Time Management

Time Management

Time management is a complex subject and one that concerns many businesses and individuals that find themselves in times of hardship. But we believe that the essence of effective time management is relatively simple in concept: enthusiasm. When you or your staff is enthused about a project, effective time management can happen naturally.

But many people who have been involved in business for a long time have picked up poor time management habits. Some of these are external and some are internal. Let's take a look at the internal habits that can negatively effect time management.

The most common cause of poor internal time management is procrastination. This is a huge issue and a problem that nearly everybody suffers from at one point or another. The tools we use to conduct business with commonly cause procrastination. Our advances in interconnectivity and instantly available information have made distraction and procrastination a global issue. The time employees spend on social networking sites is a major concern for employers and with good reason. While there are no true and conclusive global statistics, a survey of 2000 employees found that 60% admitted to wasting 1.7 hours of the typical 8.5 hour working day "surfing" online. So how does a business owner overcome and manage this problem?

It is not uncommon for a company to block these time wasting social networking sites. But for many, this is impractical or seen as invasive and will, as a result, lower moral and threaten overall positivity. Micro management can be metaphorically perceived as stabilizers on a child's bicycle.

Being in charge of a productive company can be a walk across a tightrope between relationship and policy. Many new business owners do not implement enough policies and instead prefer to bask in the sunshine of casual office relationships. This ultimately spells failure. Your employees need to be informed of your policies without being overwhelmed with an abundance of red tape. Red tape and a lack of company policy are major external reasons for poor office time management.

If we step back and look at time management as a whole, an obvious solution to the problem is implementing goals and achieving them. When you or your staff do not have a deadline or are unaware of the importance of a task, it will not be prioritized or tackled with the appropriate zeal. Set both daily and yearly goals. Know what you or your company wants to achieve and give an allotted amount of time in which to achieve it. Do not let fear stand in the way of your success, which after all is the root of poor time management.