Four 'W's of Time Management (2024)

As marketing strategies are guided by the four Ps: Product, Price, Place and Promotion; time management answers to four 'W's: What, When, How and Who.

As professionals, we have a range of responsibilities. Managing our time to tackle these tasks is an important skill, and is extremely necessary to optimize our performance. To begin this critical exercise, consider the following:

1. WHAT. Rank all activities according to priority, operating with the end in mind. Life is generally more satisfying when you can see how your daily actions are contributing to achieving a bigger goal.
2. WHEN. Once your activities are ranked, they need to be incorporated into your day in a practical way. Again, this sets you up for success. For example, if you allot exercise as a high priority but hope to do it after work, when you naturally know your body is fatigued and your family demands time from you, perhaps you need to find a time that will be more probable.
3. HOW. Allotting an appropriate amount of time to each activity is necessary. This ensures that you do not dwell too much on one activity at the cost of other activities. Often we have several tasks on hand with different shades of importance, and many tasks cannot be completed at one go and require daily inputs to develop into something meaningful. As such, how you divide your time is important. Make sure that you correlate the division of your time according to the importance of the task.
4. WHO.The people that we invest is also an indication of our priorities. People can consume your time and yield no real tangible result for you. Or people can help you to gain perspective and perform your tasks better. Or people can enrich your time and help you to realize what is important. Never underestimate the value of assessing the Who in your life to achieving your goals.

These four 'W's can build the backbone to any effective time management plan. Stick to it, and benefit from a lifetime of time well-spent!

HAPPY TIME MANAGING!