Time Management: How To Efficient Use Of Time

"Time is a scarce resource. It is irreplaceable and irreversible. " (Adair, 1988, p1). Time Management is an effective way of organizing how time is spend by putting main priorities ahead of others and keeping track of what needs to be done, to make efficient use of time. It is important to manage your time so that you know what needs to be done and how to be prepared for each days work so that your goals can be achieved. Time management is also effective for employees.

For employees who manage their time effectively, it becomes much easier for them to complete their tasks on time. This is because they know what has to be done, what their priorities are and when to do them. There are many ways to manage your time efficiently, but before this can be done, an analysis is required to identify how you spend your time to see what you need to improve. The steps to do this include a time management audit, which is a process on the use of your time, then an analysis to identify how you are currently using your time.

After this has been done, the actions which are required to manage your time more efficiently should be discussed to conclude how it will assist you to manage your time and whether or not it has been beneficial to your overall learning. Time Management Audit A time management audit is a process that can be used to examine how your time is used. In this circumstance a time log was produced. The time log specifies the activities performed each day, the time and how long it took to perform each activity and whether or not the activity was planned. The time log is provided in the appendices.

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The time log has assisted me to realize what my most productive and least productive periods of my day were. My most productive periods of my day include attending all TAFE classes, and my effective use of sleep. Studying and TAFE contribute to my future goals, so it is important for me to attend each class and study very hard. The least productive periods would consist of socializing and driving. The majority of the activities performed were planned, but my studying tasks were all left to the last minute. Analysis An Analysis is where it is clearly identified how you are currently using your time.

A summary of the time log, which was carried out for seven days, was produced to summarize how my weekly time is spent. Most of my time is spent on sleep; this is approximately 38% of my time. A good sleep every night is a necessity for everyone, as it provides them for a good start to each day. This means I will have the energy to perform my tasks in an efficient way. Just as long as sleep does not take up too much of my time, it should not interfere with daily priorities. The activity that comes after sleep is 18% of socializing. This becomes my least productive period, as the time spend on socializing can be spend on other priorities.

Another least productive period is spent on traveling. I spend 5% of my weekly activities driving to and from TAFE, to and from social activities, and to and from work. After socializing, 14% of my activities are my time spent at TAFE, attending most of the classes. This is a high priority as it is helps me to reach my future goals. Only 9% of my weekly activities consist of study, this becomes a major issue, as it is a main priority for TAFE, and will help me to pass and assist me to my future goals. The rest of my time is spent on lunch, dinner and breakfast breaks, working and resting. Which are other necessities to assist me every day.

The weekly time analysis assisted me to identify my time management problems, they include: Planning: No daily plan, unclear priorities, and no self imposed deadlines Organizing: Personally disorganized, cluttered desk, untidy notes Controlling: Phone interruptions, too many interests, inability to say no Communication: Too much socializing, unclear communicating Decision Making: Decisions need to be made on how to use my time more effectively The major robbers of my time include socializing, driving and every now and then, sleeping. The activities, which move me closer to my goals, are attending all TAFE classes, and studying efficiently.

Taking Action The last step to the time management process is taking action. It involves taking specific steps for improving the use of my time. This is done by identifying the time management problems in which I need to work on, and then developing an action plan to resolve these problems. Procrastination Break big tasks into easier tasks Unexpected interruptions Establish deadline for the interruption. Be more assertive and learn to say no. Socializing Limit socializing to specific time and stick to it. Planning Create a daily plan, and make dead lines Organizing Learn to organize desk and notes in a specific way Decision making

Make decisions on how to use time more effectively Techniques that can be used to overcome time management problems may include rewarding yourself for changes you make to improve your time management, staying motivated by focusing on your goals, and being aware that old habits are hard to break so you should regularly review the management of your time regularly. The most efficient way to managing your time is to write a "to do list" each day to set out clearly in writing, the tasks that you need to do during the day and their priorities. The list is to be placed besides you so that it can be referred to regularly during the day.

Goals should also be noted in the "to do list" so that it makes you more aware of what your goals are to assist you in accomplishing them. Each task on the list should be prioritized in order of importance. First priorities should be numbered '1' or 'a' and these are the urgent tasks which need to be done no matter what. Second priorities which are numbered '2' or 'b' are those tasks that are important but can wait till '1' or 'a' tasks are done. The last priorities, numbered '3' or 'c' are the tasks which can wait until both activities have been done.

At the end of each day, the list should be reviewed so that any items that are still to be done can be carried forward to the next day. Try and make sure that the list is at a reasonable size so that there are only a few or no items left at the end of the day. Conclusion From the research carried forward on time management, I have learned how important and effective it can be to manage your time efficiently. A time management audit and analysis helped me to identify how I am currently spending my time, how I should be spending it and my major robbers of time. The results from this assisted me to take action.

This is where I discovered effective ways to manage my time, such as a 'to do list', which is a helpful method to organise myself and would benefit by illustrating me with all the tasks which need to be done, prioritizing my tasks in order of importance and satisfying me when the tasks are completed each day. In conclusion, I believe that time management will be very useful for me in the future, and will assist me to achieve my future goals. I also believe that it would be a great benefit for millions of other people around the world who don't know how to manage their time effectively.

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