Here’s some simple but effective time management tips to help you make the most of your "less busy" periods.
In the project and time management world, slack time is built into a project as a buffer, so that a certain task can overrun without impacting the next task or tasks. You can use the same strategy to build slack time into your own tasks, to give you a bit of leeway for when things go wrong.
At first glance, the words slack time may seem negative, describing unproductive wasted time when nothing happens. But with these tips for time management we’ll turn that interpretation on its head and show you that slack time can be a useful time management opportunity, especially when you’ve already planned your time and know what you need to do.
You can use slack time to carve out a few bonus minutes in the day you didn’t expect to have to yourself. You always have times when you find yourself twiddling your thumbs – whether you’re waiting for a meeting, get delayed on a train, or find yourself arriving early for an appointment. Sometimes a cancelled meeting means you have a whole extra hour or longer that you hadn’t planned for – free time that’s perfect for these free time management tips.
time management tipsA spare five or ten minutes each day adds up to an extra hour a week – an hour you didn’t know that you had. And using the time management tips below, the bits and pieces you can do in those few moments add up to big time-savings. Read on for just a few time management tips and ideas of how you can fill those spare minutes, so that you don’t ever need to feel that you’re wasting your time.
Time Management Tips #1 – Being Prepared
As the Scout’s motto says, ‘Be prepared’. Take work with you and, where possible, plan to arrive at meetings well ahead of time. Even if you’re delayed, you’ll still turn up on time, but if you do arrive early you’ve got some slack time in which to work.
Time Management Tips #2 – Catching Up on Reading
Always carry something to read – a book, a magazine, a report, or your reading folder containing articles and newsletters that you’ve put to one side for just such a quiet moment.
Pop a book (maybe your favorite time management book!) into your laptop bag, briefcase, or handbag so that you have something to occupy you during odd bits of slack times.
Time Management Tips #3 – Sorting your Emails
Whether you’re in front of your computer or out with your email-enabled PDA, just a few spare minutes can do wonders for your email management. If you get stuck on hold on the phone, or you only have ten minutes before your lunch appointment arrives, these provide ideal times to go through your emails, especially any reading or backlog ones. This is the exception to the rule of handling emails in blocks of time – treat this as a mini
bonus block.
Time Management Tips #4 – Managing Your Mobile
A few minutes spare is an ideal time to take on the little tasks that you wouldn’t normally schedule the time for – such as doing some mobile admin.
Delete old text messages from your phone; they clog up the memory. Check through the address book on your phone and delete any old or redundant contacts (don’t get too trigger-happy, though, or you may lose a valuable phone number).
Time Management Tips #5 – Making Some Calls
One of the advantages of having a mobile phone is that you can communicate with someone while you’re on the move away from home or the office. You can even plan time to make calls when you’re traveling. Those spare moments when, in the past, you weren’t contactable now come in useful – when it suits you.
Time Management Tips #6 – Taking Notes
Slack time can be creative and planning time. Let your mind idly wander and generate new, great ideas, or use a few spare minutes to do some planning. Jot down your ideas and plans in your notebook as they come to you. Recording sudden inspiration is just one of the reasons why having a notebook with you at all times is great for productivity.
Time Management Tips #7 – Resolving Two Issues With A Single Action
Combining is a great way to maximize your time – whether that’s slack time waiting for a bus or for the toaster to pop up, or time spent on leisure activities or at work. Combining basically involves putting together two tasks in the same time slot. Combining is something that we do quite naturally all the time; reading a book while commuting to work on the bus or train, walking and talking or these days, walking and texting!
Time Management Tips #8 – Making Time for Fitness
People are always saying that they simply can’t find time to exercise. The simple solution is to think about being more active generally as well as building exercise into your slack time. Whether you have an extra ten minutes, half-an-hour, or longer, you have the opportunity to get in some form of activity. Meeting cancelled? Why not use the time you’ve already blocked out for the meeting to get active?
Time Management Tips #9 – Stretching Away Tension
When you get a few minutes spare try these simple, do any-where, tension-release stretches.
Link your hands behind your back and press your palms away from you with your arms straight. Push your shoulders back and feel the stretch across your upper chest.
Stretch your arms in front of you, link your hands with palms facing away from you. Stretch your shoulders forward and feel the stretch across the back of your shoulders.
Shrug your shoulders towards your ears and hold. Do this while circling your shoulders forwards and back a few times.
Time Management Tips #10 – Taking It Easy
Take a break and re-energize. When you find yourself with a few minutes to spare, why not just relax and do nothing? After your rest, you’ll feel calmer and more energetic, and you may find you’re more efficient at tasks thanks to recharging those batteries.
