Surely we’ve all had that feeling that there was too much to do and so little time to do it. If each of us had a nickel for every time we’ve said “I wish I had more time in the day,” we’d probably be a very rich. Each of us is constantly engulfed in all of our day-to-day activities, constantly running from here to there, that it’s a rare opportunity if we get to sit back and ‘smell the roses.’
Time is a very limited resource and we must learn to value it as such. There is a Chinese proverb that says ‘no amount of gold will buy you time that has passed.’
“If you were to ask successful people how they achieved success, most of them would attribute it to proper personal time management,” says Dian Griesel, president of Dian Griesel International and author of the book, Engage. Ever since we were all kids in school, we’ve heard people using the words “learn time management,” but what exactly does that mean? And more importantly, how does time management lead us to success?
Griesel says, “The simplest definition for time management is the ability to use time to its maximum potential. Using YOUR time in the way that YOU want to use it—not others that would love to waste this precious limited commodity.”
Personal time management works like economics. The main objective is to allocate your time, so you can maximize the amount of work you can accomplish within a day. Optimum use of your time means you accomplish more in the least possible time. Proper allocation is critically important, because as well all know; you cannot use the full 24 hours in a day to accomplish all your tasks.
Proper time management allows you to eliminate losses, plan each day effectively, learn to refuse excessive workloads and ensure that your long-term goals are not neglected, according to Griesel.
One of the biggest indicators of poor time management is last minute cramming to meet a deadline or rescheduling meetings because you forgot about them. This leads to poor performance and lack of efficiency. Being able to manage your time well gives you a competitive advantage over your colleagues. If you are hoping to climb the corporate ladder, building trust, and working efficiently will certainly help achieve success. However don’t think these guidelines reserved just for business success; they are good habits to maintain in your daily life.
Inadvertently time management also improves the quality of your work output, which is crucial in the corporate world because every minute wasted translates into money wasted, and no one wants that. To achieve career success it’s imperative to set goals and map them on a timeline.
Feeling stressed? Well, if good for nothing else, time management can highly decrease your stress levels, and that’s worth the price of admission. More often than not over confidence and heavy workloads lead to inefficiency and waste of time. You’re not a superhero, so don’t think you have to do everything. Taking on manageable projects and allotting the appropriate amount of time to complete each one is better than overwhelming yourself with an unpractical capacity. After all, the deadlines will still be there whether you work quickly or slowly.
A pile of work on your desk and backlogged projects puts unnecessary pressure on you. Life is already stressful enough, who wants to add additional anxiety to their plate. I for one don’t.
Like anything else, practice makes perfect. It’s not expected that you change your process overnight, as they say “Rome wasn’t built a day.” It is a long-term process of turning time management skills into every day habits.
The bottom line is that time management will become a factor at some point of your career. Whether you find yourself inundated with work, have a specific timeline, or just have to pick up your kids from school, you’ll need to evaluate how to manage your time properly.