How to Manage Time

How to Manage Time

Web Quest

The objective of preparing this Web Quest was to help anyone who is experiencing challenges in time management.

Background

The world is increasingly becoming dynamic. With globalization, there is stiff competition in every sector. Every one of us is expected to deliver the best output (quality, volume, price, and so forth) than any other time in history. This can be delivering the best products to the market, producing, the best reports, high-quality research, delivering world class services, and so forth. However, everybody in the world has only 24 hours to work per day. Consequently, our ability to survive competition largely depends on how best we manage our time. However, although the fact time is one of the greatest resources for humanity, many people find it difficult to manage. But Peter Drucker once said that unless a person learns to manage time, such a person can never manage anything else. But we cannot blame people who waste their time. Maybe they lack access to sources of information about effective time management. In this Web-Quest, I am going to describe how a person can manage time effective for maximum productivity. This Web-Quest, however, is not specific to any particular job or setting. An employee, a researcher, a student, a farmer, a marketer, and any other person can tailor it to suit the activities he/she is engaged in.

Task

Often, we find ourselves in trouble after wasting much of our day being busy but not delivering substantial results. At a glance, here is a list of the things one can do for effective time management.

• Make a to do list
• Eliminate any form of distraction
• Take occasional breaks
• Divide big tasks into smaller manageable units
• Discover productive times
• Enhance efficiency
• Take limits into account

Processes

(a). Make a to do list

A to-do list is a key to efficiency (Mind Tools-a). A to-do list helps in not only focusing on the right area but also enhance productivity (Loder). When you have a prior knowledge of what you are going to do in the following day or week or even the next few hours, chances of wasting your time on unnecessary assignments or activities is minimized. However, the to-do-list need to be thoroughly thought out.

(b). Eliminate any form of distraction

Most of the things that largely contribute to time wastage are distractions which come in the form of work environment, meetings, e-mails, gossips, phone calls, smoking, instant messaging, browsing social media, and personal technology (Mind Tools-b; Poppick). If you discover that there are some distractions, then it is high time you eliminate them. For example, if social media sites are a distraction, then you can mute the apps on your phone. If calls are becoming a problem, then you either switch off the phone or put in silent mode. If it is websites, then you can disconnect the data connection.

(c). Take occasional breaks

Working continuously can make one burn out easily. Taking occasional breaks help you in rejuvenating your energy. Taking breaks at work boost productivity (Bartolotta; Taylor 461-465). However, it is important that you time your breaks to start and end at predictable times.

(d). Divide big tasks into smaller manageable units

Everything that has been successfully delivered such as building a large aircraft to even cooking basic food in your kitchen requires that big activity is broken down into small units which are then performed in a sequence. When the task is big, it helps breaking it into smaller parts (UGA; )For example, writing a big report involve breaking it into parts such as cover page, abstract, executive summary, table of contents, introduction, main body, conclusion, recommendation, references, appendices, and so forth.

(e). Identify productive times

Some people works best in the morning, some midday, others evening, while even some at night. Sometimes it also depends on what one is doing. Some people works best in some activities when there is silence while they can perform other activities well when it is noisy.  According to Vanderkam, it is very important to plan your work such that it falls on the most productive hours of the day. In fact, it is good noting that the 8-hour work day does not necessarily work well for some jobs (Bradberry).

Works Cited

Bartolotta, Kate. “5 Science-Backed Ways Taking a Break Boosts Our Productivity.” Huffington Post, 1 November 2016. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kate-bartolotta/5-science-backed-ways-taking-a-break-boosts-our-productivity_b_8548292.html. Accessed 9 April 2017.

Bradberry, Travis. “Why The 8-Hour Workday Doesn’t Work.”Forbes, 7 June 2016. www.forbes.com/sites/travisbradberry/2016/06/07/why-the-8-hour-workday-doesnt-work/#7a45365436cc. Accessed 9 April 2017.

Loder, Vanessa. “Five Best To-Do List Tips.” Forbes, 2 June, 2014. www.forbes.com/sites/vanessaloder/2014/06/02/five-best-to-do-list-tips/#7850bbad651b. Accessed 9 April 2017.

Mind Tools-a. “To-Do Lists.” www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_05.htm. Accessed 9 April 2017.

Mind Tools-b. “Minimizing Distractions: 10 ways to take control of your day.” www.mindtools.com/pages/article/distractions.htm. Accessed 9 April 2017.

Poppick, Susie. “These are the top workplace productivity killers.” CNBC, 9 June 2016. http://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/09/top-distractions-at-work-and-how-to-increase-productivity.html. Accessed 9 April 2017.

Biafore, Bonnie. “Splitting Tasks into Smaller Pieces.” Safari, 2007. www.safaribooksonline.com/library/view/microsoft-project-2007/9780596528362/ch12s04.html. Accessed 9 April 2017.

Taylor, Wendell C. “Transforming work breaks to promote health.” American journal of preventive medicine 29.5 (2005): 461-465.

University of Georgia (UGA). “Break large tasks down into smaller, more manageable pieces.”Columns, 24 March 2014. http://columns.uga.edu/news/article/break-large-tasks-down-into-smaller-more-manageable-pieces/. Accessed 9 April 2017.

Vanderrkam, Laura. “How to Figure out Your Most Productive Time of Day.” Fast Company, 12 August 2014. www.fastcompany.com/3034231/how-to-figure-out-your-most-productive-time-of-day. Accessed 9 April 2017.