Production Time
Few of us enjoy being told when to start and when to stop. We often fail to have any control over that.
However, when you have a job or even own your own company, you must operate under time constraints or expectations.
Whether you work in an office or on the production floor or have a cow to milk, there are expectations as to when to start working. The same goes for when to stop.
Manage Your Time
We all must meet deadlines. However, sometime, we need a little motivation to be sure we finish on time. One trick, I use, is to use a timer to keep you aware of time. Set for a reasonable work time frame, such as 30 minutes, to remind you to stand up and walk around and get refreshed. This will help you keep focused and alert over the next 30-minute segment.
Take it or leave it. I want you to do whatever will help you be successful. If you see no value in it, then, let it go and do what you think will work better.
When you dose off from daydreaming and your boss comes looking for that report, which is only half-done, maybe you will reconsider my idea. (Just saying…)
Studies on Time and Your Work List
Most of us start with a list of things to do that day, that week, and that month.
Do you prioritize those items?
Studies show that our lists of to-dos come in four levels of value. The following is from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey, on page 151:
Time Management Matrix
Urgent and Important — Important – Not Urgent
Crises Prevention Activities
Pressing Problems Relationship building
Deadline driven projects Planning
Recognizing opportunities
Recreation
Urgent but Not Important — Can Wait – Not Urgent
Interruptions Trivia, busy work
Some calls, mail Some calls, mail
Some meetings Time wasters
Pressing matters Pleasant activities
Popular activities
If your plans are based on those options, you will get the right things done on time!
Project Management
This frame of reference for time management is especially useful if you are a project manager.
In fact, a project manager is a position common to a lot of careers. Engineering, construction, manufacturing, and even accounting have projects to manage.
I have suggested this to give you more ideas for career options!
A Mindset for Time
As I continue to post commentary to help you develop a better mindset for money, I hope to help you, also, build a better mindset for time.
This is a tough one, especially, when you find work or hobbies you enjoy.
In your focus on work, making money, or just having fun, you must be careful to make time for other necessary facets of your life. Family and friends are very important facets to your long-term well-being.
The amount of time and when you spend time with friends and family is more meaningful when you take the time to know what is important to them. And you try to share the events in their lives!
That was a complicated way to say make time for family and friends in your busy schedule. Make money, make plans, and enjoy their fellowship!
Also, learn to deal with the frustration when plans fall through, your list gets sidetracked, or the ballgame gets rained out and rescheduled to a workday. Hey, at least, you tried!
Be the Manager
If you go to any school where management is studied, it is hard to avoid hearing what the management guru, Peter Drucker, had to say on the subject.
Planning your time each day is important. Like managing your money, not every day will go as expected. Therefore, your objective, to avoid frustration, is to try to be effective.
Peter Drucker offers this bit of advice, “…effective people are not problem-minded, they’re opportunity-minded. They feed opportunities and starve problems. They think preventively.”
When you start your day with a plan and your plan is interrupted, will you consider the opportunity that may come from this interruption or get consumed by the problem? It is your call so Be the Manager!