FOOL'S EYE VIEW
Time Is Money

By David Kuo (TMFDragon)
January 11, 2001

Carburton Street, London -- Do you ever wish there were more than twenty-four hours in a day? Or perhaps you find yourself saying there are just not enough hours to get all your work done. It is a common problem that many of us face. Yet it is surprising that very few companies provide their employees with training on the best use of their time. Failing to get work done on schedule can cause aggravation, anxiety and guilt, which are some of the main causes of stress. This can lead to health problems and all those other nasty things that make life a complete misery. So here are a few tips on how to manage your time because after all, time is money.

The Time Schedule

Time management is all about getting your work done in less time than usual. It is also about using the time that you have efficiently -- and that means preparation. There are many books written on the subject of time management, but the general theme is to start off with your "to-do" list. You need to write down all the things that you want to get done. It is best to do this the night before, rather than try to compile a list first thing in the morning. That way you can get cracking without delay in the morning. It is also a good idea to buy a proper diary -- little scraps of paper have a terrible habit of getting lost or in some cases, tossed into the washing machine with the rest of the laundry! 

So, write down everything that you need to do for tomorrow and don't worry if it starts to run into a frighteningly long list. At this stage, you aren't too worried about planning how to get through the list. Just get down on paper all the things that you think need to be done. Once you've got that list, prioritise them in the order of A, B and C, with A being the most important job and C being the most trivial. (And no cheating now. Don't just prioritise the easy ones as "A"s and leave the tough ones as "C"s!) Next comes the fun bit. Once you're sure the list has been prioritised correctly, cross off the all the Cs and move them over onto the list for the day after. Then re-examine your list and if it looks a bit hefty, then shift some of the "B"s across for the day after too.

Your refined list should now be more manageable, but it still needs to be tweaked to get it into some form of schedule. To do this, put an estimate as to how long you think it will take to get each job done. If there is some travelling time involved, then also include that in your estimate. The next task is to slot all your jobs into chronological order, because some jobs will need to be done earlier than others.

With your list in place, you are ready to get down to work the next day. As you complete each task, cross them off the list and also make a note of how long it took to get each job done. This is a good way of comparing your original estimates with the actual time taken. As you get better at estimating just how long it takes to complete each task, you will find that you start to fit more jobs in to your time schedule.

If, at the end of the day, you find that you couldn't quite manage to finish the list, don't worry. Just transfer those jobs onto the top of the list for the next day.

The Swiss Cheese Method

Perfection is a human failing. Whilst it is always good to try and do the best that you can, you also need to accept that nobody is perfect. It is often the fear of failure that will prevent many people from even starting a job. But to help avoid procrastinating, try and fit some of those dreaded and difficult chores into your daily schedule. However, only allocate a limited amount of time to these tasks. Take small but manageable bites at the job and set achievable goals for yourself each day. You will start to find that as each day passes, the mammoth task will gradually get smaller until it eventually disappears.

Just Learn to Say No

For some people, saying "no" comes quite naturally. But for others, it is almost impossible to turn down a request. But remember, the more you take on, the less time you will have to get your own work completed. But strangely, as you become more proficient at allocating your own daily tasks, you will find that you will have time to spare at the end of each day. You can then offer to take on more work but only when your own work is completed satisfactorily.

Is Time Really Money

The satirist C Northcote Parkinson once said: "Work expands to fill the time available for its completion."  His observation highlights some of the many flaws that prevent us from getting things done. But the more efficient you become at time planning, the more time you will have for what are sometimes referred to as "high payoff activities". These "high payoff activities" could be just about any activity that you consider to be important and of value to yourself. They could include activities that improve you own social life, your health, your job prospects or even your wealth.   

More: Post your comments on the Fool's Eye View discussion board