Mastering Time Management: The Key to Business Success for Women

In today’s fast-paced world, the constant race to get everything done in 24 hours, coupled with endless tasks and an active lifestyle, demands maximum efficiency and organization from us. Without clear planning, it’s easy to burn out and drown in work and deadlines. That’s why time management is not just a skill, but a necessity. Let’s delve into the secrets of effective time management with insights from Zhanna Kazanskaya, a mentor for women and the creator of the Woman Wings community and business forum.

What is Time Management and Why is it Essential?

Time management is a comprehensive skill that encompasses techniques and methods for effective time utilization. However, it’s not just about managing time; it’s also about self-management, which includes discipline, the ability to delegate, and prioritize tasks. With time management, individuals and even companies can evenly plan goals, tasks, and resources for their achievement and completion. Effective time management allows for maximum results with minimal resources.

Time management is an art of balance between different aspects of life. When faced with a multitude of tasks from work and family life, proper planning and prioritization are crucial to maintaining harmony. We can envision an ideal life, but without the ability to manage time and resources effectively, goals are unlikely to be achieved. Clear time management helps maintain focus on what’s important, avoiding distractions and unnecessary noise.

The quality of our lives and all its aspects improves as we accomplish more of what we set out to do. Given the increasing pace of life and the world around us, this issue becomes even more relevant.

How to Manage Time Effectively

Today, there are numerous approaches and methods for time management. Most of them combine several basic ideas: prioritization, planning, and structuring.

Prioritization

First, determine the urgency and importance of a task and the consequences of postponing or not completing it. Only then can you proceed to execute it or postpone it to a specific time.

Planning

All tasks and issues take some time to resolve. It’s necessary to figure out when to do what and how much time it will take. Breaking down large or long-term tasks into subtasks and stages, main work blocks, will help structure them better, providing a clearer picture of the necessary resources, actions, and deadlines. It’s also important to define criteria for evaluating results or the minimum threshold that needs to be achieved.

Structuring

The most effective time management methods and practices are those that combine all three ideas. However, it’s essential to tailor them to your subjective needs, habits, and goals.

Time Management Methods

Planning: From Small to Big

Time management begins with planning. It’s a powerful tool that not only clarifies tasks and goals but also structures and motivates. It’s easier to tackle and complete tasks when we understand the steps to take, their sequence, and their purpose.

Here are a few important rules:

Don’t plan all your tasks, chores, and goals at once. Break them down into smaller ones and spread them out over time. Writing all points in one day is not a good idea; if you don’t complete them, you’ll be disappointed and demotivated.
Avoid minute-by-minute planning; there’s a high chance of overlap, and things won’t go as planned.
Create a system of notation where you mark urgent and priority tasks with colors or other indicators. This will help you navigate them better and not lose sight of what’s most important.

The 80/20 Rule: Pareto’s Law

It’s commonly believed that 20/80 is the best ratio of resources spent to results achieved. Economist Vilfredo Pareto noted the effectiveness of this ratio. This law can be applied in various fields. For example, 20% of the team does 80% of the work, 20% of customers bring 80% of the profit, or 20% of the time in a workday spent on a task will lead to 80% of the result.

To use this law in time management, identify the 20% most effective actions and prioritize them.

Delegation

An important skill in time management is the ability to delegate tasks and thus free up time for more important matters. If possible, assign another person to a task without compromising its quality. Don’t hesitate to hand over some tasks; it will benefit not only you but also the company.

Deadlines

A vast number of tasks accumulate because many postpone non-urgent and routine tasks. All tasks should have a deadline; otherwise, they will hang like a weight and drain energy. Sometimes, a task requires a couple of days to resolve, but it can hang and wait its turn for six months. Also, at some point, it may turn out that many such tasks have accumulated, or it needs to be resolved urgently, but there are no resources for this.

Regularly review tasks and cross out those that have lost relevance or update details and formulations if necessary. For truly important tasks, set a deadline.