Do you have employees struggling with getting their tasks completed in the time allotted? If so, fear not, as this at not at all abnormal. At some point in our lives, we all struggle with time management issues and can benefit from tips to get ourselves back on track. Below are some ideas you can share with employees who feel they are falling behind on their task list.
Prioritize your assignments.
In Stephen Covey’s wildly successful book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, he introduces the Time Management Grid. This is a simple tool that allows you to place tasks you need to accomplish into four quadrants- urgent & important, not urgent & important, urgent & not important, and not urgent & not important. By using this grid, you can quickly and easily see which tasks should be given priority each day.
Create deadlines for yourself.
While your supervisor most definitely sets goals and deadlines for you, you can create your own set of mini goals and deadlines to help you reach your objectives. After creating a task list for a project you have been given, don’t be afraid to show it to your supervisor for feedback, and express concern if you believe the deadline they have set for you may not be achievable.
Minimize distractions.
Consider what may be causing distractions from your work and think about some possible solutions. You may consider putting your personal cell phone out of sight during working hours, sending your office phone to voicemail for a certain portion of your day, or designating specific times to check email, rather than jumping to your inbox each time a new message comes in. If you find you work better in silence, you may want to check with your supervisor to see if you can occasionally work from home, or perhaps shift your hours to be in the office at a quieter time of day.