5 Easy Time Management Tips for Managing your Time in the Office

If you have your own small business, being able to manage your time effectively makes the difference between success and failure.

You still only get 24 hours in a day; no one has yet been able to figure out how to make any more than that. Given that you have a finite number of hours in which to get your work done, the secret to getting the most out of each and every workday is to manage your time.

Business time management is a topic familiar to most small business.

Done right, business time management can indeed be an effective technique for focusing on what really needs to be done while removing the clutter and distractions that may get in the way of achieving your goals.

Here are some time management tips to better manage your time in the office:

  • Get organized!

    There’s nothing that slows you down faster than having to wade through a messy desk or office searching for a missing address, phone number, or report.

    Take time to get and stay organized. After you do, the amount of time you set aside to perform ongoing maintenance will be substantially reduced.

  • Review your priorities at the beginning of the day.

    When managing your time each workday, before you do anything else (okay, go ahead and grab a cup of coffee first, if you like), review your priorities for the day to see what you need to work on right away.

  • Do your first priority first, and drop your last priority.

    Instead of jumping to an easy, low-priority item on your list, always take on your first priority first.

    And instead of letting your lowest-priority items languish at the very bottom of your list — never to be acted on — drop the lowest one from your list. Chances are you’ll never miss it.

  • Lose your junk mail.

    Junk mail (and junk e-mail, also known as spam) is an incredible time-waster.

    Whenever you find it in your mailbox, don’t pass Go, don’t collect $200 — simply pitch it into the trash can or recycling bin. And as for junk e-mail, use your e-mail program to filter out messages from junk senders before you even see them. Out of sight, out of mind.

    One more thing: Be careful about giving your e-mail address to people and website operators who may just turn around and sell it to the highest bidder.

    You may want to create a free Web-based e-mail address for just such use while keeping your real address more private.

  • Get a faster computer.

    How much time have you spent watching that little hourglass mouse pointer while the machine crunches a big chunk of information or waiting for your ancient modem to download a web page from the Internet?

    If you still have a slow computer and modem, all the time you spend waiting could easily add up to several hours every month. This is time down the drain. Do yourself (and your customers and clients) a favor, and get a faster computer and modem.

    To better manage your time Buy the fastest computer you can afford, and be sure to get plenty of RAM while you’re at it — this will ensure that your computer can work at its fastest.

    And if DSL or cable modems are available in your location, spend the extra money to sign up. You’ll more than make up the extra cost in greatly improved productivity and effectiveness.

Business time management isn’t rocket science. Follow these easy time management tips, and you’ll be at peak productivity in no time!

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