In present circumstances of life, with its pace, it is sometimes hard to match the rhythm and pace to make all planned, but we often lack time even for simple planning. What to do?

What is time management?

Time management is a desire to make one’s life more efficient, balanced and harmonious at the expense of understanding and use of laws, administration and application of knowledge about human psychology. We can manage ourselves in a stream of time, and move toward achieving our goals, not where the river of life carries us to. There are special techniques, exercises, training, opportunity to ask questions and receive answers to them.

If there is no purpose in life, time saving loses its meaning. And it relates to both individuals and organizations. Times when an approach to live one day and not think about future passed away. More and more people are studying time-management to achieve their personal and professional goals.

It’s not a secret that many «burn» on work. How to manage coming home in good shape after a working day, and reach more and more success in business?

Peculators of time

Who steals our time, if we are always short of it? Let’s try to group:

- Communication. These are, above all, conversations that could not be led or could be faster and better. This balance is very important: to maintain warm relations in a team and at the same time not allow ourselves to fulfill other people’s responsibilities, solve problems that do not pertain to the case or may be removed by others, etc. Learn how to talk to people so they feel with you well, but respect valuable work time. It is even better to make a daily schedule and find 2-3 hours in the most productive period for you - for cases that require concentration, which you are accustomed to defer to the evening. It is important that you have had an opportunity to limit «break-ups» on minor occasions.

- Objects and space. Space and objects in an office also influence extent to which time is used. Draw a route of their movement in the workplace in your mind. Think about how you can reduce it.

- Information. Alas, information flows in our age are increasing day by day. On the one hand, new programs and technologies increase our efficiency, but on the other - they form the effect of «sand pit», when clearing the place and time for work, we immediately appear under the avalanche of information falling on us. Create your own algorithms to use time most productively. Write them down and give your employees.

- Thoughts and emotions. Most people, even those who have serious posts, learn to cope with small things not at once. The secret is simple: «photograph» things you are accustomed to worry about. Sometimes, one short call will save you up to several hours, because you will not think about what you can not influence.

- Lack of plan. Imagine that you need to arrange a delivery. How many deliveries can one driver perform? Three? Four? This is what is «time saving by planning». Similarly, the plan helps to avoid a “domino effect”.

- Wrong strategy. When instead of typewriters they began to introduce personal computers, at first this «novelty» was met with desperate resistance. Now we understand how they differ in their abilities, and printing machines, if found in offices, are then used only for some minor operations. Think may be it’s time to use some modern technologies, even if you do not like it and think it’s not urgent? For example, a recorder may greatly facilitate issue of minutes or allow a head dictating a task for assistant directly into machine and then send it by e-mail, what is much easier than writing it.

- Collective action. New means of communication, including teleconferencing system, can help us to improve business processes. Many companies have been meeting in an environment where members are located in different regions. Careful preparation for the event and its correct organization will ensure the achievement of the goal, and time savings, that can be expressed in monetary terms, taking into account the number of those present at the meeting and hourly pay.

- Level of competence. Alas, the farther is the progress, the more and more often heads have to train staff and learn themselves.

- The human factor. The most difficult element in this whole system - the very person the way he works. Sometimes we are so busy that do not notice that we operate inefficiently. To understand how to work well and what could be improved, it is recommended to carry out timing at least one day, with greater objectivity, if possible, ask another person to write down everything that you do during a day .

Here we reveal «peculators» of our time - had tea, smoke, chatted with colleagues.

What to do and who is to blame?

These traditional questions come to our heads from time to time.

1.           Do not try to blame yourself of lack of will power, etc. There are very strong people, but definitely will power cannot save from wrong organization or excessive fatigue.

2.            Think about your biorhythms. Just notice in a few days, what time you’re able to do more, and why. Often this is due to the opportunity to quietly concentrate on a particular problem, when no one is distracted.

3.            «If you want to do it good - do it yourself». This slogan killed a lot of heads. Delegation - a fine science, and the faster and better you learn it, the better your prospects are. Just count on what and how much you spend time, not only at work, but also in all other situations. Now calculate an hourly pay of an officer you «change», such as courier or PC operator.

4.            Learn how to refuse. Many people in some situations simply can not refuse. Imagine that you threw a boomerang. What happens after a while? True, it will return to you. When you stop feeling embarrassed to deny people, you will save time, not only for yourself, but also them. Just pay attention to how others do it, and your repertoire will be enriched very quickly.

5.       You have the right to rest. Researchers found that after about 40 minutes of monotonous work concentration falls down. If at this time you make a 10-minute break, you will do more, than if you would work continuously. It is also important to change the type of activity. If you communicate with people - try to make some minor physical activity, walk, or shake your head from side to side. Some companies even develop a special room where you can study at the simulator. Think about that you get money not only for what you do, but also for something you do not do.

6.            Stop «cutting filings». Perfectionism - a yearning for an unattainable perfection, like a coin, it has two sides. On the one hand, the higher the slat is set, the better the result is. On the other hand, in most cases, after some «border» there comes not further improvement, but loss of time. At some point, tell me: «Stop!» - And stay that do not squander time. Perfection is still not possible, establishment of clear criteria (requirements specification) and their implementation are much more efficient.

7.        Magic word «tomorrow». There is a large plate in some cafe. It says: «Beer for free». There you can see small orange letters on a red background: «Come tomorrow». Alas, tomorrow does not come, we live today. All you can do today, might give you required odds, which will save you from rush job.

Applying the techniques described in this article, you will be able to «upgrade», ie, substantially improve your skills. Although described means of time management is extremely simple, practice shows that the effect of them will be really significant.