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By Naledi Mokoena

Research conducted by Tower Bridge found that South African employees are interrupted or distracted at the office around 30 to 40 times per day. Today companies are focussed on maximising efficiency and productivity without compromising quality and service offering. 

Benefits of good time management

According to Coursera there are a number of advantages to managing your time effectively in the workplace. These are the benefits of time management skills:

• Lower levels of stress
• Better focus
• Lower anxiety levels
• More productivity
• Improved reputation in the workplace
• Better work-life balance
• Improved decision-making
• Increase professional confidence
• Attainment of goals

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The following techniques have been developed to assist with time management skills.

Create a daily schedule 

Allocate the necessary amount of time to create realistic timelines. According to Slack  professionals tend to overestimate their capacity to complete tasks, a term scientists refer to planning fallacy which predominantly results in heightened delivery estimates. Consider dedicating your attention to a task by avoiding distractions which are non-work related during working hours. These are some popular time management tools currently available:

• Asana
• Dropbox
• Google Calendar
• Desktime
• Trello
• ActiveCollab
• Harvest
• Evernote

Tackle difficult tasks first 

According to research there is a psychology associated with choosing to handle difficult work first which then improves your overall experience and clears your mindset for the next assignment. Applying this strategy may also reduce the likelihood of being distracted, leading to procrastination. Another valuable approach is assessing the best technique to handle workload, and setting a time frame  – priority management. Research by Tower Bridge reveals that employees spend an average of 50 percent of their time in task mode, followed by 20 to 30 percent of their time in an interactive mode whereas 10 percent is spent on revitalising and in a social mode.

Setting boundaries

Monitor the work load and delegate tasks to ensure deadlines are met. According to Forbes leaders are aware of the habits they need to work on to enforce boundaries, such as taking leave or delegating time for rest. 

Read the latest edition of ESG: The Future of Sustainability

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