Time Management Techniques to Improve IT Efficiency

In today’s fast-paced IT world, a lot of work has to fit into a single workday. Regardless of whether you are a technician, a developer, or a project manager, you probably routinely find yourself pressed for time. In order to improve your own efficiency, and the efficiency of those who depend on you, you have to rely on effective time management techniques. Use these strategies and you will get more done while experiencing less stress along the way:

Plan Your Day

At the end of your workday, plan out what you will do the next day. This helps you focus on the most urgent projects and lets you hit the ground running as soon as you arrive at the office. Another benefit is that knowing what you have coming up can help you sleep soundly at night, eliminating a major cause of workplace inefficiency.

Schedule Your Time

Treat every one of your daily tasks as a scheduled appointment with a prearranged start and stop time. Even though IT work can be unpredictable, it’s possible to get most things done during the schedule you set as long as you are realistic about the complexity of the task. This simple technique creates an ongoing set of incentives, and it also helps you to analyze the source of your workplace inefficiencies.

Start Ahead of Schedule

Most people are more productive in the morning, even if they do not identify as “morning people”. Get going as soon as possible, and put your most urgent assignments at the front of your schedule. If possible, save meetings for the afternoon.

Eliminate Distractions

It sounds strange to say, but technology can be the greatest impediment to IT work. The daily barrage of phone calls, texts, instant messages, emails, and social media updates are a welcome distraction at times, but they also damage your focus and cause projects to drag out. Try to go an hour or two without checking your phone, and you will be amazed at how much faster you work.

Consolidate

Rather than jumping back and forth between places and tasks, try to accomplish as many things at one time as you possibly can. For instance, if you need to make a trip down the hall, think of all the people you need to talk to along the way and all the resources you need to access, and then do them all in one trip. Huge amounts of time get wasted by working in an unfocused way.

The final thing to remember is that time management takes a concerted and ongoing effort. You might have a week where you do a great job at managing your time, and then fall back into your old ways the following week. But if you view time management as an integral part of your professional success, you are more likely to fall into an efficient routine. To learn more about being your best, work with the employment experts at INSPYR Solutions.