Maintaining schedules. Maintaining your schedule is a constant challenge. There are so many traps throughout the day where time could be wasted or mismanaged. Knowing common pitfalls that rob you of your time is a simple but effective way to maintain your schedule. Here are some common time traps to watch for. Avoid meeting run-over. This is a common area where time is wasted. Meetings can easily run over by at least 30 minutes. Do this several times a day, and you could lose hours of time this way. Making a conscious effort to avoid meeting run-over is essential. You have to make the decision before you enter the meeting. To start, if you are not the meeting organizer, before the meeting begins, tell the meeting organizer you must leave on time, and then sit as close to the exit door as possible to avoid disrupting the meeting when exiting. If you are the meeting organizer, before the meeting begins, tell attendees that you plan to end the meeting on time, and then end the meeting on time. Avoid additional work that is unrelated to the activities you are currently working on. Many times, a simple task pops up and it seems like something you can handle quickly. But once you get involved, it takes up more time than you think. Unplanned or poorly organized tasks tend to cost more time than at first glance. Sometimes it really constitutes unproductive or busy work. If you see something pop up that needs work, put it in your planner. Do not volunteer every time additional work is offered. Constant volunteering alters your schedule. You may feel pressure to volunteer and save the day, but you might be inviting more trouble. Take a look at your schedule before you volunteer, and if you do have the extra time, go for it. But be cautious not to over volunteer. If you keep on sending the message that you have all the time in the world to do extra things, then you will have people dump tasks on you. Your time is precious. Demonstrate the importance of your time to your peers. Negotiate timeframes when additional work is given to you. Be assertive and defend your schedule. Avoid being pushed into timeframes that work against your schedule. Ask questions like, “When do you need this by?” If you must work on this task immediately, negotiate the timeframe of a deliverable already on your schedule. Many times, you are unable to find a lower-priority task on your schedule. Decline work you know you cannot deliver. Many times, you may just have to decline the job. If you are unable to exchange the new task for one that is already scheduled and you know you cannot deliver both, decline it. Just remember, do not decline a job, then later be caught standing around at the water cooler for 20 minutes. This will damage your credibility.
