We often fail to decide whether time is more important to our organization or money is. As a matter of fact, for an organization, time is as important as money. If we do not manage time effectively, our workload increases and productivity declines, resulting in billions of dollars in lost revenue over time. According to a recent report, unrecorded activities of employees cost approximately $7.4 billion per day.
Businesses must enable employees to track and manage their time both in and out of the office. Various companies have adopted time tracking software and methods to help employees keep a track of their work hours.
Let’s take a more detailed look at enabling your workforce to manage their time better.
Why is time management important?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an employee spends almost two hours on unnecessary tasks.
Many don’t realize that they are wasting so much time doing unimportant tasks. As a result, they end up putting extra hours and effort into finishing priority tasks. Being unproductive and delaying important tasks can cost a lot to a company.
This is why companies need to introduce strategies and tools that can help their workforce to be more productive and efficient during work hours.
We have curated some of the best time management strategies that can help your workforce in managing their time.
Top 6 time management strategies for your workforce
01. Sharpen your focus and prevent distractions:
“Where your attention goes, your time goes”
– T.F. Hodge
Staying focused on a task can be challenging when you are surrounded by several distractions. This not only affects your focus but stops you from reaching your goals and performing well in your tasks.
Sharping your focus is not a one-day task, it takes constant practice and change in routines. You need to find out the impact of being distracted and the reasons that keep you off track and then find solutions to it accordingly. Once you find the mental focus you will be able to recognize your will and do things that bring you happiness.
02. Set deadlines for all tasks:
Setting deadlines may motivate employees to complete their tasks on time and help them to plan better to complete the task on hand. Important tasks always have deadlines because they hold serious repercussions and can have a major impact if the work is not completed before the deadline. Plan accordingly to complete your task before the deadline.
03. Elon Musk- Time blocking method:
Elon Musk is one of the world’s busiest billionaires. He owns two most well-known firms and works 100 hours per week while balancing his personal life. How does he do it? He uses the time-blocking method. The method requires assigning particular hours or minutes to each task and completing it within that time range. There should be no other tasks or activities to be done during the period so that the person may put all of his focus on one task at a time.
The period is referred to as “block time.”
04. Prioritize your to-do list:
The first and foremost task of an employee is to prepare a to-do list of all the tasks that they need to complete in a day. Then prioritize the listed tasks in terms of their importance and consequences. Follow the ABCDE method to prioritize tasks and see your productivity multiply.
05. No procrastination or perfectionism:
Perfectionists get discouraged when they fail, ultimately causing a dearth of motivation and effort. A perfectionist often procrastinates certain results that he expects. This leads to a lack of motivation and increases self-doubt if one can not face failure.
People often run after perfection but, many forget about giving their 100% to the job. The important thing is to focus on the goals and complete every task on your to-do list in a realistic way that will help you see the end goal.
06. Tony Robbins- Rapid planning method:
The rapid planning process prioritizes results, action plans, and goals. Keeping these three points in mind can help you to stay focused on what needs to be done, how it will be done, and what the action’s outcome will be. Once you’ve completed these three steps, you may plan your time and tasks accordingly.
Conclusion
Employees spend 20% of their time on important tasks and 80% of their time on jobs with no major repercussions. As we discussed earlier in the article, wasting time can have a variety of consequences for an organization’s growth and profitability.
It is the company’s responsibility to encourage its workforce to track and manage their time so that they can be more productive.
We hope that these time management strategies will benefit you and your employees.