Time Management Habits and Skills Essays - Time Management

Time Management Habits and Skills Charles B. Anderson Galen College of Nursing [emailprotected] Abstract Time management is a subject that is still evolving today. But for now the focus will be on seven habits of time management. These seven habits and skills are; punctuality, multitasking, sleep, learning to say "NO", prioritizing, creating schedules, and efficiency. Lastly I will evaluate whether I utilize these seven habits. Time Management Habits and Skills Punctuality is a very important skill to master. Whether you're the one waiting for the next shift coming on or the person coming in, punctuality or lack thereof can make or break relationships between co-workers. Nobody likes to be the one left waiting. People put their time in at work and expect to go home when their shift is over. When people are late to things consistently, not only are they wasting time set aside for a specific task, they are also wasting the time of the other person who is waiting to be relieved. An example of this would be a nurse being late to work, causing a co-worker to stay past their shift until relief shows up. Things happen to make people late. Life happens, but it's not professional and is in fact, irresponsible on the part of the habitual offender. Creating a schedule can be a very effective time management tool. When a person creates a schedule, they need to make it a priority and stick to it. It's helpful to check things off once tasks are completed . It can be a useful tool in helping to ensure that things are not forgotten. Scheduling too, can help a person to stay on task. With schedules come time constraints, limiting the amount of time to complete each task. Sleep/Multitasking/Efficiency Getting a good nights' sleep is definitely one, if not the most important thing a person can do for themselves. Sleep is like the foundation of a house. If it's lacking then the whole house is at risk. Drinking and eating too, are huge factors when it comes to staying healthy and being able to perform to your best ability. Sadly, all three of these very important factors tend to be the first things that people are willing to do without. Lack of sleep can lead to health issues such as high blood pressure or simply to the inability to maintain proper focus. Multitasking sounds like a good way to manage time, but in reality, trying to do too many things at once can actually be harmful and less effective in the long run. Simply put, focusing on one task at a time results in a better end product. Lack of sleep and or multitasking spreads the focus of a person too thin. When a person is able to keep the bulk of their focus on a single task, the more efficiently the task can be accomplished . Prioritizing/Saying "NO" There are times when a person has more tasks to complete than there is time in the day to complete them. Prioritizing any one task over another can be a difficult task in itself. One thing to remember when prioritizing is that no two tasks have the same amount of importance. Lastly saying the word "no" is also an important skill to learn. Nobody can do it all. Pleasing everyone or accomplishing everything in one day isn't realistic, period. Saying the word "no" to a boss, a teacher, an employee, a friend or family member is often difficult for people to do. This is where a well-adhered to schedule and good prioritization skills can help a person make those difficult decisions and be able to say "no." Judgement Now, it's time to put myself to the test and see if I have developed any of these seven habits. Starting with punctuality, I used to struggle with this, often arriving with just a few minutes to spare or just a few minutes late. For example, if I was supposed to be at work at 6, I would clock in at 6:04. This certainly isn't terrible but, the older I get the more I tend to show up twenty minutes or so early rather than four minutes late. When it comes to creating a schedule, I've learned a lot. I've gone from never