Time Management

According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, time is defined as a period either long or short, during which you do something or something happens while management is defined as the act or skill of dealing with people or situations in a successful way (Adeojo, 2012). Rombe,2016 said time is an important thing to both employees and employers in a modern organization. Rombe added time is capital but not a renewable income. It flows from future to the past. As such we should develop plans for each day in our working life and should be ahead of time before beginning to work for example, tomorrows plan is done today. 

Meanwhile, time management is the practice of using the time that you here available in a useful and effective way, especially in your work (Cambridge Dictionary,2020). Time management is self-management, when time is effectively managed; the person becomes more productive with less procrastination and has been defined as cluster of behavioral skills sets that are important in an organization (Rombe,2016). Abban, 2011 said time management “is a set of principles, practices, skills, tools and systems that help us use time to accomplish what we want. It refers to the techniques, and strategies that individuals use in utilizing and maximizing the work that they do. Managing time effectively helps to develop a better personality (Abban, 2011) and give a positive impact on productivity (Rombe,2016) in an organization.  Time management is a system for planning, controlling and using time in the most efficient and effective manner. To manage time demands commitment and readiness to keep up with its programme, though it is not easy as we think. Therefore, we have to know how to manage time, the effect from time management and the barriers in time management to make us success in managing the time.

How to manage time?

Thomack,2012 and Adeojo,2012 give a few tips how to manage time wisely to be a good worker like below:

i. Goal

The best way to manage time is to set a goal, develop a plan, and measure the outcome. Without goals, it is impossible to set priorities. Taking the time to plan and set priorities, rather than simply diving into a project or task, actually saves time. Based on goals, tasks can be separated into what must be done, what could be done if time permits, and what need not be done. Successful time managers begin with a plan for available time and then manage within that time. Those skilled in time management set deadlines and tackle their most difficult projects at the time of day they are at their best. Easy tasks are done during the times when energy or focus is low.

ii. Making a daily to-do-list

Making a daily-to-do-list can be a legitimate time manager. Keep a pad handy to jot down projects as they arise, items that come to mind to do later, and even phone calls you need to make. At the end of the day or week, whichever is best for you, mark off the items handled. Then, make a fresh list and prioritize the remaining items. This shouldn’t take but a few minutes each day or a little longer if done once a week. Using this process can help you avoid that familiar sinking feeling when you realize you forgot something important and also help you feel on top of things on a daily basis while freeing your mind to concentrate on the job at hand.

iii. Be realistic

One way to set up yourself for a panic situation is to plan an unrealistic amount of work for one day or one week. Use your common sense to recognize when you have over-scheduled yourself. Enthusiasm is wonderful, but it doesn’t add more hours to the day.

iv. Learn to Say No! 

Many people have a tough time saying no. They allow themselves to become members of every committee even ones that are outside their particular talent. People, who can’t say no, quickly discover their life is out of balance; it is being pulled in the opposite direction. No matter how important the obligations maybe, do not allow your family priorities to suffer.

Effect from Time Management

According to Kinsey,2018, a good time management give a good effect to workers such as:

i. Reduced Stress

Sitting in front of a large pile of work without knowing where to focus first can feel stressful and overwhelming. Excess stress affects physical and mental health, which also impacts the ability to work efficiently. Time management takes the feeling of being overwhelmed out of work days by helping people understand where and how to focus their efforts while ensuring they get adequate breaks and time to recharge so they can give their best. When you're rested, less stressed and more focused, chances are good you'll feel better about your job and want to stick around for the long haul.

ii. Increased Quality

Time management helps us focus on the tasks that matter most and group similar tasks together. When we're less overwhelmed by putting out fires, it's possible to focus intently on the work that's in front of us. Our minds work better when they're not jumping from one thing to the next in a panicked way, so the quality of our work is likely to increase and efficiency will improve. When quality is up, you look good, your superiors look good and your company looks good.

iii. Work-Life Balance

When work is stressful, hours can get long and stress from the office tends to follow you home and leak into your personal time. It might be challenging to fully enjoy family movie night when your mind is still fixated on the deadlines you missed at work and whether or not your boss will be upset with you. Time management means learning to plan your time effectively and realistically so you can take the breaks you need, end your work days on time and leave work stress at work. When you're free to fully enjoy your personal time, you arrive at work ready to give your best and excel.

iv. Better Decisions

Poor time management can lead to the feeling that you're letting everyone down at the office and that no matter what you do it will never be good enough. It's difficult to make healthy and productive work choices when fear is in the driver's seat. Time management equips you to get a healthy grasp on the time you have in the day and which tasks you can fit into that time. When top priorities are handled first, your superiors are satisfied, your business continues to grow and you're emotionally free to make decisions with the peaceful confidence of knowing you're on the right track.

                                                                                                

Barriers to Time Management

In process handling time management, sometimes we face many barriers that lead us waste the time without notice it. There are a few barriers that always stick around in our life like internet, procrastination and failure to acquire new skills, knowledge and abilities. 

i. Internet 

Internet has been a good tool for research, projects and one of the quickest means to communicate. However, there is a disadvantage to as well. People tend to do unnecessary work, example, chatting a lot on the internet makes us some times delay important or urgent tasks. Workers spend lots of time on the internet either face booking or twittering and this behavior affects man hours. This makes us undisciplined and a barrier to time management. One of the methods to overcome the barrier to time management is to check our emails and reply the immediate and important emails.

ii. Procrastination

The habit of delaying accomplishments of any tasks to the very last minute is the most important barrier to time management. Once we know what we need to do, we must accomplish it as soon as possible. The only way we can overcome procrastination is to be determined and understand the task ahead.

iii. Failure to acquire new skills, knowledge and abilities

Some workers fail to update themselves in terms of attending seminars and lectures that will increase their horizons instead they feel they know all things and don’t need to be updated

Conclusion

As a conclusion, time management is depending on individual how they manage the time and how they cop the barrier in management time to make their life have work-life balance, have minimal stress, quality of life increasing and the most important thing is can make a better decision.

References

Abban, K. (2012). Understanding The Importance of Time Management to Assistant Registrar’s in the Registrars Department of the University of Education. International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research Volume 3, Issue 12,december 2012. Retrieved from: https://www.ijser.org/researchpaper

Adeojo, A. (2012). Effective Time Management for High Performance in an Organization. Seinäjoki University Of Applied Sciences .Retrieved from: https://www.theseus.fi/handle/10024/48669

Cambridge Dictionary. (2020). Cambridge University Press 2020.Retrieved from: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english

Kinsey, A. (2018). "Five Good Effects of Time Management in the Workplace." Work – Chron.com, Retrieved from: https://work.chron.com/five-good-effects-time-management-workplace-27491.html

Mathew, B. E. (2015). The Importance of Time Management to become efficient in the Workplace. International Journal of Engineering Technology, Management and Applied Sciences , Volume 3, Special Issue, ISSN 2349-4476 . Retrieved from: http://www.ijetmas.com/admin/resources/project/paper/f201509231442991126

Rombe. M.L.M. (2016). Effective Time and Self-Management, Environment and
Productivity in an Organization. Science Journal of Business and Management.
Vol. 4, No. 6, 2016, pp. 204-211. doi: 10.11648/j.sjbm.20160406.15

Thomack, B. (2012). Time Management for Today’s Workplace Demands. Workplace Health & Safety,Vol. 60, No. 5. Retrieved from: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/216507991206000503

8 April 2020, 10.08am

Contributor: Noor Adibah Nordin