Human beings must live in two time dimensions at once; that is the present and the future (Forsyth, 2010, p.3). People of all walks need to manage their time effectively if they have to realize their goals as scheduled. This inevitably creates a conflict between focusing on the pressing demands of the day while also creating space to plan strategically for future opportunities. The concept of time management is concerned with planning time usage in such a manner as to perform effectively and efficiently all planned activities. The fundamental objective of time management is to strategically plan and organize a person’s activities in order to increase the possibilities of achieving the intended objectives. Time is money, therefore, time that is not utilized well translates into wastage of vital resources. Owning a watch is not a solution to time management defects; however, people should understand time management techniques in order to counteract the barriers to time management.
Time management techniques that most people use include time budgeting, daily planner and time log. Time budgeting involves setting standards for spending the available. Managers, students, teachers, and all workers need to budget for their time since it does not allow for time wastage (Felton & Sims, 2009, p.13). The procedure for accomplishing time budget involves dividing the available tasks into unit projects, prioritizing project units in order to determine the level of urgency, deciding the amount of time to be spent on each project unit and spreading the available time over specified days required to complete the project (Levin, 2007, p.14). The daily planner enables a person to plan activities of the day in order of urgency. Time planners should set realistic deadlines to avoid unnecessary frustrations. The time log is a chart which allows an individual to keep track of the time spent on each activity by connecting both regular and unexpected activities of the day (Felton & Sims, 2009, p.17). A review of the time log at the end of the day enables the time manager to trace loopholes for time wastage and eliminate them accordingly. Time management techniques are foundations for both individual and organizational prosperity.
The most crucial part of any time management endeavor is to identify potential barriers to effective time management and provide mechanisms to eliminate them. First, chatting too much on personal matters reduces the time for relevant tasks. Second, too many interruptions, which could be due unplanned visits or receiving unnecessary phone calls may hinder one from sticking to time management (Levin, 2007, p.16). Third, indecisiveness and inability to take a prompt action when faced with more than one alternative of equal urgency lead to wastage of time due to prolonged decision-making. Fourth, fatigue reduces a person’s ability to do tasks with the speed due to physical or mental exhaustion contributed by environmental conditions such as congestion and poor ventilation. Causes of ineffective time management arise from both personal and institutional defects.
There are many options available to effective time management. It is advisable that people cease to engage in irrelevant socialization when they should be engaging in relevant tasks (Forsyth, 2010, p.10). Sources of interruptions such as unplanned visits and long formal phone calls should be discouraged to ensure that people concentrate on their tasks. Self motivation is the fundamental ingredient in accomplishing tasks within a specified period (Forsyth, 2010, p.16). Procrastination is the root cause of indecisiveness and inability to take immediate action; thus people should eliminate it by avoiding perfectionism. Institutional structures should be well ventilated and uncongested to reduce chances of fatigue in organizational offices.
It is imperative that people consider time as a vital asset and invest wisely in managing their time. A person devoted to time management should concentrate on necessary aspects of a task, recognize time constraints minimize disruptions and acquire information with due speed. These will create sufficient time for performance of both organizational and personal tasks.
References
Felton, S., & Sims, M. (2009). Organizing your day: Time management techniques that will work for you. Grand Rapids, Mich: Revell.
Forsyth, P. (2010). Successful time management. London: Kogan Page.
Levin, P. (2007). Skilful time management. Maidenhead, England: Open University Press.
