Time Management in the Workplace

Effective time management in the workplace is typically the key
to controlling costs in small and mid-sized organizations.
Learn about these time management tips.

Links to Other Time and Money Related Pages
Learning Time Management Skills
Small Business Loans
Making Great Changes Happen
Employee Benefits

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Effective Time Management in the Workplace

Man Wasting Time
As "they" say: Time is Money! In business, this simply means that, as time passes by, you and your staff (whether paid salary or hourly), are costing your organization money, regardless if they are achieving a lot or not.

Therefore, implementing good time management activities and using good leadership skills will likely increase productivity and help meet company's
financial goals. Here are some time management tips to consider.


Learning Time Management Skills

Time Manager Clock


Please Note: Learning time management skills and principals help most people to become more productive. Direct knowledge of each person's strengths, values, etc. is also a key consideration.

The organization's culture is also an important factor. Change is often quite difficult to accomplish, so each specific situation - the culture, the type of changes desired, etc. - should be carefully assessed.

• THINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS HOW THEY APPEAR! You see that guy flying the paper airplane? He's goofing off on the job, isn't he, playing one of those time management jokes? Actually, did you know he just won a multi-million dollar contract he's been working diligently on for months? This is how he's celebrating at the moment! (And he's actually the founder and CEO of the organization.)

• WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON? As you begin your time management activities, you should accurately assess work procedures, work flow, who's doing what, etc. Don't take this on alone; get everyone's input so you'll more likely get people's buy-in later.

• DO A TIME STUDY: It's often very informative to account for how you spend your time over a typical period of work time, perhaps a week or two. You will likely learn a lot about what you actually do, how many interruptions you get, etc. You may want to suggest (or require) your staff to do this, too.

• TIME FOR ANALYSIS: You will likely learn a lot by studying the information gathered from the time study sheets. What do you and others actually do? What should be delegated to others? What tasks should be lumped together and done in batches?

• GET BUY-IN AS YOU GO: People want to be given the opportunity to have input on things that affect them. The top-down management approach doesn't work well and will usually backfire in obvious and subtle ways. By giving everyone a variety of ways to think about making things more effective, organizations stand to gain on many fronts.

• MAKE THINGS ENJOYABLE WHENEVER PRACTICAL: Just because it's called "work" doesn't mean it can't be fun, at least some of the time! Remember: "Attitude is just about everything." As your attitude and those around you rise, so will productivity. Time management activities should revolve around this, not working "every minute".

• TIME IS MONEY, BUT... Each person and organization has its own unique qualities and characteristics. The better this is factored in, the more likely productivity will improve.


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