John Hurd’s latest ‘e-Wealth Daily’ article is titled “Setting Expectations for Successful Time Management”. [é-Wealth Daily’Article]

John Hurd’s latest ‘e-Wealth Daily’ article:

Setting Expectations for Successful Time Management

Before I learned the important art of time management, I used to take offence when someone I was talking with would cut our conversation short.

I’m known for telling long-winded stories and can sometimes get carried away when my listener is really interested. So, being cut short said to me that I wasn’t getting their full attention. In fact, I was being quite selfish.

I’ve since learned that the reason I was cut short wasn’t always personal. Each day, you only have a finite amount of time, and you want to optimize your use of nearly every available minute. While listening to a story may not be a total waste of time, letting that story interrupt meetings or a strict schedule can lead to delays you could have easily avoided.

The trick to effective time management is not to be rude, but to handle how you stick to your schedule by being straight-forward and honest with everyone you deal with.

The first step to successful time management is always to set expectations. Most business meetings have a set start and end time. Sure, sticking to the exact number of minutes may be difficult, but when you recognize that everyone you deal with also has schedules, it shows that you respect this. Whether you’re having lunch with a colleague or planning a big presentation, set expectations right away as to how long you
plan to keep their attention, and do your best to stick to this promise.

When you reach the end of your set time, try to also arrange to continue the conversation at a later date. Expert networkers know that there is no truly finished conversation and that, to be able to use your connections in the future, you want to keep the discussion alive. Try to be specific and set a time and date to continue, or collect an e-mail address and state when you will contact them. Unless the topic is very important, try to leave a day or two before you make your next contact.

Finally, stay on topic. It’s easy to get distracted and even easier to get carried away by this distraction. Know the boundaries of what you are discussing and, should things get off topic, quickly steer them back on track. The ability to take control of a conversation takes some practice, but people will respect you for respecting their time and staying on topic.

Personal time management is an important factor to success. This can mean limiting the time you spend on tasks or controlling business meetings to stay on topic, plus many more issues that can take you away from completing your goals. Never be afraid to excuse yourself from a conversation, because your goals are important and those who want to support you on your journey will recognize your efforts, even if it takes a little explaining at first.

e-Wealth Daily

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* IMNewsWatch would like to thank e-Wealth Daily for granting permission to reprint this article.

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