Time is a perishable resource we cannot recover once passed, which means we cannot return to our younger selves. Time management is the ability to use one’s time efficiently and productively through planning and exercising conscious control of the available time.

Women have a lot on their plates because of the multiple roles they manage. Women carry many balls as workers, business leaders, friends, aunts, mothers, sisters, friends and even philanthropists who want to be good at what they do. Today we share five universal time management tips that improve personal effectiveness and impact.

Defined goals.

We must have clear goals for every area of our lives as often we spend a lot of time building for everyone or everything else and forget ourselves. One way is to divide life into clusters like personal, family, work, spiritual, health, community, and legacy. Once done, ask guiding questions like, where does work start and end? How important is our health and why? What does family mean and what is non-negotiable? How do we want to be remembered? 

Let us evaluate life, identify the key areas then set clear and measurable goals for each.

Prioritise

To prioritise is to determine that something deserves principle focus or attention. In life, goals and priorities must always align. Once goals are identified and written down, we order them for importance to know what order everything flows in. The final step is to create to-do lists with timelines to guide how we spend our time effectively.

Life may change and affect priorities hence we should plan to review priorities often and realign with the goals.

A work system

We all have hours when we are most productive and effective. We must create time slots divided by task and priority to help us work on our most critical focus areas. Personal time helps us regroup and grow through reading, exercise, meditation, prayer etc. Work time enables us to accomplish the most challenging tasks when we are freshest and most effective. 

Have an open door when working on less critical tasks and a closed door during essential times of focus.

A support system

There are tasks we need to be done but we may not have the time to do them or be the best person to do them. These are opportunities to get help and build a strong process-based support system. Creating this system starts with asking a question like, how does the work usually flow? How do we handle complaints? Is there a recipe for the family’s favourite meal? Is there a way the home is cleaned? Is there a timeline or task flow to keep the house or office running? Do we use meal plans and shopping lists? Document your processes to enable the team supporting you to understand how to flow through the cycles and free you up to focus on critical tasks.

Build an ecosystem that supports your ability to be effective.

Delegate

We cannot do everything so, let us find and build others to proficiently deliver on what we cannot do and relieve us of the pressure. When we have defined processes, we must train people to handle the things we cannot. Who can pick up and stay with the children when we have late meetings or errands to run? Who can run the errands needed when we are at work? Do you have holiday programs for the children so you can still be productive? Who will handle calls in the office or clean the office? Who will do the books and follow up on clients?

Let us find teachable people who understand what they are good at and deploy them in the best roles to suit their skills. 

Businesses are built and grown with collaborative teams and strong support structures. An effective leader understands that it is ill-advised and impossible to try and do everything. An effective, time-conscious leader must:

• Identify their areas of strength, interest, and effectiveness 
• Identify areas that need support 
• Find others skilled in their areas of weakness and work together

As we wind up, let us remember that effective time management is one of the top critical tools that help us accomplish our goals in life. Let us start small and grow daily for all the days to come. 

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Lucy Moragwa is a Business Process Analyst with dynamic experience spanning construction, technology, retail, media, advertising, and branding. She specialises in helping organisations develop operational efficiency and increased revenue, improve business processes and use root cause analysis to identify issues and develop process improvements. 

Her core work is to help organisations achieve cost savings through exceptional planning and implementation of business processes.