Time management is an essential skill that enables a person to delegate enough hours for crucial tasks and other activities. It involves planning and following a schedule to fulfil commitments not only for work, but also one’s personal life. That said, it’s a skill that often takes practice to master. This is especially a challenge for individuals who live fast-paced lifestyles and must take care of a lot of important tasks daily.
Fortunately, there are numerous courses out there that can help anyone improve this skill. However, it may be challenging to find an effective time management course that will enable you to maximise your productivity in the best way. Here are the primary factors to look for when choosing the best time management course for your needs:
It Should Teach You to Identify Your Roles and Priorities
A good time management course helps identify one’s roles and responsibilities at work and home. This sets clear parameters on what a person must prioritise when it comes to sorting out important commitments. Prioritising tasks helps a person avoid feeling too busy because they need to commit to every single task that comes their way. It also provides them with a better idea of how to spend their days when faced with different activities they need to do.
For example, let’s say an employee has an important report due at 1:00 pm the following day. To prioritise this deadline, the employee makes sure to block off a few hours in the morning to finish the report. So, when a co-worker asks to schedule a 9:00 am meeting with them the following day, the employee can politely decline and ask to have it rescheduled in the afternoon. In this scenario, the employee was able to identify their priority and focused on completing their deadline.
It Should Help You Establish Direction by Setting Goals
An effective time management course is goal-oriented. When looking for a course, it’s best to find one that emphasises the importance of setting clear objectives that need to be achieved. This establishes a person’s direction and focuses on actionable behaviour. In setting goals, one must follow the SMART method, which stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and clearly defined within a Timeline.
The course must compel a person to create tangible goals that are realistic and can be accomplished within a certain period. An example of this is increasing one’s sales total within the month by adding three more sales to their tally. To achieve this, one must devise a plan that will allow them to reach more interested customers to close more successful sales. In this example, setting a specific goal drives a person to come up with actions to reach it.
It Should Teach You How to Use Tools to Organise and Plan Tasks
Since time management deals with plenty of planning, an effective course should teach one how to use the latest tools to organise important activities. In the digital age, it’s not enough to keep a notebook and calendar to remember tasks. One must take advantage of specialised tools and programs to improve their skills.
There are plenty of tools one can use to organise activities and meetings, such as Google Apps. Google Calendar, for instance, allows users to send meeting invitations, and invitees can accept or decline meetings via email. It can also remind participants about any upcoming meetings to ensure that they don’t forget about them.
Moreover, a person can monitor projects and keep tabs on tasks by using Microsoft Outlook or Microsoft Project. Users who have yet to use these tools can learn how to operate them more efficiently by taking a good time management course that incorporates these tools into their program.
It Should Encourage You to Maintain Your Focus and Flexibility
While focusing on meeting goals is a crucial part of time management, so is the ability to adapt and be flexible to changes that come along the way. It is possible to be flexible with schedules while still accomplishing tasks by leaving a bit of free space on one’s schedule. It’s important to note that some hours can be devoted to self-care and rest, too.
A person should not be laden with so many tasks to the point of overload. It also serves as a buffer in case urgent work comes up. That way, one still has enough bandwidth to accomplish any important tasks that may suddenly arise.
It Should Teach You How to Delegate Tasks Effectively
A good time management course teaches participants how to delegate tasks effectively. It can also teach someone to encourage other members of a team to take on responsibilities. Delegating tasks is crucial because it builds trust, empowers a team, and helps with professional development.
An effective course should help one communicate instructions and provide the right resources to assign a task to a team member. Effective delegation can help make a project move faster and cover tasks much more efficiently. It also allows the person who delegated the task to focus on important activities that require deep work. In the long run, it teaches teams to work together toward a common goal.
Professionals who want to improve their productivity and focus will benefit a great deal from an effective time management course. Besides doing their job more efficiently, mastering these skills can enable one to prioritise important personal matters. It helps create balance in their life and reduces the stress of handling overwhelming activities. We hope the factors we mentioned above help you find a course that works for you.
Want to boost your productivity and manage tasks better? Priority Management offers time management courses that can address your needs.
Are you looking for an effective time management course? Check out Priority Management Australia’s courses today.