The Best Remedy for a Chaotic Work Environment is Time

Does the environment in your office ever seem..off? It seems like everyone’s struggling to complete tasks and meet deadlines. Team members are putting in overtime, which is costing you more money in time and a half. As a result, everyone’s running around like a chicken with their head cut off or they’re burying their head in the sand like an ostrich.

Because of this, stress and anxiety levels may be at an all-time high and it can definitely shift the tone of your environment and make it even more difficult to get things done.

This could result from poor task management because of poor time management. If we want to make sure productivity strives in our business, we must address issues that the team is having that prevent them from completing their work. The first thing we should always look at is time.

Time is the one resource that we can never get more of so we must make sure our team is using their time very wisely. To learn three things you can do as a business owner to improve time management as a team, watch our latest video here.

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If we want to improve time management in our organization, we have to set an example. If we demonstrate poor time and task management, it will set the tone for the rest of our team.

If you aren’t sure how to go about using your time more effectively, consider applying some of the following tips. That will help you gain a greater understanding of what does and doesn’t work for you.

1. Plan out your day

If you find yourself just seeing where the day takes you at some point in the day, you realize that there are actually important tasks that need to be completed by the end of the day. Then starts the chaos of scrambling around the office trying to get things done. One way you can prevent this is by planning. You could invest in a planner and writing out how your week will progress. Or you can do a default diary for a very regimented schedule that makes sure you focus on specific activities at a certain time every week.

2. Break down large tasks into smaller ones

Have you ever heard the phrase, “there is only one way to eat an elephant: a bite at a time” by Desmond Tutu? What it essentially says is that things may seem daunting or overwhelming if we look at them from a bigger picture. This can cause us to want to avoid it or put it off. Instead, we take one bite at a time, this way, you still get the work done while making it seem much more reasonable.

3. Organize your life

In a more general sense, if we are better organized in our lives, then it removes some of the barriers that contribute to poor time management. It can be as simple as using a file cabinet so that you spend less time looking for paperwork. Organizing your home and business life won’t just make things run more smoothly – it’ll positively affect your psyche. there is a big difference when you come home to a very dirty desk versus a clean one.

4. Delegate

We cannot stress this enough because it is so important! If you don’t know how to tell somebody to do something, learn. You cannot be in four places at once, so find three other employees and tell them to do three of those tasks. You should also know the strengths of your team so that you can delegate effectively.

5. Don’t strive for perfectionism

Instead, strive for excellence. Pushing your team to do better is a fantastic goal and one that will enable your business to reach new heights. But straight perfectionism is impossible – we’re only human, after all. Demanding perfection from your team will only contribute to stress and a lack of trust in faith in you as a leader. This can prolong projects and really hurt their confidence when they aren’t perfect, which is inevitable because no one is.

For ideas on how to improve time efficiency, read this article that we did earlier this year.

Everyone is different when it comes to time management

Every person responds differently to the many time-management solutions that exist. If you aren’t sure how to go about using your time more effectively, reach out to a business coach today. Together, we can assess your business and find more ways to save your time in your business so that productivity continues to thrive.