Top 10 Time Management Tips for Effective Office Time Management
Are you working efficiently and effectively? Do you have many productive hours of work or are you constantly distracted? In this article we give you a number of time management tips to help you organize your office time more efficiently and get more out of your work day.
Office Time Management Tips
1. Get a Secretary or Answering Machine to Take Phone Messages
Instead of constantly being distracted by telephone calls get a secretary or answering machine to take messages for you, then set aside time each day to focus on returning calls. By separating work and phone calls you will be able to focus more clearly on each task and get more out of your time. Effective office time management means that you need to focus on the task at hand and so an important time management tip is to do whatever you can to minimize distractions, such as the phone and email.
2. Set aside a Time to Answer Emails
Emails are another thing which affects effective office time management and can constantly distract you from focusing on the task at hand. A time management tip to deal with this problem is therefore to set aside time each day to deal with your emails and then for the rest of the day turn off your email program, or at least turn off instant notifications of emails.
3. Create a To-Do List the Day Before
To-do lists are often listed as a time management tip. Effective office time management means that before you leave the office each day prepare a to-do list for the following day and prioritize it, that way as soon as you come into the office in the morning you know what you need to focus your attention on.
4. Complete the Major Tasks First
Start your day with one of the big, important tasks and then go onto smaller and less important tasks. By first focusing on the large tasks you will get them complete in a shorter space of time and then will be able to deal with smaller tasks, whereas if you start with the smaller tasks you will soon find them filling up your day and not having time left to do the larger tasks.
5. Do Tasks that Take Less Than 5 Minutes Immediately
Effective office time management means that if you have a task you need to do that is going to take a few minutes to complete then do it as soon as you receive it, this way you will get the small things out of the way and not need to think about them.
6. Keep your Desk and Office Organized
A major cause of ineffective time management is disorganization. Keep your desk and office organized, keep everything on hand and keep things in the place you have assigned them and you will never waste time searching for the things you need or have important items go missing.
7. Prioritize
Setting priorities is vital for effective office time management. An important time management tip is therefore that you should know both on a long term and daily basis what your priorities are and should prioritize your long term goals as well as your daily to-do list.
8. Delegate
Delegation is another useful tool for effective office time management. You do not need to do everything yourself; if you find a task that someone would be able to do as well as you or even better then delegate that task to that person. Delegation does not only need to take place at work but can also take place at home.
9. Set SMART goals
Another important time management tip is to set SMART goals. SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, rewarding and timely. By setting SMART goals you know what you are working towards, have a way of measuring when it has been successfully completed and know when you want to complete it by. SMART goals are useful in showing you what steps you need to take in order to fulfill your dreams.
10. Choose Technology Carefully
Technology can either be useful for improving effective office time management or it can hinder effective time management. Our last time management tip is therefore to be careful when choosing the technology you use to ensure that it really does improve your productivity and efficiency and not harm it.
Effective office time management means setting SMART goals, prioritizing, focusing, and using technology that improves effective time management instead of hindering it. By implementing these time management tips you should be better able to manage your time effectively and get more out of your work day.
Office Management Software
If you need to optimize all operations to the highest standards, you will need to take advantage of office management software. There are two main options. You can have somebody to do the programming for your office and install it for you or you can opt to buy a ready made program sold in the market.
In terms of efficiency, the software will help you in every aspect of your organization’s operations. It can help you monitor your employee’s daily time records, the development of projects, the number of hours the project participants have put into it and the projected length of time needed for the project’s completion.
Of course, there are several types of software for every office application that you want, especially software for your bookkeeping and accounting. There’s a way of doing the book keeping procedure in a more efficient way; or an office procedure on handling your inventory effectively.
Keep in mind that you will not need as many employees. If you’re employing two individuals to do the archiving for you, the secretary can do all their work more efficiently with software, and everything will be done automatically without the need for more personnel. You may reduce your accounting staff, removing the person handling accounts payable in favor of the software. And in inventory procedures, you’ll need only one person instead of two.
However, you can’t just use any software for your particular needs. Your present system may not be compatible with the software you want and need to buy.
You should carefully consider what specific software it is that you want. These programs are very expensive and buying the wrong application will not only entail unnecessary expense on your part, but it might turn out to be disadvantageous in the way your workers will go about doing their jobs, bringing more confusion instead of making their jobs easier.
Initially, asking somebody to install pre-made office management software for you might be more expensive, but after searching, if there are none in the boxes that suit your operations, you’ll have no choice but to either have your own custom software or go with the industry standard. Regardless, it will be to your advantage in the long run. When the program starts humming harmoniously you will not only make the office operation more efficient but you will also have a more productive and less expensive way of doing business.
You may need an expert to analyze your office requirements before buying the software. A hospital’s requirements are very different from industrial applications. Even industrial institutions with similar operations will require different office management software.
