“Time is a precious possession and I attempt to make the most of it by not wasting it, for it is irreplaceable” Stanley Marcus, in the book, Minding the Store

Each one of us has 24 hours in a day to spend as we want. Others waste what they will. But we cannot get back time that is lost; it is lost for ever. We will never ‘find’ time to do certain things; we ‘have’ to make it. We don’t have time because we find it difficult to control the flow of something that is freely available.

We often hear people say, “I don’t have the time”. The reason is simple. The work does not appeal to them. Some think they are overburdened. Others feel they should handle everything and don’t delegate or share the work. This happens because we do not identify what is important or urgent, and make sure we do them, by planning and allocating the use of time wisely. In other words we do not Manage our Time well.

Time management is based on the principle that you have your choice over what you do, when to do, and how much time is to be allocated to each task and all tasks are not equally important. This will make every moment count and useful. The ability to work faster and get more done in less time is a skill to be developed.

There are essentially three steps involved in Time Management.

Recording time and tasks;
Analysing time and managing time and tasks  and
Consolidating time to allocate to tasks.

Recording time

Recording time consumes time. But one has to make it a practice and habit to continue with it. It should cover all activities of the day. Recording should be done in ‘real’ time, that is, when the event takes place, and later from memory.

Analysing the time and tasks

From a daily record we should make a weekly summary of the time spent on each activity and the manner in which it was spent. We should ensure that the recording and classifying are simple but meaningful to enable us to get an over-all picture. We should be fair and not cheat ourselves! The exercise is for our benefit. 
Analysing time and tasks and managing time

From the data collected and analysed, identify and eliminate activities that do not contribute anything and hence are a waste. One of the reasons for poor time management is the lack of planning in our work. Time invested in planning is worth it. Planning involves setting priorities. It gives time for important matters, and even saves time for future.

Time does not allow us to do all the things at the same time. So we need to set priorities. Time is also wasted due to lack of a proper information and communication system. This should be rectified. We must make our written and verbal communication clear, because it saves a lot of time repeating or explaining.

Some think that they can work better under pressure. This is not true. If we delay a task and try to finish it under force of pressure, what we really do is to work faster, not well. We may do a bad job and take hasty decisions without proper thinking or information. We may not enjoy it. Stress is not a motivating factor.

Consolidating time

After analysis, we can find how much ‘discretionary’ time we have for each job. Small savings in significant areas are more important than large savings in trivial matters. When more time is allotted for a job we tend to waste some of it. Yet, we should ensure that we allot enough time to complete a task. We should keep deadlines for completion of important tasks based on experience and judgment.

It is necessary to consolidate discretionary time into the largest possible units. Important jobs require continuous amount of time at a stretch.

Some important hints to ‘save’ time are given below:

Set your goals high. Let them be challenging but feasible and time-bound.
Enjoy your work. That makes you work hard.
Become more active physically and mentally.
Be organised and plan your work in advance.
Avoid stress; be relaxed; Practice yoga and other relaxation techniques.
Get up an hour early.
Learn to say “NO” to time wasters. Avoid unnecessary chatting; minimise phone calls.
Break complex jobs into easier and manageable parts.
Make your environment comfortable and pleasant to work in
Being busy does not tire you. It keeps you mentally active.