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T
ime management skills are something that can be
learned. Time management is a huge issue for many
workplaces and can have a damaging efect on the
business as well as on individuals. Sometimes there
is bullying in the workplace making people feel their
time is not efective, other times it is simply that the
employee is unable to manage their time efectively.
Most people struggle with time management until
they learn the skills needed to overcome this issue.
It is about becoming more productive, less wasting
of time and making sure that the right tasks are
completed by the right people.
The Issue
Most people struggle with time management at some
point in their lives. Work is busy, there are demands
from their personal lives, and trying to ft in a visit to
the gym seems impossible. For the business, poor
time management from employees and managers
can mean less work being completed on time, wasted
time, increased costs and a lot of stress for everyone
involved. For the individual, in the worst cases it can
have devastating efects on health and wellbeing.
Step One
The frst thing you need to do in order to manage your
time more efectively is to defne what is important
and what actually needs to be done. Is it important
as in there will be consequences if not completed. Or
is it urgent as in the building is burning down. The
issue is that most of us lump a lot of stuf into the
urgent box, when actually it is simply important. We
have all had experience of a manager who things that
proof reading his report is urgent, when actually it
can wait until tomorrow and what was actually really
urgent was placing the stationery order in time for a
large conference. The stationery order may have had
far larger negative consequences if not completed
in time, yet it got pushed aside for the proof reading
report. Now you do not have enough pens for the
conference.
Step Two
Plan, then plan some more. Spend some time every
Sunday night to plan your week ahead. Or you could
debrief on a Friday afternoon, what has been achieved
this week and what are your priorities for the coming
week. It is amazing how much calmer and in control
you will feel once you have written out a to do list
and you might actually fnd that there are less items
on there than you thought you would have. Instead
of having all these things swimming around in your
head you have written them down in a clear format,
and now you can work through each item in order of
priority.
Step Three
Following on from step two, think about de cluttering
your work area. If you can get rid of distractions you
can be more productive. It is much easier to focus
when things are in order and you know where to fnd
things.
Finally, follow our tips for better time management.
• Concentrate on one task at a time
• Delegate when necessary
• Be careful of paper work being double handled
• Set out simple plans and to do lists
• Be prepared for deadlines to sometimes come out
of the blue
Try to start with one thing, and then move through
the other steps and tips. Time management can be
mastered if you try and can reduce a lot of stress,
money wasting and even bullying at workplace and
people will be less stressed. Time management skills
can be learned they just take some practice and a key
factor in their success is getting your friends, family
and colleagues involved. Ask for their support while
you try to take back control of your time and see how
more productive you become. Once you master the
skills, you will feel calmer and more productive. This is
not to say that there will not still be times when you
are under the pump, and stressed or pressed for time.
That is life and happens to all of us. But what you can
manage is 90 percent of your time and also gain the
skills to deal with the tough times when they come
along.
Everyone uses social media these days. You may
spend endless hours updating your Facebook and
Twitter accounts but did you know you can also use
these websites to drive high quality trafc towards
your website? More and more bloggers are turning
towards social media, and getting astonishing results.
Developing a loyal following on key social media
networks is a skillful task – one which may require
regular work. There are plenty of opportunities for
the technology enthusiasts and social media websites
ofer you the chance to regularly engage with your
clients and your followers. Here’s how you can use
them optimally for your beneft:
Location Matters
Social bookmarking has become an important tool
and all websites use it. Unfortunately, most bloggers
do not know how to place these icons on their pages.
Placing them in an obscure corner will only make it
difcult for your users to locate it. Your visitors should
not have to work hard to fnd your social media
handles. Let them be right at the top so that your
visitors can be easily taken to your accounts whenever
they want.
Always have a Facebook Page
You need to have a Facebook page as it is the most
popular of all social media channels. Your blog should
have a place for a Facebook icon. Some bloggers also
keep a space on their blog to refect the updates on
their Facebook account. You should be able to place
a link on your blog every time you post something
new or interesting on your blog and vice versa. This
way you can easily convert your readers to friends and
fans.
Shorten Your Links
Link shorteners are a great choice for any blog. You
can put a link of any length on Facebook, but Twitter
and Google+ shorten your links’ length. You can also
use websites such as bit.ly. This website not only helps
shorten your links, but also provides you with site
metrics so that you can keep a track of the number of
visitors on your website. This will help you experiment
with your content.
Use Your Blog Name a Lot
One of the best ways to promote your blog is to use
its name as much as possible. Successful bloggers
usually use the nameof their blog as their usernames
on various social media websites such as Twitter and
Stumble Upon. This helps people reach your blog
easily and as you develop your online community, you
will be able to fnd more and more people coming to
your website.
Join Blogger Groups
Facebook sports a lot of impressive blogging groups
and pages. Join these groups and make friends with
other community members. Join groups such as
Global Bloggers’ Network and Bloggers Forum. These
blogger groups can supply you with some of the more
pressing issues that bloggers often experience. You
may also fnd blogger groups in your local area. Make
friends with other bloggers, share your experience
and learn from each other. This can be rather helpful
for everyone.
Ketan Sethi
Mastering time
management
skills
Sarah Shore
From: http://www.articlebase.com
From: http://www.articlebase.com