Everyone is looking for ways to improve time management. Whether it is the management of an organization looking to improve business or an individual looking for ways to spend their time better, time management is important to both. Better time management can be achieved if goals are set and then all future work is prioritized based on how the individual or organization will move towards achieving the goals.
There are several priority time management methods. The most common are the A, B, and C method and arrange the numbers according to the order in which the tasks should be done. Both methods encourage looking at things that are close to achieving important goals as the highest priority to be placed. Things that are not related to goals will have lower priority. Below is a description of the three priorities and how they relate to general time management practices.
- high Priority items (rank A or 1) are those tasks, projects, and assignments that yield the greatest results in achieving individual or organizational goals. For individuals, this can be related to goals of career advancement or small business growth and direct relationships to promises made to clients or co-workers, or it may be less job-related such as more family or leisure goals and promises. For organizations, this is likely to be related to increased profits, new business, major projects and other strategic business elements. High priority items should be the first planned action each day and block at a time that falls within one’s peak performance period.
- mode Priority items (rank B or 2) are those standard daily, weekly, or monthly tasks, projects, and appointments that are part of the work that needs to be done in order to maintain the status quo. For individuals, this may relate to getting their standard work done, and it may mean going to scheduled family activities or outside the group as expected. For organizations, these are daily work items such as project meetings, cost cutting, as well as regular administrative, sales, and manufacturing work. Medium priority work is scheduled after or between high priority jobs, because this work does not require high levels of concentration, and can be done during off-peak periods as long as it is completed on schedule.
- a little Priority items (rank C or 3) are those tasks, projects, and potential appointments that can be deferred to another time, and will not directly impact goals or standard work practices. For individuals, this may mean learning a new skill or starting a new hobby that may sound like good ideas but are not directly related to desired personal goals. For organizations, this could be scanning old files or assessing existing business processes that are currently running smoothly enough.
It doesn’t matter if it’s priority time management methods like A, B, C, numbering, or simply marking High, Medium, or Low using a custom coding or coloring method. It is only important that the practice has no more than three priorities used in getting closer to achieving important goals. More than three levels of priority can hinder the time manager in the process of prioritizing instead of doing valuable work.
Whether it is the management of the organization or an individual looking for ways to make better use of their time, time management is important for both. Anyone looking for ways to improve time management will benefit from creating and following a method of prioritizing completion of work toward goals.