Time management skills employees should know

An essential aspect of remaining productive is having good time management skills. Employees with good time management skills tend to be the most productive. Therefore, businesses should train employees to manage their time effectively. Increased productivity leads to increased revenue.

Prioritization

Employees should know how to prioritize tasks. Employees should tackle the most critical tasks first. After the important ones are complete, they should then tackle those tasks of secondary importance. Employees can keep track of important tasks by writing down a to-do list. They can write this down on a piece of paper, or they could use an app such as Evernote. Prioritization ensures that employees spend their time wisely on the most vital work.

Scheduling

A schedule is a fantastic time management tool. It allows employees to keep track of all the crucial goals they need to accomplish throughout the day. Moreover, it structures their day; this keeps them focused on what they need to do. Employees that lack a schedule spend their day just going with the flow. In addition, unimportant distractions such as office gossip capture their attention at the time.

Organizing their workspace

A disorganized workspace is a time-waster. Employees with an organized workspace cut down on time required to find and gather all necessary items for their work. They keep these items in the same place and ensure easy access. Since much of our work has become digital, employees should also keep their digital workspace clutter-free. They should store related files in folders. Furthermore, employees can use file management systems to keep everything organized.

Batching

Batching involves grouping similar tasks together; to work on in a single time frame. This helps minimize distractions and allows one to complete a large chunk of work all at once. Time batching is effective because it reduces multitasking. Consider the following statistics about multitasking:

• Multitasking can lead to as much as a 40% drop in productivity.
• People who are interrupted and have to switch their attention back and forth take 50% longer to complete a task.
• Multitaskers make up to 50% more errors when completing a task.

Batching is effective because it eliminates the presence of multitasking.

Although not strictly a time-management technique, good communication skills are a must-have for employees that want to manage their time well. Communicating well with fellow employees means they spend less time rectifying mistakes caused by miscommunication. Also, employees can spend more time doing their work and less time asking for clarification.

The techniques mentioned here are just a few that employees can use to manage their time. There are many more, and I would encourage you to read more about them. A few time management books I would recommend are:

• The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
• The 7 habits of highly effective people by Stephen R. Covey
• Eat that Frog! By Brian Tracy

At Softlink Options, we offer the most effective employee management software. CONTACT US, we work together on innovating the most effective solutions for your business.