Why is Time Management So Important Now?

With the current economic situation, more and more demands are being placed on our daily working and personal lives as we strive to excel at achieving and retaining our job; keep on top of the communication challenges as we work globally across different time zones and cultures; keep up to date with the latest technological gadget; and balance our personal commitments to ourselves, our family and friends.

Time management has been commonly defined as the management of time in order to make the most out of it. However, as we now have to work smarter to produce higher productivity levels and place a greater value on achieving a work/life balance; time management has become far more about self management, i.e. deciding what you wish to focus on in life, setting a clear direction with challenging goals, planning and prioritizing the key actions necessary to achieve success at both a professional and personal level, enlisting support or delegating tasks that others could do just as well; and avoiding all the myriad of distractions that bombard you on a daily basis!

There are plenty of time management systems on the market offering a combination of processes, tools and techniques. However, some of the most simple templates and tools can work just as well. If you really want to effectively manage your whole life, try to find the combination of processes and tools that incorporate both your professional and personal life.

Developing your time and self management skills is crucial in the 21st century, and more employers now seek evidence of a potential employee's ability to manage their time effectively to achieve the desired results through their selection process. If putting yourself forward to a potential employer for a job, you must anticipate and plan your answers to interview questions around how you manage your time at work, college or in personal activities and provide specific examples of how time and self management helped you achieve a specific business/organizational/personal result.

Managing ourselves to ensure we can effectively cope with today's pressures and avoid the poor time and self management associated stress or health problems has never been so crucial.

Kim Larkins, is a Director of KSL Training a Berkshire UK based training consultancy who offer a 1 day time management course to companies and organisations across the UK through a team of experienced CIPD member training consultants.