Time Management Tips and Tricks for Business Managers

Time management is often the hardest part of any manager’s job. With a managerial position comes a good deal of responsibility. We often tend to focus only on the good sides of being a manager such as a bigger salary and a greater sense of freedom. However, the “dirtier” part of the job is often left unseen. If you are a manager, then you’re aware of how much your company depends on your skills. You are expected to be in charge of the business as well as the workers.

What’s more, you are supposed to set the rules and abide by them, to be the first among equals. And while the occasional mishaps of your employees can be tolerated, your mistakes are not likely to be so easily forgiven. Luckily, almost any mistake is preventable. And a crucial factor for avoiding them is proper time management.

Managers are wasting our time

According to the Wall Street Journal, employees waste up to 40% of their time at work due to improper management. Most of those problems can come down to miscommunication, tells a study done by Stanford University professors Robert Sutton and Huggy Rao.

Among the most common time-consuming mistakes, managers make are assigning a time-consuming task, making offhand comments, and refusing to delegate. Be sure not to do these things and save precious time for your employees.

Time management 101

If you’ve realized your time management skills need some improvement, fasten your seatbelt! In this article, we’re going to give you efficient tips for upgrading your time management skills. Read on!

The first thing worth considering would be to prioritize tasks. And you cannot do that without having a clear picture of what should be done. Put your functions into order by making a list and start being more efficient! By creating a list, you will know which tasks you should put more time and effort into, and what are ones will be easier to finish. When you finished writing them down, you will quickly determine which one should be done first. That way you will save much-needed time and will be one step closer to excelling in time management.

Think ahead if you want to boost your time management skills

We bet you know the saying “think before you act”.  The same goes for work. Before you start your workday think about all the things, you need to finish that day. Among many important tasks, you will find some that were not that urgent, yet they are time-consuming. Cross them and do them once your schedule is cleared. Seems logical?

Another tip to raise the bar on your time management skills

… is to make the most out of the time management apps. C’mon, it’s the 21st century, and if you’re still unaware of amazing time management tools such as Asana and Trello, you better start googling it now. Online gadgets made our lives so much easier! Often very simple to use, time management apps are helping us get the job done most efficiently!

Start delegating

Some managers often end up losing their time on the tasks somebody else could have done. It would be easier if you could do everything by yourself. However, this is far from happening even if you’re the best worker in your company. That’s why delegating is the golden rule for any manager out there. You need to trust your employees and let them have a sneak peek into your workload. By delegating, you are actually bonding with your workers which will result in their greater engagement and a rise in productivity.

Keep your focus spotless

There are days when you’re able to finish some demanding tasks in no time. However, on the other hand, there are days when your concentration is not strong enough, and you end up doing them longer than expected.

We would lie if we told you days like this are far from ordinary. However, they are preventable. What you need to do is to work on your focus, and there are plenty of ways to do it. To maintain your attention throughout the day, you should try taking regular breaks from work. Even if this might seem like you will spend more time not working, you will be far more productive than if you sat at the work table for the whole day. Just try it and give us feedback!

Quit multitasking

Even though multitasking is a desirable skill in the modern time workplace, it actually kills productivity. The key to proper time management is to stop multitasking altogether and focus on one task at a time. By doing this, you will be able to concentrate better and actually finish faster than you usually would.

Learn how to say no

Let’s face it – you simply cannot be at all the places at once. If you are a manager, you are still a human with all the straights and weaknesses. Learning how to say “no” in the workplace, as well as in private life, can do so much for you! By choosing to do what’s really important and learning how to say “no” too time-consuming tasks and calls you need to do you will be on top of the game in no time!

Make your meetings action-focused

We’re all aware of the fact we lose much of our precious time in meetings. And we can barely find the thing that’s more frustrating than an unproductive meeting. If you are a manager, you’re privileged to be the one who will say goodbye to the tedious, time-consuming, and unproductive meetings. To do this, make sure everything you say has its purpose.

Make sure you’ve made the agenda for your meeting and had it sent via email. By doing this, you will let everyone know what should they expect in the meeting and prepare themselves for it properly.

This might sound silly…

… but it’s actually backed up by one study from various Universities. These studies prove the fact that keeping a gratitude journal can make you more productive. The one from Harvard University indicates gratitude improves health and strengthens relationships, and the one from Berkeley says that keeping a gratitude journal prevents illnesses and makes you sleep better. There are a whole lot more positive effects that keeping a gratitude journal has on us. All of them are leading us to excel in what we do in our work by making us more productive. Can you tell us what you are thankful for?

Workout!

This might sound like a cliché, but it actually does the job. You’ve undoubtedly already read some articles about the routine of famous entrepreneurs or successful people in general. Most of the time, what they do regularly sounds uncannily familiar.  What is most common is that most of them work out. Regular exercise makes them more alert and gives them time to plan ahead for their day. So, if you’re not exercising, better renew your gym membership! There’s no reason why you shouldn’t be healthier and more productive at the same expense.

The key to proper time management hides in the right amount of sleep

No matter how busy your day is or how many things you need to finish, having a good night of sleep should be at top of your priorities.  By sleeping well, you will ensure your focus remains the same throughout the day. And we’ve already discussed how focus can improve your productivity. Knowing your priorities and a good night’s sleep are undoubtedly among the most important ones.

Without further ado…

Being a manager is not an easy task, and if you are among them, you already know it. You are expected to raise the bar when it comes to almost everything happening at work, and you need to serve as an example for all your employees. That’s why you should do your best to keep your spirits high at the office and proper time management is one of the things which will help you excel. Follow our time management tips and never lose the battle with time.

Ana Mladenovic

A cat enthusiast and a cupcake maniac, Ana is a freelance Content Writer passionate about HR, productivity, and team management topics. When she’s not at her keyboard, you can find Ana in the kitchen, trying to make delicious cookies.