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  • Time Tips

    by
    Michelle Grice
    Published on 23-10-2011 03:28 PM
    5 Comments (you must be a member to post comments) Comments (you must be a member to post comments)
    (as published in The Western Weekender, Oct 21, 2011)

    Do you spend your day in a frenzy of activity and then wonder where the time went? We regularly hear about ‘time management’ but sometimes it’s hard to know where to start.

    So here are some relevant tips for women in business:
    1. Time management is a myth: there are only 24 hours in a day and time doesn’t change. So all we can actually manage is ourselves and what we do with the time that we have.
    2. Make a list of three to five priorities for your business and three to five separate priorities for home, and prioritise ruthlessly at the beginning of each day. Write them down, focus on the first priority at the top of your list and don’t stop until you get it completely done. Remember: multi-tasking makes you LESS efficient.
    3. Change your behavior: start by eliminating your time-wasters (e.g personal phone calls, social media).
    4. Use time management tools such as Outlook or other scheduling programs (eg an online stopwatch or ‘timebomb’). Set time limits for tasks such as reading email so that it doesn’t consume your whole day.
    5. Establish routines and procedures – you’ll be more productive if tasks are completed in ‘batches’.
    6. Organise your systems. You can waste time looking for documents and information that isn’t filed well.
    Take the time to evaluate which of the above tips are relevant for you and get yourself organised. You’ll create a much better balance between business life and home life and reduce your ‘frenzy’ levels.

    Michelle Grice runs Dot Com Women, an online forum for entrepreneurial women: www.dotcomwomen.com.au