[cposhort_focus color="light" background="#F0F0F0" gradient="" style="shadow"]"People spend too much time finding other people to blame, too much energy finding excuses for not being what they are capable of being, and not enough energy putting themselves on the line, growing out of the past, and getting on with their lives"
~J. Michael Straczynski
[/cposhort_focus]There seems to be countless quotes about TIME, endless ideas about how to find time and save time, delegating and prioritising, what we should do and what we shouldn't do.This is one area of our lives that if we could find a way to gain control of, then we would have an incredible power that few ever find.I am searching for that power, and so far it would seem that the pursuit of finding more time, ironically leads to less time. However, these are some tips that I came across this week that I wanted to share.
[tweet-support class="bobb" text="4 top tips for time management in work https://www.davidtiong.com/4-top-tips-for-time-management-in-work" shortcdtext="Tweet top 4 tips"]
TIP 1: Know your limitsMaybe it's time to think about whether you are biting off more than you can chew. Consider finishing off some of your current priorities, rather than taking on more tasks. If you cannot finish them, then can they be delegated to someone else?TIP 2: Review your progress once a weekWhen we are in the middle of piles of work, when we are being bombarded with new work coming in, when we are constantly trying to meet the targets and keep up, we CANNOT see the bigger picture. So take ONE day out of each week to look over your calendar, your journal, your planners and look to see that what you are spending your time on. Make sure that you are spending your time to actually help you reach your goals. Look for where you are wasting time, look for ways to improve your processes to become more efficient. Look at the bigger picture.TIP 3: Avoid perfectionThis one is my personal weakness. I am not content to let mediocre work pass for perfection. My motto is "If a job is worth doing, it's worth doing right".However time and time again, this ends up causing me to fall behind in my work, as too much attention to detail means that I underestimate timeframes. Then the dilemma arises of what doesn't get done?So consider (I know I will be) what tasks don't need perfection to still pass for quality work. If you can spend a little less time here and there, it will quickly free up valuable time.TIP 4: Rotational TrainingOften we need to learn new skills, or maintain certain skills. Problem is that we are limited in spare time to dedicate towards this. The concept of Rotational Training is that you want to use different sized time allocations for your learning in a rotational way to enhance learning and maintain motivation and enthusiasm. This technique can be applied to areas of development that are not necessarily urgent, but still important.Let's say that you need to work on 3 important skills/tasks over the next 3-4 months, namely A, B and C. Instead of trying to set aside 30 mins per day for each area, you choose 1 area to focus on for the first month (A), and you give that area 1.5 hours. Then you allocate 15 mins for each of the other 2 areas (B and C), for that month.The following month you rotate and give area B focus for 1.5 hours, and then 15 mins for A and C. Then in the 3rd month, area C has the 1.5 hours and A and B are 15 mins each.By switching around the time allocations in this way, you can actually learn new skills up to an intermediate level, much quicker as your interest levels are maintained better.Have you tried these tips before? How did they go? [dtwd-tweet text="share this on Twitter" hashtags="timemanagement"][dtwd-related-posts-sc title="More tips and ideas" count=3]
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