Good time management skills

I had the opportunity to facilitate a time management workshop for a group of social workers in Charleston SC while working for a company where I got my feet wet in the motivation business. My first thought was that this group had the task of attending a mandatory seminar and dedicating their valuable time.

I’m a big proponent of effective time management techniques, but I didn’t initially see an immediate relevance to this group. What I didn’t realize was that these professionals and I mean professionals are probably the MOST challenged people I know. They have to get to work very early and leave very late; in between, they have to deal with people in need and link up with other programs/organizations to help people with all kinds of social needs. Probably the most challenging thing they had to conquer was setting and ranking priorities because their priorities were tied to so many people seemingly needing their help at the same time.

Time management tips and strategies

What they were about to learn would change their time management habits forever IF they would stick to a system. The system is the key to consistent and effective time management and if you deviate from your system and try to improvise, you will lose all the time. Just when you think you may have a lot of wiggle room and get out of the way, you will surely lose your plan. Time is so slippery – it’s like taking your eyes off a little kid for a moment and the next thing you know there’s trouble. So how do you stay on track and accomplish the things you set out to do? How many times at the beginning of the week do you have a list of goals that you mentally set out to accomplish but at the end of the day or week you may only get less than 50% done? One of the main reasons this happens… is because those goals that I had were not defined in SMART goals. By SMART goals I mean realizing if they are Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Time-specific. Using the SMART goal criteria will help you determine if your goals are valid and achievable. This is the formula you have to use to achieve your goals successfully. In the case of the Social Workers (no pun intended) they had to define each objective with this formula to prioritize their situations to determine the immediate need from the needs that could wait. Prioritizing is the next step to successful time management, yes, once you have defined a valid goal, you need to prioritize with the most urgency first, and then filter down to things that can be later. There may be more definition and refinement of your goals in terms of the activities you will use to achieve them, which will also help you prioritize.

Many distractions throughout the day often plague us, both internal and external, but if you stick to a good time management system, you can and will accomplish just about anything you set your mind to doing.

Leaders Speakers is a leadership training company that facilitates time management and other leadership workshops throughout the continental US. You can learn more by visiting http://www.leadersspeakers.com