Time Efficiency Management Techniques

Using time efficiently is a major part of success in any venture. Time really is money today, more than ever; time is not only valuable but also a precious commodity. Time efficiency experts have a heaping toolbox of ideas to help make a project go smoothly and produce better results.

Analysis

Analysis means looking at a new task or a current process from an objective point of view and discovering what is really happening. Break down the steps, look for logjams, dead ends or "negative feedback loops" in a project or process and then come up with ways to solve or prevent these problems to save time.

Goals

Every task or project has to have a goal; set one for your task before you begin. Some goals may be obvious, some not so obvious. Where there may be goal conflicts, analyze the choices, such as between "quick" or "quality" results, and then set the appropriate goal. Knowing where you are going means getting there faster and saving time.

Task Priorities

After setting a goal, break it down into separate tasks, each with a priority. For example, the goal may be "saving money for vacation." One break-out task might include "cutting down on eating out this month," which might have a lower priority than the task "take on two extra work shifts this month." Do the high-priority tasks first so you may not have to do the lower-priority tasks at all, conserving your time and energy.

Involve and Delegate

When possible, involve others in your tasks or projects and delegate jobs and responsibilities to them. Let your "second priority" task become someone else's "first priority" task. If you involve others, take the time to explain the project and follow up on their progress. A good explanation on the front end of a project saves time at the back end.

Plan

Planning is an underutilized concept. Planning means envisioning and "reverse engineering" every aspect of a project. Imagine all the situations, questions, obstacles and problems that could arise, then plan your actions accordingly. Write your plan down. Rehearse it in your mind. Revise it as needed. Then, put the plan into action and stick to it.

Organize

Planning and organizing are related, but not the same. Organizing means setting up the work table, team, equipment or other resources in the most reasonable, thoughtful manner---and all to save time and energy. An organized workspace saves steps and time finding things. An organized team saves repetitions, oversights and time correcting performance mistakes or meeting new demands. An organized processing system prevents errors, oversights, duplications---and all the time and effort needed to make corrections.

Focus

The biggest time waster in nearly all enterprises is the interruption. People who lose their focus by some other demand or distraction lose their place in a project and waste time finding it again. Set up your environment so that you can focus on a task without interruptions, even if it is only in hour or half-hour "bites."

Data

Knowing how long a job takes is half the battle of whittling away at the time. Otherwise, we waste and lose time unconsciously and have no yardstick for getting time under control. Clock yourself thoroughly cleaning your kitchen, for example. If it takes four hours, knowing that fact will compel you to make adjustments to reduce the time through some efficiency technique. It will also help you set goals, prioritize, delegate, organize and focus so you can make the job go faster.