Time management is a vital part of everyday work life. From the barista opening the store on time to the accountant making sure his monthly presentation doesn’t overrun. Time management is what keeps your business on track and moving smoothly.
When you have been part of a business for many years, time management can sometimes slip down your list of everyday work priorities. You become so attuned to how your office runs and the comings and goings of everyone in it that you end up in a groove of habitual movements that become muscle memory.
This may seem as though it is not important, but even the smallest slip in timekeeping can snowball and snowball until you end up having a serious effect on your company.
When you first started in your job role, a schedule was probably a useful tool that you stuck to. It could have manifested itself as a daily to-do list, or perhaps you had an app with reminders that kept you in line. Just because you are now experienced in your office doesn’t mean that you are working to your optimal productivity. Just as companies apply configuration management tools to manage the technological side of the business, so should you apply a time management tool to manage your element of the business and ensure that your timekeeping is at the highest level it can be.
Here are a few reasons as to why a time management schedule should be an essential staple of your office:
- Achieve your goals
Without a schedule, your goals can often seem like floating ideas that will appear sometime in the future but are always just a little out of your reach. If you schedule your time towards your goals suddenly, they become a lot more tangible and achievable. Make sure that you pace yourself and consider every step, there is no point in planning your goals on an unrealistic schedule. Take each part of a task one at a time, and see your goals become a reality.
- Keep everyone informed
Staying on the same page on a busy project can be an almighty task. Scheduling time where specific elements of the project can be worked on and discussed will help a large team to come together and understand what exactly has been done and what still needs to be completed. You may still have some employees that go rogue and steam ahead where they shouldn’t, but the schedule will help to hold them accountable for their actions within the team.
- Prepare for the unexpected
Unexpected problems arise in every element of every business sector around the world. You might be let down by a supplier, or you might have a team member take sick leave. Either way, if you schedule your time properly, these problems can be handled without taking time away from what you have been working on. Identify the possible risks that might occur and make backup plans. If you a prepared for the eventualities, then the problems that pop up will seem minor and easy to tackle.
- Save your pennies
There is nothing easy about implementing a budget, especially when you do not know the timescale or the enormity of the venture you budget is for. Scheduling can give you the foresight to see when and where the budget should be spent and even who should be doing the spending. Going over budget is so easy to do and difficult to come back from.
Some numerous apps and websites can help you schedule your time effectively, or if you prefer a visual reminder, write a to-do list or invest in a wall planner. Time management is not just a skill you write on your resume. It should be a skill that you benefit from daily, both at home and in the workplace.
