Time management is an incredibly important skill for nearly any job, but it becomes even more essential when you start working as a manager. Rather than being responsible for a small range of defined tasks, you now need to work on your own duties while maximizing performance from everyone else.
If you’re having trouble staying on top of your schedule as a manager, developing better time-management skills should be your top priority. Anything from leveraging agile management software to communicating more openly with your team can help you hone your skills as a new manager. The following are some of the most effective time management tips for people new to management positions.
Don’t Be Afraid to Delegate
It might be tempting to try to do everything yourself, but many managers end up spreading themselves too thin by setting unrealistic expectations. The best managers understand how and when to delegate and which employees to trust with each kind of task.
You’ll need to know each employee’s strengths and weaknesses in order to start delegating effectively. Talk to everyone about their best skills and ask what they’re comfortable with handling—you’ll be surprised by how much your team is capable of!
Give Yourself Time to Focus
Managers experience countless distractions nearly every workday, and it can feel hard to find time to complete your own work. While there are situations in which you need to be there for your employees, don’t forget that you have your own things to do as well.
With that in mind, don’t hesitate to shut yourself off from the rest of the team if you need time to focus. Put a sign on your door to let everyone know you’re not available, or set up certain times each day for distraction-free work. Of course, you can also offer the same thing to your team members when they’re working on important projects.
Make a Schedule
Scheduling is one of the most important parts of time management, allowing you to view all your obligations at once and check your availability quickly. This has been made easier than ever by a wide range of mobile scheduling applications, but you can also use a notebook if you prefer something physical.
Adding events to your schedule enables you to keep track of each workday and avoid giving yourself too much work. It can also prevent you from wasting too much time on unimportant tasks, especially if you combine your schedule with a to-do list.
Without a schedule, it’s impossible to keep track of where your time is going. Simply identifying the ways in which you waste your time is one of the biggest steps toward developing better time management habits.
Management requires a wide range of knowledge and skills, and being in charge of an entire team can be intimidating for first-time managers. These tips will help you use your time more effectively, enabling you to get more work done and become a better manager.