6 Tips to Improve Your Time Management

One rule of thumb that works well for managers is to close the door at the start of the day. Okay, so not everyone has a door, but the point is to shut out distractions. These days that means unplugging: the laptop, the work computer and the phone. Most importantly, the phone! Turn it off — bury the infernal thing somewhere if you must to keep temptation at bay.

So here’s the plan:

It helps if you let your co-workers and staff know of your morning modus operandi, so they don’t feel you’re ignoring them.

To avoid falling into the planning fallacy trap, recall similar tasks you’ve accomplished in the past. Does the one you’re embarking on now involve about the same number of milestones? Is the makeup of the team about the same?

If so, adjust the time it took for that project to reach completion and add time to it, allowing for unknowns. Some experts advise doubling that number to assure you don’t miss your deadline.

If you’re at your cognitive best at 8 a.m., take on the most complex issues then and save the less demanding ones for the afternoon, when most people tend to hit the afternoon lull.

We tend to think we have to do it all. It may be pride. It may be stubbornness. It may be seriously messing up our productivity when it doesn’t have to. Here’s how to let others lighten your load:

Sometimes, we’re wasting time and not realizing — Just. How. Much. A salary.com survey found people waste at least an hour a day on surfing, social media, texting, etc. Well, the digital world has a digital solution, because there’s an app for that.

These apps track where you spend your time online, helping you identify where and for how long you enter the time-suck zone.

They also help you track how long specific projects take, helping you plan more accurately for future ones.

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