National Time Management Month
By Sharon Schweitzer
National Time Management Month is celebrated during February each year. February is the perfect month to take stock of your time management skills and check if they align with your New Year’s resolutions and goals. Time management is not as complex or difficult as it seems. With a bit of focus and dedication, anyone can achieve their goals on time and even incorporate leisure, vacations, and more into their busy schedules. This is a lifestyle celebration that everyone should observe for a happy and productive life.
National Time Management Month isn’t strictly a corporate observation, although efficient time management is crucial for professional productivity. As companies step into the new year, goals are set for each quarter. These goals can only be achieved when every department and its members perform to the best of their abilities. What separates great organizations from good organizations is skillful time management at every level. National Time Management Month is an opportunity to evaluate how your company fares at time management and the steps that you can take to improve it to ensure individual and overall productivity.
An interesting fact is that the ancient Egyptians started to keep track of time using sundials, leading to the early concept of time management. By the 1800’s the rise of factories and urbanization during the Industrial Revolution highlighted the need for better time management practices. Then in 1912, Frederick Winslow Taylor introduced principles of scientific management, focusing on efficiency and productivity in the workplace. In 1987, David Allen proposed the Getting Things Done (GTD) method, revolutionizing time management with focusing on moving tasks out of the mind and into an external system. Fast forward to the 2000’s with the advent of smartphone and digital technology, various time management apps started to emerge, making time management more accessible and convenient.
Physical time can be objectively measured with a clock. Psychological time, however, is subjective and perceptively flexible. Time perception can also vary depending on how many things you have to do and how much time you have to do them. The more tasks and responsibilities you have, the more likely you are to have to manage your time to make sure you can get all of them done. Managing your time comes naturally for some, but others need to learn tools and tricks to stay on top of everything. This is where learning the art of time management comes in.
Email is one of the biggest time stealers. How much time do you spend every day sorting through messages? Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses when it comes to time management. For National Time Management Month, pick one thing you can do to manage your time better. See how it goes, and then add another next month.
Photo by holidaysmart.com
Sharon Schweitzer JD, is a diversity and inclusion consultant, cross-cultural trainer, etiquette expert, and the founder of Access to Culture. In addition to her accreditation in intercultural management from the HOFSTEDE Centre, she is an attorney and mediator. Sharon served as a Chinese Ceremonial Dining Etiquette Specialist in the documentary series Confucius was a Foodie, on Nat Geo People. Her Amazon #1 Best Selling book in International Business, Access to Asia: Your Multicultural Business Guide, won a coveted Kirkus Star, and was named to Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books. She’s a winner of numerous awards, including the British Airways International Trade Award at the Greater Austin Business Awards.
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