Stand up to time wasters for effective time management

There are two main categories that time wasters or time bandits can fall into. The first category is self-generated internal time. There are two main categories that time wasters or time bandits can fall into. The first category is self-generated internal time wasters. These are the things you do yourself to waste time and they are the easiest to control. The second category is external time wasters. These are the things other people do to waste their time. This can be more difficult to control, although it can be controlled with a little effort and ingenuity.

Let’s look at self-generated internal time wasters and some possible solutions:

1) Lack of planning and priorities. Many people never achieve anything because they don’t know where to start or how to proceed once they have started. It is important that you keep a weekly schedule. List your priorities in order of importance. If necessary, discuss the priorities with your boss or coworkers. Make a schedule that starts at the beginning of each week and incorporate all of your priorities into the schedule with goals for the end dates. List each hour and what you should be working on during that hour. Tight scheduling so there isn’t a lot of time between projects. Too much time between projects is wasted time.

2) Disorganization. Disorganized people spend too much time searching for lost items. Keep your office perfectly organized and orderly. If you can’t do it yourself, recruit a friend or hire someone to help you.

3) Procrastination. This is a huge waste of time. Set a deadline for those projects you don’t want to do. Plan a reward for yourself when you are done. Work on the project in small chunks until it is complete. Sometimes it helps to work on it first thing in the morning to get it out of the way.

The second category of time wasters are external time wasters. These are not so easy to control as they involve external factors. Here are some solutions to help control or at least keep them to a minimum:

1) Visitors. If you get a lot of visitors in your work area, this could be a huge waste of time for you. The solution is to move your desk so that your back is to the door. This will make it appear less accessible. When someone stops to speak, get up. This will send the message that you don’t have time to chat. If all else fails, be honest. Thank them for stopping by, but tactfully let them know that you need to get back to work.

2) Phone calls. Filter your phone calls. Let voicemail answer your calls during the day when you’re busy. Schedule a time during each day when you will return calls and inform your customers when that time will be. Keep your responses short and direct and end the conversation politely when you have achieved your purpose. With a little practice, it can be nice and still have a short conversation.

3) Mail. It can flood your desktop and take over before you can. Schedule time each day to check your mail. Set a rule to handle each piece of mail only once. Dispose of junk mail immediately, file “information only” mail in a mailbox to be read later, and reply to others by phone or fax. Faxing a response is a great idea because the response is immediate and takes very little time.

4) Email. Clean your email box daily and do not use your business email address for personal use.

With these solutions, you will increase your productivity and decrease your stress level at work. The best part is that you can say goodbye to the time bandits forever! These are the things you do yourself to waste time and they are the easiest to control. The second category is external time wasters. These are the things other people do to waste their time. This can be more difficult to control, although it can be controlled with a little effort and ingenuity.

Let’s look at self-generated internal time wasters and some possible solutions:

1) Lack of planning and priorities. Many people never achieve anything because they don’t know where to start or how to proceed once they have started. It is important that you keep a weekly schedule. List your priorities in order of importance. If necessary, discuss the priorities with your boss or coworkers. Make a schedule that starts at the beginning of each week and incorporate all of your priorities into the schedule with goals for the end dates. List each hour and what you should be working on during that hour. Tight scheduling so there isn’t a lot of time between projects. Too much time between projects is wasted time.

2) Disorganization. Disorganized people spend too much time searching for lost items. Keep your office perfectly organized and orderly. If you can’t do it yourself, recruit a friend or hire someone to help you.

3) Procrastination. This is a huge waste of time. Set a deadline for those projects you don’t want to do. Plan a reward for yourself when you are done. Work on the project in small chunks until it is complete. Sometimes it helps to work on it first thing in the morning to get it out of the way.

The second category of time wasters are external time wasters. These are not so easy to control as they involve external factors. Here are some solutions to help control or at least keep them to a minimum:

1) Visitors. If you get a lot of visitors in your work area, this could be a huge waste of time for you. The solution is to move your desk so that your back is to the door. This will make it appear less accessible. When someone stops to speak, get up. This will send the message that you don’t have time to chat. If all else fails, be honest. Thank them for stopping by, but tactfully let them know that you need to get back to work.

2) Phone calls. Filter your phone calls. Let voicemail answer your calls during the day when you’re busy. Schedule a time during each day when you will return calls and inform your customers when that time will be. Keep your responses short and direct and end the conversation politely when you have achieved your purpose. With a little practice, it can be nice and still have a short conversation.

3) Mail. It can flood your desktop and take over before you can. Schedule time each day to check your mail. Set a rule to handle each piece of mail only once. Dispose of junk mail immediately, file “information only” mail in a mailbox to be read later, and reply to others by phone or fax. Faxing a response is a great idea because the response is immediate and takes very little time.

4) Email. Clean your email box daily and do not use your business email address for personal use.

With these solutions, you will increase your productivity and decrease your stress level at work. The best part is that you can say goodbye to the time bandits forever!