Time Management Tips

At our December 10, 2008 meeting, we shared our tips for completing work, tracking appointments and managing our personal lives.  We would like to thank Leslie Walden, Certified Professional Organizer, for her input at our meeting.  You can find out more information about Leslie at Its Time To Get Organized  .   

• Color code your calendar:  With one glance you will know what must be done.
  • For home - use different colors for each family member.
  • For tasks - use colors to identify different types of tasks based on priority.
  • Use the brightest color for yourself so you build time in for you, including exercise and other personal time.
• Schedule time for family and put it on the calendar.
• Schedule blocks of time for work and put it on your calendar – turn off the email, phone, etc.
• Use a timer to enforce your blocks of scheduled work time.
• Keep a task list with assigned priority based on A,B, and C with C being least important.
• Keep a running list that you add to throughout the day.
• Each afternoon, look at the next day and prioritize your activities you will avoid surprises.
• Once a week on Thursday or Friday, “stop and assess” your to do list.  Reevaluate and reorganize for the coming week.
• Use your email program to filter and sort your email so that you get to the important emails quickly.
• Train your clients to understand that you reply to email at a certain time each day unless they have put “Urgent” in the subject box.
• Turn off the email alert and download email manually to avoid the temptation to stop your work and read/answer the email.
• Once a week update your contact list.
• Differentiate between “important” and “urgent.”  For example, although the client may have an urgent request, it may be more important that you respond first to a request from your boss.
• Take a global view rather than a task oriented view.  You will see the big picture and it will help you determine what is most important.