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37 Ways To Save Time

1. Write down your ideas. Do not trust your memory—no matter how good it might be!
2. Set your priorities first thing in the morning before any work gets underway.
3. Have a priority-setting meeting early in the day.
4. Use your high productivity hours for your high priority projects.
5. Do not over schedule. Leave two hours of the day free from appointments.
6. Tackle time-consuming projects in stages.
7. Delegate to your staff tasks that they are capable of doing.
8. Teach your staff how to perform certain tasks so that you can delegate in the future.
9. Concentrate on one item at a time.
10. Institute a quiet period in your office, preferably in the morning.
11. When a day’s work is taxing, get out of the office at lunchtime. Plan to have lunch with a friend or do something recreational.
12. Have a light lunch and do not consume any alcohol—this prevents the usually “sleepy” period between 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.
13. Use your low productivity hour(s) for easy-to-do projects and casual reading.
14. If possible, have the secretary screen phone calls. Let them know when you do not wish to be disturbed.
15. If possible, have a receptionist situated between you and visitors.
16. Close the door when you don’t want to be disturbed. Use a high movable partition around you if you don’t have a private office.
17. Greet visitors outside your office and talk with them while standing if you wish the meeting to be brief.
18. Time limit visits. When someone calls for an appointment, ask how long the meeting will be.
19. Carry a 3x5 card to jot down ideas when you are away from your desk.
20. Carry reading material with you at all times. Use waiting time to read.
21. Keep letters brief. Only address the issue at hand. Do not say more than is required.
22. Use travel time to listen to books on tape.
23. Have a place for everything.
24. Keep your desk free of papers you are not working on that day. This prevents papers being mixed up or lost.
25. Set reasonable deadlines for yourself and others.
26. Make decisions now if possible. If further information is not likely to change a decision, then don’t wait any longer before deciding.
27. Keep paperwork moving.
28. Mark what you read with pencil. When you have to refer to that document later you will not have to read it all again.
29. If something isn’t clear, ask for clarification. Do not assume. You might find you have to do it all over again.
30. Schedule meetings and consultations in the afternoon, preferably 1-1/2 hours before quitting time. Schedule meetings in the morning only if they demand maximum concentration from all the members.
31. Use an agenda for meetings.
32. If possible, keep meetings to an hour or less.
33. Form an ad hoc committee in meetings for items that need more investigation. Do not take up people’s time talking about an item that no one can adequately address.
34. Have short meetings (<15 minutes) in a room with no chairs. Have people stand.
35. Close your office, or part of the office, for one day to have a time management workshop where all employees participate.
36. When you are working closely with another person, collect issues for discussion and talk about them at scheduled times. Do not make contact every time you have an issue. Encourage others to do the same.
37. Investigate the feasibility of using flextime.

From Davidson, J. Effective Time Management. New York: Human Sciences Press, 1978.