How many times have you wished for more hours in the day to achieve everything you set out to do? I expect quite a lot, as time management is a skill the vast majority of us wish we could improve.

If you’re constantly working long hours at work you’re more likely to burn yourself out than achieve brilliant results. If you can manage your time effectively, you shouldn’t need to stay late in the office every day or have to bring your work home.

There are simple things you can do to try to maximise your time and become a more effective worker (and therefore a happier person!) Here are some tips to help:

1. Make a to-do list

Set aside some time, either as soon as you arrive at work or just before you go home, to create a list of what you need to do. Try and prioritise the items in order of importance. This will help you put more time and energy into the things that will give you or your team the most benefit. I appreciate that not everyone feels the need to write a to-do list, however, I believe that you will always stay on top of your workload if you can reference a list – and you’ll get a great sense of satisfaction every time you cross something off.

2. Know when you work best

Are you more proactive in the morning or in the afternoon?  Decide when you do your best work and then plan your day around this. Generally, it’s a good idea to do smaller and easier tasks when your energy is low (like after lunch), and tackle more challenging tasks when your energy level is higher (like first thing).

3. Set your goals 

You can’t decide how to spend your time unless you know what’s important. So work out what will help you succeed and the time frame for completion of each task.

4. Multi-tasking won’t save time

If your to-do list is particularly long, do not just pick up a job and do a bit of it and then put it back on the pile. Starting lots of jobs at the same time isn’t an efficient way of dealing with them. It usually causes you more stress as your mind is unable to focus and panic sets in as you realise you haven’t completed any of the tasks.

5. Delegate where possible

If you have a junior colleague, consider delegating some of your responsibilities to them. Good delegation saves you time and will motivate and develop other team members. The key to good delegation is making sure your team feel valued and respected, that way they should be happy to provide the support you need.

6. Emails

Get into the habit of keeping your emails organised. Deal with anything urgent immediately and create folders for important emails that you will need to come back to. Tag messages with colour-coded flags so you won’t forget to follow them up. Turn off the ping that indicates new mail in your inbox, this can be very distracting. Instead, pick certain times in the day when you deal with emails rather than responding to each new email and letting it interrupt your tasks. Delete anything you don’t need to keep your inbox clear.

Try adopting some of these top tips to be more organised for just one week and I’m sure you will feel the benefits both at work and at home.

How SHC Can Help

Sometimes the only way to get more organised is to bring in an extra ‘pair of hands’ and this is where we can help. We offer a personal secretarial service suitable for the individual, sole trader or small business. This can be on an ad hoc or regular basis. We can work from your home, your office or remotely whichever suits you best. We can help to manage your emails, write up reports, keep up to date spreadsheets to record your expenses, prepare your PowerPoint presentations, source supplies and services, and even organise corporate events.

Call or email us to discuss how Surrey Hills Concierge can take on some of your business burdens, leaving you with more time to make the important decisions.