Here’s an idea. Wouldn’t it be nice to have office management software that comes with training, support, installation and setup and starts saving you money from day one, instead of costing?
Office Gossip – Management Creates or Prevents
Office gossip has many forms, mostly bad, but it is management that sets the tone for any resulting good or evil. At its worst, office gossip is slanderous with appropriate penalties from termination to being sued for civil damages. Certainly the spreading of untruths is harmful to individuals and the work place culture. Office gossip in any form is a reflection of the manner in which management does or does not communicate with and/or support employees.
Workers look for control over their work output, recognition when deserved and security for their being and performance. Gossip in the workplace that is untrue undermines employee control, recognition and security. Most businesses have created written policies that address office gossip. However many businesses simply have policies on office gossip without an understanding how communication and processes either prevent or encourage office gossip.
What if the gossip is true? What if the president is having an affair with one of the sales people? What if the director indeed was arrested for drunken driving? What if the CEO tolerates senior management holing up in their offices with their cronies both tapping and feeding the gossip/rumor mill to protect their turf and/or smear rivals?
When a company culture is reticent to communications, is insensitive to processes that encourage performance output, employee recognition or job security, or tolerates bad character behavior, office gossip develops as employees feel left out of the organization, resent their management and lack confidence that the organization can compete for their long term employment security.
Most of the recent articles on office gossip target the problem as being the employee and in a few cases this may be true. However office gossip is a business cultural phenomenon and therefore the responsibility of management to prevent…not by hands off written policies but by accountable management behaviors that employees understand, respect and emulate. Key behaviors should be:
Management
-Communicate regularly with a consistent positive message. Industry trends, organizational changes and why done, new products, promotions, retirements. Newsletters and emails are just a start. Quarterly meetings by group/team with senior level managers sharing brief overviews allowing Q&A from employees. If reasonable questions surface, commit to timely responses and make sure answered. If information to be shared is less than positive, be direct and honest without a deceiving spin.
-Actions speak louder than words. Management must be visible, accessible and approachable. Too many managers hide in their offices, avoid employees and are purposely evasive when asked reasonable questions. Insecurity and fear in managers is unfortunately common, a reflection of their bosses hiring cronies without performance accountability and reluctance to make necessary management changes. If management wants what best for the organization than for themselves, they must behave accordingly. Daily interaction with employees is a must, saying hello, asking how a project is going and listening sincerely. Survey after survey reflect a majority of managers feel they do the right things but the majority of employees say otherwise.
-Carrots work better than sticks. Managers often reluctant to acknowledge good performance for fear of not getting credit or spoiling employees. Employees consistently tell surveys they hear nine negatives to any one positive from their managers. Praise builds teams and esteem, criticism divides and tears down.
-Stop internal competitions as only divide departments, employees and distract from a needed focus on core competencies and customer needs. Performance measures and rewards should be based on what value delivered to clients, not the trickle down politics of management.
Employees
-Take personal accountability for your performance. Employment is a privilege not an entitlement. Your company must be competitive in value and price which means constant changes including work done and employees required. Add value and your employment is secure… just float along and your job will be vulnerable. Gossiping to deflect attention from you to those offending or not respected often backfires on the gossiper.
-Office gossip is often juicy, fun and sometimes insightful…however it is better to focus on listening skills and speak only when can add value to organization. Either you have confidence and respect for your management or you leave… sticking around to gossip is a waste of your time now and potential elsewhere.
-Avoid labeling fellow employees. Prejudice, bias, hard feelings, jealousies and the like bring no value to the organization and only reflects poorly on offending employees…as well as being potentially libelous. Interesting to see someone label an employee as a “backstabber” but then what does that make them? As the old saying goes, be careful when you point a finger as then there are three more pointing back at you.
The presence of office gossip should be seen by management as a reflection of their performance and organizational effectiveness. The more prevalent gossip, no doubt the more human resource issues will surface and work performance sink. The problem should be addressed with more emphasis on clear, consistent communications and sincere management involvement with employees. Stated policies against office gossip with strong penalties only increase employee distrust and diminishes any respect as management appears insensitive to the needs of employee communications, understanding, recognition and mutual respect and security…encouraging, much less diminishing the gossip.
Change will be a constant in the workplace reflecting the marketplace and competition. Companies that embrace employees as sources of fresh ideas for products, services, enhancements, productivity, are reaping the rewards of change. Management insecurity and fears are a reflection of the leadership of owners, board and senior officers who fear change. Old economy command and control organizations are breading grounds for office gossip. New economy entrepreneurial organizations embrace change, moving so quickly, with incentised participants to a common cause, that there is simply no time for office gossip, just great performance numbers, job security and recognition from many quarters.
Management must accept accountability of their actions/inactions that create a culture where gossip can either thrive or diminish. Employees must accept responsibility for their livelihoods and deliver their best value where at, or change to an employer more appreciative of their deliverables.