforts. And also the top 20% of your sales will account for 80% of your sales. So, here also, you should focus on these 20% to grow your sales.
TIME MANAGEMENT IS FOR EVERYONE.
There is a misconception about Time Management is that it is for only for privileged few. Those who are running big companies, those who are toppers in class, those who are champions in their fields, etc. etc., meaning only the elite ones are doing time management. But what people don’t understand is that these people have reached their current position only after cutting down on their unproductive activities and managing their time well. When you set your Goals, TIME MANAGEMENT is the most crucial factor in determining whether you will reach your goals or not.
TIME MANAGEMENT DURING LOCKDOWN
When the whole world is in a lockdown position because of Coronavirus, and nothing much to do, people are just lazing around and passing away their time, and that is the most dangerous thing to do. Because today or tomorrow, you are going to join your professional duties, and will you be able to do justice to your job with your rusted Mind and body, which you have not used during the lockdown. Looking forward, and thinking about the future, you need to take control of your life during this lockdown. You have to keep your life’s routine as if it is a normal day. If you are in your office by 9 AM, you should be ready by 9 AM and then start your day. Taking bath every day during this lockdown period is the first step towards keeping you fit and manage time during this lockdown period. It has been seen that people don’t bath for 2-3 days at a stretch, and they should know that they are doing a great disservice to themselves and those around them. Try finding it yourself your attitude and self-confidence the day when you have taken a bath and when you have not. Personal hygiene is the first step towards health and fitness and a very big step towards TIME MANAGEMENT, and often the most neglected one.
And second, because of the social media so powerful these days, and you can’t ignore it, sometimes we tend to overdo and abuse it. Busy on your mobiles and laptops the whole day long is just wasting your time. Do a sincere audit of your activities the whole day and you will see how much time you can save and spend it on productive activities. Checking emails, replying to them, checking social media accounts have become a necessity in today’s world.But you need not be busy with it the whole day. Checking them once or twice a day can do the job. And see how much time you save by following this small step. So, what do we learn from here? Cutting down on unproductive activities can be a first and the most important step in managing time.And how do you differentiate between productive and unproductive activities? It is basically an individual’s call. What may be productive for one may be unproductive for another and vice versa?
Amazon has got many good Time management books on its platform, and I recommend reading at least one book a month. Books can be had from the following link.