7 Basic Ways to Better Time Management

Being a project manager is a demanding job, but with these 7 tips, you can simplify your day, work smarter rather than harder, and become more productive. Continue reading as we show you how to better organize your time so that you may make the most of your days…

1. Know yourself

Work at your most productive hours. Our first suggestion is simple enough, yet it is frequently neglected. The pandemic has shattered the 9-to-5 office routine and given us the possibility to be more flexible with our working hours. Take a moment to get to know yourself and consider what times of day you work best to make the most of this chance. Then rearrange your daily schedule such that your most intellectually demanding tasks are completed when your focus is at its greatest and less demanding tasks are completed when your brain capacity is at its lowest. Many of us will be most alert in the morning, then experience a dip in the midday before getting a second wind of energy late in the afternoon.

2. Conduct a personal stand up

Daily scrums are a popular Agile project management technique. Every morning, have a one-person stand-up meeting. This personal daily check-in should outline what you accomplished the day before, choose what you’ll work on today, and identify any roadblocks you’ll need to overcome. After all, productive days don’t just happen — they require preparation!

3. Fix your calendar

It’s a broken calendar if it’s completely full! You should never overbook yourself as a project manager. When you overbook your calendar, you’ll be disappointed if you don’t finish everything. Filling your calendar to the full every day increases your chances of working late and burnout.

Fill your calendar only 60-70% of the way and you’ll be OK. This will not only provide you extra time on assignments, but it will also give you room to be creative. Imagine the joy of being able to start tomorrow’s duties ahead of time, take advantage of chances, and say yes to things!

4. Say no to things without worry

On the other hand, don’t be scared to say no! You can’t be everything to everyone as a busy project manager! Say no to meetings you don’t need to attend and extra work you don’t have time for. Saying no more often will allow you to say yes more often!

On a daily basis, using the ‘do not disturb’ option to say no to disruptions might be beneficial. This will allow you to focus on the work at hand, and everything that isn’t essential will be put off until you are available.

5. Make plans for tomorrow

Take five minutes at the conclusion of your workday to write down your goals and objectives for the next day, just as you did at the start of the day. This simple action helps you switch off from work for the remainder of the day by getting tomorrow’s to-do list out of your thoughts and onto paper. However, merely writing down your goals on a regular basis increases your chances of achieving them by 42%! It will take you 10-15 minutes to top and tail your day in this manner, but it will help you better manage the hours of your day.

6. Form healthy habits

Effective planning and healthy habits go hand in hand with good time management. It’s all too easy to get into bad habits, such as staying late at work, but it’s far more difficult to form positive ones. Working as a project manager implies that no two days are ever the same. That isn’t to suggest you can’t establish habits and healthy schedules that you can keep to.

Form rituals like the ones we’ve already described (starting and ending your day) and habits like focusing on specific things in specific surroundings. If you’re doing WFH or hybrid work, this should be simple, but it’s still possible with hot-desking in the office. Consider the sorts of jobs you perform and associate them with a certain time and/or location. As a result of your brain associating these routines with the activity at hand, you will likely be more focused and productive.

7. Prioritise, prioritize, prioritize!

How you prioritize your task is perhaps the most important issue in time management. We are all guilty of being ‘busy’ all day yet not feeling accomplished. Set out the bare minimum you want to do that day at your morning check-in, and make it your top priority. Work on it while in ‘do not disturb mode during your most productive period. Completing your priority assignment will offer you a far larger sense of productivity than checking off a few less essential items on your to-do list, and it will help you manage your time more effectively.

Here at CourseMonster, we know how hard it may be to find the right time and funds for training. We provide effective training programs that enable you to select the training option that best meets the demands of your company.

For more information, please get in touch with one of our course advisers today or contact us at training@coursemonster.com