How Can Time Management Skills Affect Your Career?

December 8 2020 - They say time management is life management. It is taking control of the sequence of events such that you can determine what you should do now and what you should do later. In the business world, there is a lot of demand on time that our 24 hours daily doesn't seem enough. What do we do when 24 hours are not enough? The logical thing is to manage time wisely. In a study of top executives and highly successful people, good time management skill is the common denominator. We examine how time management skills can affect your career.

Becoming an expert takes time

For you to become an expert in your field, you must have accumulated lots of practice time. According to research by Sociologists, it takes approximately 1,000 hours of practice time to get a novice to become an expert at any endeavor. As highlighted by Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers, becoming an expert depends largely on practice time and opportunity. All things being equal, two workers of similar ability will attain mastery of their field within 1000 hours of practice in the area. Say one of them works four hours daily; it will take about seven years to attain an expert level. If the other worker works only fewer hours on whatever day he or she likes, it takes even longer to achieve mastery.

Your performance at work will show how dedicated you have been. If you want to get promoted faster, developing excellent time management skills is a must.

Your attitude towards time affects your work output and quality

A lot of work time is usually wasted on correcting work done by people who do not have well-organized time management skills. Most times, they leave the project until the last hour before they start rushing to complete it. Instead of having ample time to vet their work and save time for corrections, they run out of time and deliver poor quality jobs. You may have noticed some people in your workplace who have poor time management skills. Their employers know they will always have issues with their work. Such an attitude cannot allow management to consider promoting such individuals to key positions.

Managers and employers are particular about workplace efficiency

In the 21st century workplace, efficiency is the order of the day. Employers want faster ways of achieving better results. It is the reason companies are using machines and software to automate tasks. Employers and clients are looking for the chance to replace low-productivity workers and freelance bloggers with more efficient ones. You sure want to be part of the more efficient workers, so success in your career can be guaranteed.

Your attitude towards time affect other areas of your life

How you view time also affects other areas of your life. It is common to see people who have poor time management skills appear late for functions. Their lives often look out of balance. If you don’t manage work time effectively, you may find that you are often taking home assignments you could have completed in the office. This puts a lot of stress on you and your family as a whole.

How to manage time effectively?

1.Keep track of your time using time tracking apps

Sometimes we wonder where all our time went after the day has ended. Online timesheet or basecamp time tracking helps you stay on top of your tasks and projects. You can easily create daily, weekly, and monthly tasks schedule. Manage your tasks and get notified of important deadlines on your smartphone and other devices. With this powerful tool, you can develop excellent time management skills faster.

2.Prioritize

Have a to-do list that you prepare the night before each day. Prioritize the tasks on your list such that the most important ones come top on the list. Allot time to each task and discipline yourself to stick to your list. Do not do less important tasks when more important ones are still on the list. For instance, completing a significant report for your boss may be more important than attending to your emails. Be sure you do not leave relatively more critical tasks at the mercy of the mundane ones.

3.Practice creative procrastination

Since we have to choose to do more important tasks first, what happens to the relatively less important ones? We put them off till the next day or some other time when they become a top priority. Some tasks only become a top priority because their deadlines are at hand. You need to be creative with these tasks so your schedule will not be overloaded.

4.Delegate tasks

When you have a lot to do, it makes sense to delegate some tasks to your assistants or friends who are capable of completing the task. This practice helps you focus on the other tasks and help you get your work done faster and with lesser effort.

5, Find faster and better ways of doing things

There are faster ways of getting important tasks done. You may need just some software or machine to improve your speed and efficiency. Invest in efficient solutions. It will boost your career success. Rather than hustle harder, work smarter.

Conclusion

When we consider the excellent extent time management affects our career, it is surprising how many people overlook time management. You can develop a better work ethic and increase your career prospects by simply developing good time management skills.

About the author

Lori Wade is a journalist from Louisville. She is a content writer who has experience in small editions, Lori is now engaged in news and conceptual articles on the topic of business. If you are interested in an entrepreneur or lifestyle, you can find her on Twitter & LinkedIn. She has good experience and knowledge in the field.

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