Put these simple time management tips to use whenever you can and see how much more work you can get done each week.
In the project and time management world, slack time is built into a project as a buffer, so that a certain task can overrun without impacting the next task or tasks. You can use the same strategy to build slack time into your own tasks, to give you a bit of leeway for when things go wrong.
At first glance, the words slack time may seem negative, describing unproductive wasted time when nothing happens. But with these tips for time management we’ll turn that interpretation on its head and show you that slack time can be a useful time management opportunity, especially when you’ve already planned your time and know what you need to do.
You can use slack time to carve out a few bonus minutes in the day you didn’t expect to have to yourself. You always have times when you find yourself twiddling your thumbs – whether you’re waiting for a meeting, get delayed on a train, or find yourself arriving early for an appointment. Sometimes a cancelled meeting means you have a whole extra hour or longer that you hadn’t planned for – free time that’s perfect for these free time management tips.
time management tipsA spare five or ten minutes each day adds up to an extra hour a week – an hour you didn’t know that you had. And using the time management tips below, the bits and pieces you can do in those few moments add up to big time-savings. Read on for just a few time management tips and ideas of how you can fill those spare minutes, so that you don’t ever need to feel that you’re wasting your time.
Time Management Tips #1 – Being Prepared
As the Scout’s motto says, ‘Be prepared’. Take work with you and, where possible, plan to arrive at meetings well ahead of time. Even if you’re delayed, you’ll still turn up on time, but if you do arrive early you’ve got some slack time in which to work.
Time Management Tips #2 – Catching Up on Reading
Always carry something to read – a book, a magazine, a report, or your reading folder containing articles and newsletters that you’ve put to one side for just such a quiet moment.
Pop a book (maybe your favorite time management book!) into your laptop bag, briefcase, or handbag so that you have something to occupy you during odd bits of slack times.
Time Management Tips #3 – Sorting your Emails
Whether you’re in front of your computer or out with your email-enabled PDA, just a few spare minutes can do wonders for your email management. If you get stuck on hold on the phone, or you only have ten minutes before your lunch appointment arrives, these provide ideal times to go through your emails, especially any reading or backlog ones. This is the exception to the rule of handling emails in blocks of time – treat this as a mini
bonus block.
Time Management Tips #4 – Managing Your Mobile
A few minutes spare is an ideal time to take on the little tasks that you wouldn’t normally schedule the time for – such as doing some mobile admin.
Delete old text messages from your phone; they clog up the memory. Check through the address book on your phone and delete any old or redundant contacts (don’t get too trigger-happy, though, or you may lose a valuable phone number).
Time Management Tips #5 – Making Some Calls
One of the advantages of having a mobile phone is that you can communicate with someone while you’re on the move away from home or the office. You can even plan time to make calls when you’re traveling. Those spare moments when, in the past, you weren’t contactable now come in useful – when it suits you.
Time Management Tips #6 – Taking Notes
Slack time can be creative and planning time. Let your mind idly wander and generate new, great ideas, or use a few spare minutes to do some planning. Jot down your ideas and plans in your notebook as they come to you. Recording sudden inspiration is just one of the reasons why having a notebook with you at all times is great for productivity.
Time Management Tips #7 – Resolving Two Issues With A Single Action
Combining is a great way to maximize your time – whether that’s slack time waiting for a bus or for the toaster to pop up, or time spent on leisure activities or at work. Combining basically involves putting together two tasks in the same time slot. Combining is something that we do quite naturally all the time; reading a book while commuting to work on the bus or train, walking and talking or these days, walking and texting!
Time Management Tips #8 – Making Time for Fitness
People are always saying that they simply can’t find time to exercise. The simple solution is to think about being more active generally as well as building exercise into your slack time. Whether you have an extra ten minutes, half-an-hour, or longer, you have the opportunity to get in some form of activity. Meeting cancelled? Why not use the time you’ve already blocked out for the meeting to get active?
Time Management Tips #9 – Stretching Away Tension
When you get a few minutes spare try these simple, do any-where, tension-release stretches.
Link your hands behind your back and press your palms away from you with your arms straight. Push your shoulders back and feel the stretch across your upper chest.
Stretch your arms in front of you, link your hands with palms facing away from you. Stretch your shoulders forward and feel the stretch across the back of your shoulders.
Shrug your shoulders towards your ears and hold. Do this while circling your shoulders forwards and back a few times.
Time Management Tips #10 – Taking It Easy
Take a break and re-energize. When you find yourself with a few minutes to spare, why not just relax and do nothing? After your rest, you’ll feel calmer and more energetic, and you may find you’re more efficient at tasks thanks to recharging those batteries.
Put these simple time management tips to use whenever you can and see how much more work you can get done each week.
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