If you’re a manager, time is (probably) not on your side. You have myriad tasks, production deadlines, meetings with your boss, and less-than-motivated employees. There is an extensive task list in front of you every day. But the average employee gets interrupted from that list about 60 times a day—and more if you’re a manager.

One study showed only 20% of people feel like their work is under control everyday. The average full-time employee spends up to 12% of each day in low-priority tasks and unnecessary meetings. If you’re feeling the burn of tasks left unaccomplished in a chaotic work environment, time management is critical to turning things around.

Here’s why time management matters and how you change your day and life with more effective time management skills.

Why is Time Management So Important For Managers To Know?

Why Time Management Matters

We’re probably stating the obvious in telling you about why time management matters to your job. It doesn’t matter if you’re a supervisor in a factory or a team leader in IT; you have tasks that must get done quickly and well. Your success depends on handling the workload. Time management matters because:

• You have limited time to accomplish goals. To succeed, you must prioritize your tasks.
• It can increase your productivity.
• You’ll make better decisions because you have more time to analyze the data.
• It will reduce your stress by making your day less chaotic.
• Your team will perform more productively.

Time management matters, but if you’re like most people, you struggle with how to do it well. Here’s how to manage your time more effectively.

How to More Effectively Manage Your Time

Some of the generally accepted best practices for time management include:

• Prioritize tasks: This should be done at least daily, but more frequently if you have a lot of fires to put out.
• Delegate: The key to working smarter is to assign tasks to your employees. Delegation is not only good for you but great for employees seeking new challenges.
• Time-block: Studies show multitasking doesn’t work. Each time you’re interrupted by an email or instant message, it takes time for you to recover your train of thought. Time-blocking sets aside a few hours each day to work on key initiatives and tasks without interruption.
• Use technology: Technology is a tool that can automate mundane tasks like reporting. Some apps can help with time management. Plus, scheduling tools can help you get a handle on your day. Find the right tools to help you do the job and use them well.
• Take more breaks: We know this may sound counterintuitive, but you need to walk away a few times during the day to refresh yourself. Short breaks help increase productivity and prevent burnout.
• Review and reset: Unscheduled “crisis” tasks and issues crop up every day in the life of a manager. Your job is to roll with these punches by refocusing your task list and readjusting your approach after the fire is extinguished.

If you’re a manager, you know how hard it is to juggle tasks. But sometimes the environment won’t let you succeed despite your best efforts.

Need to Hire New Employees?

Managers seeking a change turn to CPS Recruiting. We’ve been helping people find their dream jobs for the past 50 years. Call on us to find out how we can help.