Growing up I loved Wonder Woman. She was multi-faceted, an athlete, acrobat, fighter and she was smart. I wanted to be her because she could do it all. Little did I know, she could only do it all due to her impeccable time management skills!!!
Ok, this blog isn’t really about Wonder Woman, it’s about Time Management! But let’s be real, without time management Wonder Woman wouldn’t have been an effective super hero!
Like any work environment, mine is chaotic at times and without any time management skills I would be lost and flustered. It’s all about creating an environment conducive to effectiveness, setting priorities and carrying out activity around those priorities. This will ensure that deadlines are met and goals achieved.
With that said, I introduce the first time management tip in our Time Management Series.
Tip #1:
CLEAR OFF YOUR DESK!
- ‘Paper talk’ alone can cost you at least an hour a day in looking for things and creating constant distractions.
- Many people have developed the habit of their office space becoming a giant ‘to-do’ list; papers; ‘someday’ stacks; files; letters; in-trays; phone messages, etc. lying around all screaming ‘LOOK AT ME’, ‘DEAL WITH ME’. Here are some useful hints for silencing the ‘paper talk’:
- Put any in/out trays in a drawer or behind you or far off to the side of your desk space but not in your immediate working area.
- Make your in-tray a real IN-tray, not a miscellaneous file.
- Use your out-tray as much as possible to minimize interruptions of whatever you’re working on… and I mean if you need to take something to someone but do not have time to do so right then, put in your out tray so that until you can, it is out of your way. ☺
If you feel you need to get a good handle on your desk area, set aside some time to clean it up. Book yourself a half hour using your Outlook and keep booking it every day until you’re done.
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