| With the vast improvements in office software and | | | | around with you. Take a look back through the manual |
| technology, Blackberries, mobile phones and the | | | | that most of us ignore when we buy these things and |
| ubiquitous iPads and iPhones, there are more and | | | | see if there are free, included tools or applications that |
| more tools at our disposal to manage our time: but are | | | | can help you. |
| we really using them? In this day and age, it's surprising | | | | Features built in to software you already use |
| that so many of us rely solely on our wristwatch to | | | | A good example of this is Outlook. At a very basic |
| manage our time. Or rather, let us know if we're ahead | | | | user level, you can send and receive emails. Some |
| or behind a schedule. In a fast paced environment, it's | | | | people only use the program for this, never using the |
| probably not going to be good enough. You need to | | | | calendar feature, the meeting or distribution lists or |
| know how many tasks you have left within the | | | | having a contacts file that can be exported to the rest |
| remaining timescale, and how long each task will take | | | | of Office or even your mobile, if it's compatible. A bit of |
| before you can even make the decision that you're | | | | training to the other features of software can go a |
| late. Here are some ideas on how you can use | | | | long way. It also helps you get your money's worth, |
| equipment or software - that you more than likely | | | | (using all parts of the software instead of one feature |
| already have - to help you manage your time better. | | | | over again) and it saves you time. Compare the time |
| Mobile devices and their apps (applications) | | | | spent mailing out meeting minutes to people when you |
| Whether you have a smartphone, iPhone, BlackBerry, | | | | could have done it via a distribution list or linking to a |
| Android or any other advanced mobile device on the | | | | shared drive. |
| market, it will have a calendar feature, and probably a | | | | Remember, no application, tool - or even your watch - |
| lot more too, (a notepad, a task manager, and a diary | | | | can help you claw time back if you've mismanaged it |
| in some cases.) Many people have these applications, | | | | in the first place. You need to know how long your |
| but fail to use them. If you're one of the more | | | | tasks take and how much time and effort will be used |
| organised people who've had a paper diary for a lot of | | | | for them. You'll still need prioritising skills to know which |
| your working life, perhaps it's time to swap to the digital | | | | events "should come first" and which can be left until |
| version? | | | | another day. There are also other considerations such |
| It might take a while to input everything in the first | | | | as delegating or job sharing, and these are things that, |
| instance, but once you're up and running, the day to | | | | with a little training and practise, you can master. It |
| day running of it will be much easier. You won't be | | | | might take some time to learn the tools and |
| hunting for a pen, nor will you be lugging a diary around, | | | | applications, but it will save you time in the long run, so |
| because chances are you already carry your device | | | | why not try it out today? |