Time management isn’t just about how you manage your time, what you do with those 24 hours in a day to ‘be productive’.
It’s about so much more than your professional or business success and the obvious ‘getting more done’ or being more productive and effective with your time. There are other consequences and significant benefits when you improve your time management skills.
From my experience of working with clients over the years, I’ve seen it time and time again. It’s about …
Reducing your stress
One of the consequences of poor time skills and being overwhelmed with an increasing workload and the demands on your time, is that it increases your stress levels. From your never-ending to-do list to last-minute deadlines. The more you have to do, the more the pressure and overwhelm builds up, the more stressed you
become.
Is that something you've experienced?
By understanding where the stress comes from and what good time habits
look like … for you, implementing strategies that work … for you, the less stressed you are.
The more you’re able to manage the demands on your time and all your different priorities, the better able you are to deal with daily stress without getting overwhelmed.
When you’re less stressed , you’re able to think more positively which enables you to be more productive.
Increasing your confidence
When you have poor time skills, you end up running around, reacting to the latest unrealistic demand on your time. You feel you’re doing a bad job because you’ve missed yet another deadline or your rushing to complete a task because you haven’t been able to plan your time properly.
You let your colleagues down, so you’re constantly on the back-foot feeling you’re not capable of doing a good job. Your poor time management is called out and it affects your personal and professional development. You’re stuck in a rut and the negativity feeds on itself.
However, once you get to grips with a good system to work with, you’re able to meet your deadlines and get things done, which builds your confidence. You have a plan and a process to work with so you know you can and are doing a good job.
You’ll be more reliable and more consistent in your approach to work and your colleagues trust you more.
Improving your communication
When you’re disorganised and in reactive mode, other people don’t know where they are or where you are. There’s no organisation to let you or anyone else know what your priorities are. You lack clarity in both how you spend your time and what you’re meant to be working on.
It’s hard for you to understand how much time you have available and what your commitments are. You’re likely to take on more than you can handle so end up with unrealistic expectations and misunderstandings when commitments are missed or don’t happen.
When you know where you’re spending your time and what your priorities are, you’re able to communicate this more clearly, confidently and effectively.
As well as being able to say ‘no’ with more confidence and authority, you’ll have a greater respect for your time and the
choices you're making. Other people will have a healthier respect for your time when they can see you’re more in control, meeting your commitments and getting things done.
When you improve your time management skills, you’ll
strengthen your professional and personal relationships with your team, colleagues, family and friends.
It has consequences on your work and home life.
Start with the three steps of Plan, Prioritise and Organise. You can find out more on my blog, in the Better Time Habits Group or ...
