Top 5 Time Management Strategies
Time management plays a crucial role in the success of any project because in the project every minute gets counted, and wastage of time infers to wastage of money. One of the traits of a good project manager is that they should be able to utilize time in a proper manner and ensure that they reap maximum benefits of given time period. To manage time effectively project managers must have the skills such as planning, setting goals and prioritizing for a better performance. In general, time management refers to the ability to organize tasks in an efficient manner. A good time management strategy leads to increased effectiveness and productivity.
If time management aspect is neglected, then it would create a negative impact on the progress of the project. Generally, it is observed that the projects which lack this feature, tend to get delayed or even sometimes might end-up in project closure. If the work is not scheduled in an efficient manner then it means that the organizations have to shell few additional dollars to get the work completed in time. They need to hire additional employees to complete the project tasks and deliver them on time. This is an additional expense to the organization, which would affect their profit margins, goals, and objectives.
Listed below are the time management strategies that would help project managers to effectively manage their projects.
1. Prioritizing tasks and activities
Project managers have to prioritize the tasks that have to be completed on priority basis. They must assign these tasks to the team members and also mention the time frame. After scheduling the work to the team members, project managers have to take up other jobs. Project managers can then concentrate on other jobs which have less priority, or, in other words, you say that they do not affect smooth workflow of the project.
2. Curtail Interruptions In work
It is observed that interruptions during the work process may disturb smooth workflow. The interruptions could be due many reasons like work ambience,smartphone devices, social media access at workplace to name a few. To avoid such issues, project managers introduce new rules and regulations to reduce these interruptions. By implementing such strategies, it would enhance the productivity of the team members. Project managers have to reduce the usage of phone or answer a call while they are in the middle of doing their work, by doing this they will not get distracted from their work and will be focused on their job.
3. Stop postponing activities
It is important that the project managers complete their jobs within their specified time. They must not postpone the jobs unless and until it has low priority or if the job can be completed at a later stage of the project. By completing the jobs in a specific time period, project managers save a lot of time and can focus on other jobs or plans that will enhance overall productivity and efficiency of the team.
4. Limit multi-tasking
Managing various activities at a given time is good, as it saves the time of the project managers or team members. But sometimes it might not work as the project managers or team members intend to. If the tasks that project managers are working on is a high priority task, then it is advised that project managers solely concentrate on that single job instead of doing multiple jobs at the same time, as there is every possibility that project managers making mistakes. To avoid such ambiguity errors, it is always suggested to take up one job activity at a time
5. Work Review
The quality of a good project manager is that they assess their entire day's work at the end of each day. This will ensure that they have not missed out on any tasks. If they feel that there is some pending work they can start early next morning and complete that work within specified time.
Conclusion
The key to good time management is not to work more, but to work more efficiently. Time management is not only important for work environment or projects, but this is important in every aspect of human life. To be successful in your careers, individuals must have proper time management skills and make optimum utilization of time.