Time Management Tips

Control your addiction to technology. Make sure you limit your time on Blackberrys, Laptops and the Internet.
Make sure that your days off are complete days off.
Find fun and different things to do with your loved ones.
Schedule in quality time rather than hoping it happens.
Learn to Say NO. Remember you are always saying No to something,the question is to what.
Get the hardest tasks done first and give yourself a little reward afterwards to look forward to.
Ask questions to focus your attention on things.
Plan by figuring out what you want to achieve, what people and resources you have available and designing a step by step strategy for achieving it.
Figure out when (what time of the day?) you work most efficiently.
Establish your priorities for what you want to get done. Identify the tasks and activities that are the highest priority and eliminate those of low priority.
Allow more time than you think you will need. This makes your schedule flexible and allows for the unexpected.
Get into the habit of using your odd five minutes here and there more productively. Do not just dismiss it as only five minutes, they add up throughout the week!
Accomplish one or two important tasks rather than lots unimportant ones.
Keep a calendar/diary. Mark all your important dates/tasks.
Keep a list of "Things to Do" and mark them off as completed.
Every day make a list of what you have to do tomorrow.
When possible do the unpleasant tasks first.
Tidiness makes your life easier and reduces stress.
Allow time to relax, recharge and do nothing.
Leave time in your schedule for un-planned activities.
Know your strengths, skills and weakness.
Ask yourself, "What am I doing that someone else could do for me?" Delegate!
Do not be scared to ask for help
Bin things straight away to reduce the clutter (junk mail, newspapers and spam email etc).
Divide large overwhelming tasks into smaller chunks, and attack them one at a time.
Complete at least one task each day that you don't like to do, but know you should.
Realise that all your email checking, surfing the internet and other procrastinations add up to hours of lost time each week (sometime even each day!)
Watch less T.V. If you watch T.V for three hours a day from the age of five years old, by the time you are fifty five the amount of T.V you will have watched will be the equivalent to watching non-stop 24 hours a day for six years and three months. If you cut this down by just one hour a day, so then only watch two hours of T.V, you will have gained back over two years worth of time.

Five top tips for general time management

Write it out. Whatever you have to do write it out. People carry far too much around in their heads. This causes stress and burnout because we are desperately trying not to forget everything. Writing it out allows you to get it out of your head so you free up thinking space inside your head. It also makes things clearer and easier to prioritise as they are recorded in front of you.
Record how long it takes you to do every day tasks. We often misjudge how long it takes us to do the jobs we do every day. This leads to poor planning and organizational problems. Become more aware of how long the every day jobs take and you will find yourself being able to arrange your day more productively.
Prioritise. List out all of your activities and the things you need to do and categorise which of them are urgent and important. Many people spend far too much time on the activities that are not important to do. There's a law in Psychology known as Paretos Principle that suggests that 20% of the work you do will account for 80% of the results. Spend more time on that 20%.
Say No. Many people find themselves overburdened with things to do because they don't say no. to others or to themselves. Here's what's important to remember: Every time you say Yes to something, you are saying No to everything else. So, in fact, YES is NO and NO is YES. The key is to become aware of what you are saying Yes and No to and make sure it fits in with your priorities.
Check your email in batches. One of the biggest problems many people have is that they find themselves addicted to checking their email. This wastes a massive amount of time as it distracts us from the task at hand. The key is to decide on two or three times per day to check your email and do it all in one go rather than continuously checking in. This will make sure you work smarter and more productively.

Dealing with Redundancy or Too Many Hours

Probably one of the challenging things for people to face is the prospect of doing nothing. With the exception of those who cherish having plenty of time on their hands, most people have a need to feel productive. To do something. The key to dealing with lots of free time is to maximize the use of it. This means making sure you satisfy one of the following criteria.
Looking for work
Be focused on how you go about looking for a job. Don't do a blitz, target jobs suitable for your skill base. Think outside the box, how can you adapt the skills you have. Give yourself a regular amount of time each day to job hunt don't do it on an ad hoc basis.
Time to Contribute
Do something for others. This makes you feel productive and effective. By helping out someone else it's good for your self esteem and makes you happy as well as the other person. Joining a charity or doing some volunteer work is also a good idea and it increases your experience in different areas as well.
Time to Learn
Take this time to learn or master a skill. Whether you want to perfect playing the piano, master a language or learn how to do accounts, this is free time which you can spend developing yourself to the maximum.
Time to Occupy your Mind
Make sure you challenge yourself and keep yourself occupied with things which keep you thinking and force you to use your brain. Often, when people are left to their own devices they find their minds wandering onto unhelpful thoughts and worries. Keep your own mind on track and occupy it with plenty of things to do. This will also make it easier for you when you do return to a busy lifestyle.

Stay at home Moms returning to work

Mothers returning to work can be a very challenging prospect. They are back engaging in full time employment after potentially years off, and not only have the responsibility now of a new work routine but of keeping things afloat at home also.

Here are some suggestions, which might help.

Ensure that you keep quality time scheduled in with your children and partner. Quality time means enjoyable and rewarding time together. It does not mean being in the same location while you are doing housework.
Learn to get help with the housework. If you have found yourself doing most of the housework, learn to delegate certain chores. This will involve you learning to let go of needing everything to be perfect. Explain what you want done as simply and as specifically as possible but do understand others have their own way of doing things.
Be a good example to the children. Avoid complaining about work in front of them. Find something which allows you to vent if necessary or switch off like going for a walk. When you leave work be fully present around your children.
Quit the guilt. Stop feeling guilty. It may be natural but it is misplaced. Ask yourself 'Why are you going back to work?' The answer is because you need to so you can help provide the best type of life for your family. You are doing it for them. What is crucial is that you make the time at work as productive as possible and the time with them at home as much fun as possible. ( that means guilt free!)
Give yourself some quality time alone at some stage during the weekend. Even if only for an hour of two take regular time out weekly where you can spend quality time by yourself. This will be something to look forward to each week and will help you feel far more energized.

Owen Fitzpatrick

Series 2 Programme Archive