Successful time management starts with understanding time, how long it takes you to carry out certain tasks and what is realistically achievable within a given time period. A good way to learn more about your own personal capabilities is to track your activities over any given working week; and be honest!! Include time taken to carry out general admin around the office, meetings, time taken travelling to and from meetings, phone calls, lunch, breaks, even the sneaky peak at facebook! It all adds up. By creating a record of this kind it’ll be easier to identify where you are at your most and least productive. Most people are surprised too by the hours that can be all too easily lost during day, and seeing these ‘wasted hours’ in black and white is often the catalyst needed to make sure they a few and far between.

Starting the day on the right foot is important. It’s natural to want to get started as quickly as possible when you’re under pressure. However, taking a step back can often be much more helpful. Aim to set aside half an hour at the start of everyday to make yourself a coffee, open up a new word document and make a plan. Set realistic goals, prioritise tasks according to urgency, and basically map out your day. Not only will aiming towards smaller hourly or quarterly goals proven to be more productive, but the act in itself can help in calming you if you’re feeling overcome or stressed by showing you what is achievable.

It’s worth considering how you can delegate more in order to maximise the time you do have and to complete projects quicker. Level One services which can help you free up time include telephone answering service, admin and postal management. These tasks, when taken over by another party can free up time and head space which allows you to focus on other tasks.

It may also be helpful to factor in time for interruptions, as more than likely you will be pulled away from what you’re doing at some point. If you are interrupted, make sure it’s for a good reason! It’s difficult to ignore every phone call, every e-mail, instant message, picture posted of the weekend etc…… but very often it’s these instant communications that lead to the biggest blocks of time-wastage. Time management is all about prioritising tasks; if a phone call from a client or colleague isn’t urgent or applicable to what you’re doing now, aim to call them back. If you can read that e-mail later without any major implications then wait, and so on…. It’s impossible to get everything done, but as long as you follow a few simple rules, you should be on your way!