This level sections

Top level sections

Site Links

Legend

Home | News | Article

The Art of Managing a To-Do List - Uncovered!

Managing a busy working week and a hectic home life can prove a challenging task for many women. A recent workshop, hosted by the Chamber's Business Women's Sector, uncovered the art of time management to enable those who attended to become more productive in the workplace. Motivational specialist Yvonne Emery, business owner, seminar organiser and mother of two, shared some of the methods which can be used to manage your job, your home life, your other projects, the children, and the other people in your office. Her first piece of advice was to learn to delegate effectively, as delegating well will provide more time for you to concentrate on more important things, as well as allowing staff to grow in capability and confidence. Yvonne explained that how you delegate the work is important as what you are thinking is not necessarily what is understood by your colleagues, so it is vital that we prepare beforehand and make our instructions clear. By describing the task fully and asking staff to repeat it back again we can ensure that it is understood. It is also important to have a checkpoint discussion to hear what is happening and to offer any guidance if necessary, before concluding with a de-brief to discuss what went well, and identify any improvements for future. Next she moved on to the 'to-do list' which we learnt can be better organised using the A1 to B3 method - marking the items (A) which you absolutely have to do, (B) being the ones you'd better do fairly soon, (C) if you could do it if there's time or (D) ditch it. The event also included a five minute group coaching session with delegates focusing on something they would like to do but felt they just didn't have time. According to Helen Bosett, Sector Co-ordinator at the Chamber, business managers should be taking a leading role in helping employees improve their time-management skills. She said: 'The pressure being placed upon staff to perform additional tasks is mounting, and every time an employee spends five minutes worrying about their mounting workload or wondering how they are going to get everything done by the end of the day, they are wasting valuable minutes which could be better spent benefiting the business. 'This is why it is so important that employers take responsibility for providing employees with the skills needed to manage both their workloads and their perspective of it effectively. The less time spent worrying about how much there is still left to do, the more time will be spent focused on the job in hand and adding value to the business.' Download Juggling Act slides

Email to author

Release date:  25 Jun 2009

Copyright Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce 2010