Managing Your  Time - Top Tips

•  Plan ahead – both short term and long term,and be realistic

          about how long things will take!

 

•  Write a to-do list – best done the night before. 

 

•  Prioritise your list – remember your goals or targets.  Try this                            

          system:

 

    1.  Urgent and important  (reactive/firefighting)

    2.  Not urgent, but important (planning  ahead – ideally spend                                

         most  time here)

    3. Urgent, not important (possibly requests from others)

    4. Not urgent and not important (looking busy, procrastinating) 

 

• Use the 4 D’s – do it, diary it, delegate it, or dump it!

 

• Focus, focus, focus – one thing at a time

 

• Don’t procrastinate -  do the thing that’s  bugging  you first!       Otherwise you just 'carry' it around with you. Remind yourself how good it feels to get things done.

 

• Keep calls short and to the point.

 

• Resist checking emails too often - decide frequency and be strict with yourself.  Turn off the 'new email' sound!

 

• Listen carefully. And if you don't understand something, don't    

         waste time worrying - seek clarification!

 

• Know your energy cycles – work with them where you can.

 

• Wasting your time – be aware of your ‘time sappers’

 

• Say ‘I’ll Just..’ (e.g open and name a document/get my bike out of the garage) – it can help you get started.

 

• Don't work long hour as a regular thing. If you have to work late, stay at work rather than turn your home into a workplace.