Time Management Training Courses – Time management tips

With ever-increasing workloads and deadlines, the ability to manage our time has never been more important. Time management is a crucial factor in work and our time management courses are created to ensure that delegates can make their time keeping as efficient and effective as possible. We do this by supplying a time management training course that is full of tools and tips for improving time management, time planning, delegation, organisation and management strategies, managing meetings, managing e-mails as well as handling and using time effectively. Our time management course will cover subjects such as goal setting, improving organisation skills and managing time successfully. Our seminars are packed with useful tips and techniques that allow you to become a better time manager instantly.

Follow our tips to manage you time better.

General tips and techniques

  • Clear your desk and plan your activities for the next day.
  • First list your ‘time specific items, e.g. meetings and then write down the tasks you have to complete.
  • Once you have prioritised your tasks, make a ‘to do’ list and work through the items in priority order.
  • Ensure that you have given yourself sufficient time to complete your ‘to do’ list, taking into account your daily interruptions.
  • Do difficult jobs first, when you are at your best. Look after minor jobs when you are tired.
  • Fix deadlines for all jobs and stick to them. A task should only take the time set aside for it.
  • Do not postpone important matters that are unpleasant. Jobs rarely get more pleasant by being postponed. Do it now!
  • Try to arrange set times for jobs such as going through the mail, talking with your manager or staff, computer input, etc.
  • Try to fix definite times when you would not like to be disturbed, and make the system work except for genuine emergencies.
  • Plan your telephone calls. Make a brief note of what you want to say and what you want to find out. It saves time later.
  • If you have several phone calls to make, do them all in a burst.
  • When you start a piece of work, try to finish it without interruptions. If you have to finish it later, you will lose time picking up where you left off.
  • Arrange your breaks at times when you cannot work effectively.
  • Plan some time for discussing routine matters with your colleagues. Then you avoid interrupting each other all the time.
  • Learn to say ‘No’. Get used to asking yourself ‘Am I the right person for this job?’
  • Monitor how you use your time, and make conscious changes to your behaviour.
  • Stress and fatigue are rarely caused by the things you have done, but by the thought of what you haven’t done!
  • Make a habit of finishing the main job of the day before you go home.

Clear your desk!

  • ‘Paper talk’ alone can cost you an hour a day in looking for things and constant distractions.
  • Many people have developed the habit of their office becoming a giant ‘to-do’ list; papers; ‘some day’ stacks; files; letters; in-trays; phone messages, etc. lying around all screaming ‘LOOK AT ME’, ‘DEAL WITH ME’. Here are some useful hints for silencing the ‘paper talk’.
  • Put any in/out trays in a drawer or behind you on a credenza (or even outside your office) but not on your desk.
  • Make it a real IN-tray, not a miscellaneous file.

Effective use of the master files

  • Discard all non relevant documents (up to 85% of the documents retained by an organisation will never be looked at again).
  • Remove all items from desk (each piece of paper on your desk will distract your attention 5 times a day).
  • Reorganise your shelves; give preference to cupboard and shelves rather than filing cabinets (25% space saving).
  • Identify, reorganise and re-label all your files clearly.
  • Avoid fat files by all means; you ale better off sub-dividing subjects and grouping these sub-files into a large filing box.
  • Use colour coding facilities (e.g. red/marketing, green/customers, etc)

Phone calls

  • Never hold on. Instead agree a time to ring back or leave a message and your phone number.
  • If someone is unavailable find out the best time to call back, or leave your number.
  • If you need to make regular calls agree upon a mutually beneficial time.
  • Learn to leave clear messages on other people’s answerphones. Always leave your name and phone number if you want them to ring you back.

Incoming calls checklist

  • If possible train your PA or a member of your staff to screen calls and refer them to others.
  • Let the caller know your time constraints.
  • Always keep a pen and pad by the phone.
  • If you get a call asking for information you don’t have immediately to hand, don’t look for it: arrange to call back later.

