Time Management Systems

Creating systems with time management tools that help you better organize your work and time makes life a lot easier. ‘Yikes,’ I hear you right-brained, creative types say. ‘Systems; we don’t ‘do’ systems or ‘time management tools.’

Fear not. Here’s a variety of ideas and suggestions that help you make the best use of whatever time management tools you feel will work for you. Pick a solution that appeals, and adapt it to fit the way that you like to work.

With effective time management systems, it’s necessary to understand the importance of putting things in logical places – whether it’s adding an appointment to your diary or a contact to your address book, or leaving your car keys somewhere more sensible than ‘on the side’. Having a place for everything and putting everything in its place saves you time, makes life easier, and reduces frustration.

Using Time Management Tools

Planning and organizing your time doesn’t need to be hard work. Here’s some handy time management tools – which you can use in combination or alone – to improve your time management skills.

Keeping a diary (just one, mind)

Most people have a diary, either paper-based or on their computer, perhaps even two – one for business, one for personal use. Some people have even more – one at work, one at home, and a personal one – but quite a few people don’t have any system at all, keeping it all in their head or relying on other people.

A diary is one of the very simple time management tools which makes it a lot easier to keep track of things. But in order to organize your time most effectively, keep just one diary and write in it all your personal and business appointments. That way, you always have all important dates and events available when you’re planning your time and booking appointments. You don’t end up missing important events or having to juggle or cancel activities at the last minute because you’ve booked an important meeting for the same afternoon as your children’s sports day.

Seeing the big picture on a wall planner

As well as having a daily diary, having a planner pinned up on the wall is a very useful time management tool. You can use a monthly calendar, or a large year planner that provides you with a big picture view of the whole year at a glance and also lets other people around you know what’s happening or where you are.

In the office, a team may have one planner to track holidays, training, and out-of-office days. If you all use the same one, you know who’s doing what, when and can avoid conflicts – particularly with holidays. If everyone uses the wall planner, you can color code who’s who. Software sharing applications often enable teams to share their diaries electronically, so you can check who’s where. However, having a wall planner pinned up in the office is quicker and easier to check.

At home you can have a large month or year planner for all the family to use – tracking holidays, important school days, family birthdays, social events, work commitments, and doctors’ or dentist appointments.

Don’t get bogged down with too many time management tools. Having one diary for both business and personal use doesn’t mean that you can’t use it in conjunction with a larger scale planner. Just get into the habit of updating it once a week. Make a note every Monday, Friday, or over the weekend to add any new ‘big picture’ appointments, meetings, or deadlines to your wall planner. These time management tools are there to help you not hinder you.