Whether you write it down, mark it on a calendar or add it into your project management software, your business work calendar is essential to ensuring you stay on track and don’t miss important work events.
But, to truly optimise your calendar, and therefore your time, you need to strategise. By planning task activities into your schedule and allocating time for meetings you will maximise your productivity, reduce the potential for stress and anxiety and be accountable for your deadlines, commitments and personal goals.
The most popular time management practises:
- Prioritise: Consider which activities hold the greatest value for you and your company. Try the Eisenhower Matrix to determine which tasks are urgent, important or both. Once you’ve established your priorities you can schedule your time appropriately.
- Time Blocking: Give yourself full control over your time by blocking space in your calendar for tasks and meetings. Use this technique to communicate to your team when you are available and when you are not.
- Delegation: Does this task need to be done by you? If not, delegate! We offer a vast range of services to help you, however, whether you choose to solicit the services of an excellent virtual assistant or you delegate to someone within your team, just remember to schedule follow ups with staff to track task progression.
- Buffer Time: Adding buffer time between meetings and/or encompassing tasks will help you to stay in control, especially when meetings run over or you need a power break to recharge.
- Flexibility: View your diary as a living thing which is ever changing and adapting. Be prepared for your diary to alter and be flexible to these changes. Having a plan in place means that when your diary does change you are in a stronger position to communicate and strategise against potential delays.
- Re-evaluate: Take time to review and reflect. Identify your diaries strengths and weaknesses and adapt your future plan so that your schedule works better for you.
Our top tips and tricks for diary management:
- Set Realistic Goals: Be realistic about what is achievable and don’t overload your plate. Prioritise via your goals and communicate what is unrealistic. It’s better to accomplish more than you planned rather than to be constantly falling behind.
- Colour Coding: What’s your favourite colour? Assign a colour system to your diary entries (e.g. company tasks, project tasks, meetings & breaks). This will help make your diary legible at a quick glance, stop double booking and reduce overcommitting to new projects when you don’t have capacity.
- Morning & Evening Reviews: Start and end your day by reviewing your diary. In the morning reflect on what you have scheduled so that you are aware of what your day holds. At the end of the day evaluate your achievements and schedule unfinished tasks following your priorities.
- Limit Unnecessary Meetings: Critique upcoming meetings; are they still necessary, do you need to attend, can they be addressed through an email? Evaluate whether you can free up your time for more important tasks.
- Sync Personal & Work Diaries: Consider syncing your work and personal calendar. This could help you to manage your work life balance and alleviate potential for schedule clashes.
- Set Clear Boundaries: Respect your time off by setting clear work and non-work hours. Be more productive, more efficient and promote better mental health by taking the time to recuperate and enjoy life outside the office.
Diary management can optimise how you spend your time and resources ultimately giving you more time to grow your business. Find the right tools and strategies for you and your company and you’ll enhance productivity, reduce stress and maximise your potential to achieve goals.
If you’d like support to establish a more cohesive diary management system get in touch today.