98.7% Of all customers recommend us, we're so confident about our results we publish all reviews and stats
View Live Stats View ReviewsPrevious article Next article Time Management articles
Are Your Time Management Goals SMART?
Fri 20th August 2010
S - Significant
Let's say that one of your time management goals was to "spend less time taking lunch". Is this significant? For example, if you go ten minutes over your lunch break on average, that's 50 minutes over a working week... are you setting a long, convoluted goal only to gain 50 minutes? Analyse the significance of how much you're going to gain from your particular goal. In this example too, are you sacrificing your break time and your health instead of finding the time from somewhere else? Again, this flags up whether your goal is significant or not.
M - Measurable
In the above example, you could at least measure that taking ten minutes off your lunch would have given you 50 mins spare time over the average week. Being able to measure a time management goal to see how much time it's really freeing up for you is very important, as this helps you to gauge the significance in turn. Measure how much time you need to save, how much is attainable and then measure again if you've put your measure where your mouth is and actually using the spare time you've freed up! Measuring your success also means you can keep tabs on upwards or downward trends in your productivity levels.
A - Achievable
Setting yourself unrealistic time management goals is also setting yourself up for failure. If you find yourself working late for an average of four hours a week, don't think you're going to hone your time so effectively that you're heading home on time after a week! Set realistic goals to remain motivated. Consult with your manager and the rest of your team to see if you're being a little too ambitious. It's best to start small and feel good about achieving goals instead of striving for impossible ones and demotivating yourself in the process.
R - Rewarding
Don't forget to reward yourself! Achieving goals is to be applauded, whether it's your manager praising you or just giving yourself a pat on the back. The goal should be rewarding in itself - in the previous example, imagine leaving work on time with the whole evening to enjoy instead of working late and getting stressed out (and possibly upsetting those at home waiting for you). Reward yourself for your efforts, but make sure the action itself has a reward and a meaning to you.
T - Time based!
This is stating the obvious when it comes to time management, but make sure you stay focused on what you're trying to achieve - better time management. It's tempting to set goals that are not entirely focused on the task in hand and have other things tied in - are you improving your time management, or productivity, delegation skills, and so on? Although lots of work-related tasks are time-managed, make sure your goals are going to directly affect time and how you spend it.
Author is a freelance copywriter. For more information on a time management workshop, please visit https://www.stl-training.co.uk
Original article appears here:
https://www.stl-training.co.uk/article-1059-are-your-time-management-goals-smart.html
London's widest choice in
dates, venues, and prices
Public Schedule:
On-site / Closed company:
TestimonialsDBJ Europe
Analyst Erina Miyata Excel VBA Intermediate I know I was learning something very difficult without any background knowledge or experience, but how Jens taught us was very clear so I could understand very well. I want to try and use what I have learnt at work. Dealogic Ltd
Media Relations Associate Sonia Singh Excel Advanced Richard was really attentive and took the time to understand the overall objectives of the group which was great. I liked the flexibility of the course, but also thought that all the topics pre-set were reflective of what was important. Visas & Citizenship, UK Visas and Immigration
Eco Bao Nghiem Effective Communication Skills Good flow and understanding of topics. Gregory provides clear and concise explaination of topics. Will go away and use this next time I have a difficult conversation |
PUBLICATION GUIDELINES