Interruptions checklist

If you have an unexpected visitor:

  • Establish at the start why they have come to see you.
  • Stand when they enter the room, so that they also remain standing.
  • If it’s necessary for you to deal personally with them suggest a later meeting, at your convenience.
  • Whenever possible, suggest a meeting in their office.
  • Set time limits to your discussion.
  • Avoid engaging in small talk.
  • If you have a secretary/PA, agree a clear policy about who can have access to you and who they should deal with.
  • If you really can’t get them out of your office, leave the office yourself.

 

Our training is carried out in a risk free environment which encourages delegates to practice the skills needed for successful appraisals. We use a number of training methods including role-play, video, audio, workshops and group exercises to enhance the learning process.

Why choose Total Success for your training?

  • our lead trainers have over 18 years experience in training
  • a maximum of 8 delegates means more time spent on individual needs
  • we guarantee to run the course and will never cancel at the last moment
  • free subscription to our monthly training newsletter

All open courses are trained in Central London at the St Giles Hotel.

Each delegate receives a comprehensive training workbook that doubles as an open course manual. Courses run from 9.30-5.30 with lunch and refreshments provided.

Time Management In-Company Courses

Total Success have developed a series of in-house training modules. These are designed so that an organisation can pick the training which is more applicable to its own needs and budget. Please call us to discuss your specific requirements. If you click on the links below you will see some typical one-day time management course agendas that cover a wide range of subjects from prioritising, delegating, assertiveness, managing interruptions, managing e-mail, using Outlook calendar, tasks etc. In fact we pride ourselves on being able to develop courses that suit all our clients needs and requirements.

Time Management Training Packs

Why use a total success training pack

If you are looking to run your own training course but lack the materials and the time to develop a fully functional training seminar we produce a range of training materials and packs which will suit your requirements exactly. All of our packs and been written by our own time management experts and we can guarantee that the training pack will satisfy your course requirements. Each pack will contain a full set of PowerPoint training slides, trainer’s notes, a course manual, and a full set of handouts and activities.

We have been running our courses since 1995 and have trained 1000’s of people via open courses and in-company seminars. We guarantee that the course you buy is the one we train. All courses are trainer and trainee friendly so you’ll be up and running quickly (depending on your training experience).

We know how difficult it is to choose amongst the many training materials available on line, that’s why we have 3 packages that will suit you needs. With our gold, silver and bronze packages you can choose the training format that’s right for you and your budget. Call us 0044 (0)208 269 1177 to discuss your requirements or email us info@totalsuccess.co.uk

Related information

Total success training also produced a number of newsletter webpages that carry great information on all our training topics.  Below you will find a selection of time management newsletter pages. You can click on any of the links and they will give you stacks of really interesting information relating to time management. If you like the content of these pages you can subscribe to our newsletter page and we will send you a newsletter every month. we update our pages very regularly so will always be more great information each time you log onto our site.

Click on any of these links for stacks of great tips and techniques on managing time

Time Management book’s and publications

The Book. If you really don’t have the time to attend one of our fantastic time management training courses and seminars, don’t worry. You can still enhance your knowledge and skills by purchasing time management training information from our website. Our lead trainer, Warren Wint has written a book entitled ‘Successful Time Management’ which is packed with tips and techniques to help you manage your time more effectively and more efficiently. You can purchase the book by clicking on the link below and downloading it to your own computer

Bite-sized Training Guides. We had also produced a range of bite-sized training guides on various subjects relating to time management. These short guides are written to give enough information on the topics that interest you. We include topics such as managing e-mail, setting goals and prioritising, the art and skill of effective delegation, and managing busy workloads and deadlines. These are designed for you to work through your topics in approximately 30 to 40 min, and not only give you valuable information but also include exercises and activities to enable you to learn at your own pace and on the go. These are very competitively priced at 99p each because we want you to not only gain valuable information but also to keep coming back and purchasing more to enable you to become a fabulous manager of time. Click the links below and download our training guides as PDF documents so you will be able to start achieving your goals today!

Podcasts

We produce a range of podcasts and audio downloads that you can download to hear how we conduct our training courses. These are available in live audio if you click on the links below and it’s almost like being on one of our courses. They allow you to hear how we carry out some of the topics in our time management training courses. If you like them and want to hear more please go to our Podcast pages on the website