Effective time management

Do you constantly find yourself running out of time?

Do you have an endless to do list but nothing ever seems to get done?

We are all time poor, even me! Most of us are constantly flitting from one task to another without ever fulfilling anything, or we have multiple projects that need attention but we don’t know where to begin. I call this multi-failing. Sound familiar?

If, like me, you have tried various techniques to organise your working life to no avail, you probably feel stressed, overwhelmed and at the end of your tether. Add a pandemic into the mix and it’s a complete recipe for disaster.

Plan for problems

Planning every minute of your day might seem the most logical thing to do, but what happens when something goes wrong?

Sometimes, things happen that are outside of your control that will have to take precedence. It is important to remember that this isn’t your fault; but you must be able to be proactive and adapt to the situation. How do you do that when you have a diary that is jam-packed with everything else you need to complete?

I have discovered that the key is allowing time in my diary for things to go wrong. There is never a week that goes by when things don’t crop up unexpectedly that require my immediate attention. However, having time allocated for problems means that I can resolve these, re-juggle everything else and I’m still on track.

Constant interruptions?

We all need to have protected time. This is especially important for practice managers who will undoubtedly be juggling a variety of tasks in any given day. Having an open-door policy is wonderful for communication but terrible for allowing you to attend to your workload.

Put some ‘do not disturb’ time in your diary and ensure your team know that you may only be contacted if an emergency is happening. During this time, be proactive and don’t procrastinate! It’s your golden hour for ticking off that to do list.

If you would like support with time management you can access my online time management module for £25. Click here to purchase.

Laura Horton