Diary Management

One of the most valuable elements in our lives is time, and organising our time is a huge task. A common way to manage time is with diary management. We are often having to work on multiple tasks at once or having to find time to do all those household tasks we’ve been putting off! Diary management is a great way to break up your time and ensure you are using your time efficiently.

Here are our top tips for diary management:

Planning in advance

You will never be able to plan for everything that can happen in a day, there will always be something unexpected cropping up! However, planning your diary as far in advance will ensure that everything else is scheduled appropriately.

Taking 15 minutes or so at the beginning of the week to plan will help to visualise how the next seven days will look. Even if you only have two meetings or one social event in the week, it will help to see any flexible time you have!

In addition, for any meetings or events you have coming up, creating clear agendas and plans will ensure your time is used efficiently, and so you don’t forget anything! On a similar note, don’t be afraid to decline meetings you aren’t needed for, or saying no to some plans so you don’t become overwhelmed by your schedule.

Colour coding

Once you’ve planned your week ahead, you may feel the need to categorise your events or meetings. Colour coding is a great way to instantly recognise different plans or priorities in your diary. For example, you can utilise the well-known red, orange, and green colours to highlight any important or flexible plans in your week, so you know from a glance what can be moved and what has to remain where it is.

This can then translate into your working preferences, whether you’re a morning person or work more efficiently in the afternoons, your schedule can mirror this. Prioritise the more important meetings when you feel the most productive, and ensure the flexible meetings appear where you know you might not work thoroughly.

Adding breaks

One of the most important elements of diary management is to make sure you factor in enough breaks in your weekly plan. Beneficial to both your physical and mental wellbeing, you could block out some time each day to have no meetings, or some time to yourself at home.

It is also important to have a change of environment during your working hours, even if you have a five-minute walk in your lunch break, taking some time away from the office or your house will help to bring your focus back.

Details 

When planning your week, using as much detail as you can is also valuable. If you are organising a meeting for example, it’s important to let the other attendees know where it is being held, what is going to be discussed, along with any preparation people might need to do! This will hopefully stop any questions and ensure the meeting runs smoothly.

If you are looking for help with your diary management, Clevertouch can help. From personal admin to work diaries, we have team members with experience in getting you organised!

Get in touch today to book your discovery call.