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Explain time management and how time management could be the most important element for business professionalism.
Time management refers to the ability to plan and control the amount of time that will be used on a specific activity which helps increase productivity, effectiveness, and efficiency. It involves the aspects of being able to set priorities, utilizing available time effectively and organizing tasks to achieve a specific predetermined goal. Effective time management is important for business professionalism because it helps enables people to prioritize their work and perform their tasks proficiently within a given time frame. Effective time management helps people manage their workloads and be able to meet deadlines an achieve their goals which would be unachievable without effective time management. In this essay I will discuss the importance of time management for business professionalism while providing justifications for my arguments and finally I will give recommendations.
Time management is one of the most valuable quality, however it is a quality that many individuals and companies struggle with. Companies should not continue losing time due to poor time management because of the loss that comes with this inefficiency. Having the ability to control time effectively has immeasurable advantages. Businesses that practice good time management are more likely to be able to provide products and services in good (Cooper,1988). Ability to manage time also means that businesses are able to handle challenges that they face without impairing the day-to-day activities. It is an important factor for companies that entirely depend on consistency to maximize on return on investment thus, a well formulated schedule and effectively coordinated timetable will allow for additional time for problem solving and any inconveniences or unanticipated circumstances. Businesses should support and promote a work environment that supports time management.
Time management would be the most important element in the following ways:
There would be increased productivity since time management allows for employees to focus on their most important tasks, hence they will work efficiently which will result in increased productivity. This will enable individuals to enable employees to finish their tasks within time and free up some time for other tasks.
It will make it possible to meet deadlines, this is true because time management helps individuals to maintain professionalism in biasness environment. The ability to meet deadlines portrays a sign of reliability and accountability, the two which are important in building business client- trust and trust among colleagues.
Effective time management also helps people to reduce stress and burnout, this can affect productivity and generally the individual performance and professionalism. Thus, having an effective time management environment enables individuals to plan and manage their workload effectively which will equally relieve them oof stress hence, resulting to a better performance and professionalism
Equally, effective time management enables an induvial to improve on decision making; through effective time management individuals are able to prioritize their workload and make efficient decisions regarding their tasks. It acts as a guideline to help individuals identify most important tasks and focus on them, this will result to improved decision making and increased professionalism.
The following recommendations can be employed so as to avoid and prevent excessive time wasting:
Employing the us of time management systems which will help in setting and scheduling short term and long-term objectives. For instance, calendars may be employed to schedule the most important meetings. A to-do list can also be applied in tracking important tasks which require attendance. Time management systems will particularly help in ensuring one is organized and more productive. These particular tools can help in identifying those urgent tasks that one needs to focus on and avoid wasting time in less urgent tasks.
Identifying and avoiding or eliminating time wasting activities: This is another important time management skill that individuals should learn so as to be able to manage time effectively. Its common for most people to use their time in things that are not essential to their work and this usually leads to loss of productivity, increased stress and inability to balance work and staying a normal life. One of this common time-wasting activity is excessive meetings (Richards, 1987). As much as meeting are important to businesses, they can also drain significant time in the event they are not well scheduled and managed. In order to avoid time wasting via meeting individuals should learn to attend essential meeting that are liked to their job, and the meeting should as well have an objective and a clearly defined timeframe.
Practicing effective communication to ensure clearly defined tasks and communication of deadline to enable workers to finish task in time. This is important because of workplace team playing where different individuals are responsible for different tasks and deadline. Practicing effective time communication is important for time management because of the following; defining tasks clearly ensures that members won’t be wasting time asking on what is expected of them, thus everyone will be on the same page and will work towards a common goal. It as well will ensure that there is accountability as people on knowing deadline will be accountable on delivering their work in time which creates a sense if ownership and responsibility thus, increasing productivity(Zaremba, 2014). It equally helps to save time since individuals won’t suffer from effects of misunderstanding and having to rework thus ensuring projects are completed in time and within budget.
Taking regular breaks to avoid burnout: Working continuously for long periods can result to burnouts, that can result in physical and mental exhaustion. Therefore, taking breaks in between a particular task can help to prevent burnout and enable one to recharge and refocus. It also can result to increased productivity because breaks help to maintain focus and concentration and better work productivity contrary to many beliefs that taking breaks reduce productivity and causes distraction. It as well helps to improve creativity through allowing mind to wander in thoughts and recharge which eventually results to ideas and new perspectives which can help to solve problems and coming up with innovative ideas. However, to make the breaks beneficial it is important to make plans of them in the schedule.
Additionally, the following time wasters can be avoided so that they do not affect productivity and efficiency: Procrastination; which is the act of postponing tasks without reason or unnecessarily. It prevents an individual from finishing their tasks on time and thus increasing their workload, it usually stems from lack of motivation, difficulty in starting a particular task, or even the fear of failing. In an attempt to overcome procrastination, its advisable to break tasks into small and manageable parts or sections and also setting deadlines and prioritizing tasks over other activities. Another time waster is Multitasking, multitasking involves the act of doing various tasks simultaneously. Many perceive it as an efficient way of performing and handling things but that is not always the case because it most times leads to low productivity and poor work quality (Aagaard, 2019). This sis because multitasking is most likely to lead to distractions, mistakes and confusion. The best solution is the ability to prioritize tasks by focusing at a particular task at a time and taking breaks regularly so as to avoid burnout.
In conclusion, life depends on time management, as discussed above effective time management can result to increased productivity, can help reduce burnout and stress and it can equally can lead to improved decision making. I have as well elaborated on the time wasters such as procrastination, lack of clarity and various ways to use to avoid time wasting. Time being the most precious resource and valuable thing we should try to reallocate from activities of lower value to more valuable activities.
References
Aagaard, J. (2019). Multitasking as distraction: A conceptual analysis of media multitasking research. Theory & Psychology, 29(1), 87-99.
Cooper, A. C., Woo, C. Y., & Dunkelberg, W. C. (1988). Entrepreneurs’ perceived chances for success. Journal of business venturing, 3(2), 97-108.
Richards, J. H., (1987): “Time management—a review.” Work & Stress 1.1 73-78.
Zaremba, A. J. (2014). Crisis communication: Theory and practice. Routledge.
