Time Management Skills That Matter In and Out of the Office

You know the saying: time is money. Never does this mean more than when you’re trying to run a business. Time management is crucial when you’re trying to earn some bucks, but these skills also have the power to help you in your out-of-the-office life as well. Keep reading for a few ways the way you manage your individual tasks will make you successful in and out of the boardroom.

Time Management Skills That Matter

Delegation.

Delegation is simply the process of passing off certain pieces of work to somebody that is more qualified or more available than yourself. When you learn how to properly delegate at work, you free up time to devote to tasks that make the most sense for you to do. As a manager or business owner, you do not have to learn how to do everything, and using mobile marketing services, customer service professionals, human resources, and bookkeeping professionals is a smart move if these are not your forte.

Delegating at home by doing things like hiring a housekeeper or lawn care company will give you time to devote to what matters. Your hobbies, friends, and family, often take a backseat when you work for yourself. Keep in mind further that dividing up household chores and other responsibilities between you and the other members of your home means that one person is not carrying a disproportionate amount of weight.

Skill enhancement software

Skill-enhancing software, such as Microsoft Word’s Microsoft Editor on the Windows 10 operating system, can speed you up while allowing you to provide better products and services for your clients. In this scenario, you can write newsletters, employee announcements, and other written materials without stopping to worry about small grammatical mistakes.

While you’ll still want to proofread your work, having something that can pick up small nuances, such as using the word “then” when “than” is more appropriate, can make a huge difference in your writing quality. Adobe Lightroom is another example of skill-enhancing software; this allows you to apply a specific lighting and color profile to a large batch of photos at once.

Many people don’t think of software as something they can use in their personal lives, but this simply isn’t true. Utilizing your phone’s calendar to organize your family’s schedule or setting times for your HVAC, light, or music to begin at a certain time each day will give you a few extra moments to focus on your family or other aspects of your life.

Goal setting

In business, we all know that the end goal is to earn a profit, but we can’t just leave it at that. Setting goals is crucial, and it is an important step toward achieving maximum time management. By setting weekly, monthly, and even yearly goals, you give your team clarity and direction.

You also have an opportunity yourself to focus only on those steps that help you reach your target. This can result in a more efficient work environment since no one is scrambling to decide what needs to get done, you already know.

At home, setting goals has even more benefits. According to the Happy You, Happy Family blog, having family goals won’t necessarily put more on your plate each day. Instead, it will give you and your family something to look forward to together.

When you work in unison to decide when and how to do certain things, you can then delegate tasks that need to be done to get to that point. For example, your 10-year-old might clean out the toy boxes while your spouse or significant other fixes nail holes and imperfections in the wall. These small steps can get done before your goal date and then no one is scrambling at the last minute.

Self-awareness.

Self-awareness at work is something all small business owners, freelancers, and other entrepreneurs should possess. This does not mean that you are deeply contemplating the meaning of life. Instead, being self-aware means knowing things about yourself, such as what time you are most efficient or if you work best when you are dressed casually.

As the head of a family, self-awareness can mean many things. Understanding your communication style, for example, can help you have full talks with your children. This can be especially important when you have two kids with drastically different personalities and can talk to one in your normal style but have to change your approach with the others so that they will listen and respond positively. Being self-aware can also lead you to more meaningful friendships and relationships in and outside of your business.

When the workday is done, the skills that you utilize on the clock don’t have to stay in the office. Professional skills, such as delegating and setting goals, can also help you in your personal life. These and other learned behaviors can carry over into all areas and will help you be the best at everything you do. So put your time management skills to use!