Making use of your best time

We all have a best time of the day which is when we probably do our best work.  Work out when your best time is and use that time to tackle your most challenging tasks. If you are working on something and getting nowhere with it then take a break. Remember we each have a 60-90 minute capacity to concentrate before we stop being effective.  If you are still feeling stuck later on, try and identify what it is that is stopping you - is it lack of information, lack of motivation or are you unclear about what you are trying to achieve? Positively identifying some of the problem areas will often lead to solutions which in turn leads to very effective time management.

Planning your day

Using your diary or scheduler,  make a 'to do' list of what you want to achieve and what you have on the next day every evening before you leave work. Establish your priorities in terms of urgency and importance and develop your own system that is comfortable to use and which works for you.

Aim to achieve as much as possible every day but always remain flexible so that you can take on unexpected tasks if necessary.

Managing meetings

The art of effective meetings is to work out in advance :                                         # What's the purpose of the meeting?  i.e. is it a briefing, is it a negotiation, is it to discuss ideas or a regular committee/department meeting with a set agenda.                                                 # What's the time frame ? i.e. so you will start on time and work to an agreed deadline                                                      # What's the agenda? that is specific and to the point.                                        # Is there a facilitator? Ideally one person should act as a leader keeping the meeting on track time wise and subject wise.                                                # Meeting notes and an action plan should be clear and concise containing essential information such as what was agreed, and who is doing what by when.
Before every meeting ask yourself "Is this meeting really necessary?"

At your desk or workspace

Take a look at your desk when you next sit down. If it is cluttered with papers, letters and files you will immediately feel 'snowed under' making you feel tense and frustrated. It will also mean that you spend longer finding things that you need and that work is not necessarily prioritised correctly. So clear it up and keep it clear. Try and keep paper off it and develop the knack of concentrating on one thing at a time and doing it well.

Learning to say no

Being effective at work depends as much on knowing what not to do as what to do. Learning not to over-commit yourself and to say no is key. If you are asked to do a piece of work and you know that you will not be able to meet the deadline, it is important  that you communicate that fact. Rather than vaguely saying 'I'm not sure' or 'let me think about it' or worse saying nothing at all, explain why you are not able to. Negotiate on timing - say I can't do it today but I would be pleased to do it tomorrow/by the end of the week. If the work is really urgent, then discuss the implications of doing it with your boss/colleagues so that other deadlines are not missed. Learning to say no is not easy - we all want everyone to think well of us so it has to be handled in the right way.