One of the most popular courses in TourismProAcademy.com lately is Time Management for Tourism Professionals. Time is the one thread that runs through all of our lives. Whether you’re always early for an event, arrive as scheduled, or prefer to be fashionably late, you’re probably also watching the clock. Wouldn’t you love more time in your day to squeeze in more activities?
Consider these time management tips to enhance your productivity:
1. Preview your schedule for the day the first thing in the morning. Use your calendar effectively and you’ll be able to spend your time more judiciously.
* With practice, you’ll learn to recognize which tasks need more time to be completed and which tasks’ scheduled time can be shortened.
2. At work, if you’re responsible for leading a meeting, be prepared. Write the meeting agenda in advance.
* Stick to the time allotted for each agenda item.
3. Keep your focus on the task at hand. If you need to finish writing a report, stay with it until the report is completed.
4. Take active steps to screen out distractions. If you work better with soft music playing in the background, arrange to listen to your tunes while you complete your tasks.
* If you’re on the job, close your office door to deter people from stopping in to say, “Hi,” or ask a quick question.
5. Stand up. If someone calls you into their office for a minute to get your opinion on an issue, avoid sitting down. Impromptu meetings are shorter when at least one of you stands.
6. Have confidence about limiting chitchat at work. Don’t be afraid to tell people you can’t talk right at the moment. Rather than getting perturbed, your associates may praise your work ethic of finishing your projects before taking time to chitchat.
* You’re also setting a great example for the other employees.
7. Get comfortable with saying “No.” Being assertive is the hallmark of effective time management.
* When you take on more projects than you have time for, the quality of your work may suffer. Plus, your most important tasks don’t get addressed in a timely fashion if you have too much to do. You’re more likely to get more work done – and do it well – if you aren’t overwhelmed by taking on too much.
8. Use your planner at home as well. If you’re struggling during off-work hours to manage your time, feel free to also use your planner there. Write in your schedule when you want to work on certain home projects, like washing your car or cleaning the living room.
9. Set timers or alarms to keep you on task. For example, if you plan to clean your bedroom for an hour, set the alarm on your cell phone. Stop working on the chore at hand when the timer goes off, but not until then (unless you complete the task).
* Playing “beat the clock” can be highly motivational. Plus you’re likely to get more done.
* For particularly troublesome tasks, set your alarm in smaller increments – even 15 minutes – and take a short breather when your alarm sounds before you refocus on your task. In particular, you may find that physically challenging tasks are much more manageable if broken into smaller, more do-able “pieces.”
Final Thoughts on Time Management
Managing your time effectively will make you more satisfied and productive. Practice these tips to get a handle on everything you want to complete. And if you are ready to learn even more techniques, check out Time Management for Tourism Pros at TourismProAcademy.com.
This course will go over 5 different techniques to try when planning the best use of your time and talents on a daily basis. Best of all? It’s only $39! And you can go back and review and rewatch as often as you like. Buy it now and develop some new habits that will set you up for success in 2022!
Here’s some news!
I am excited to announce that I recently was awarded the Certified Virtual Presenter by espeakers.com. This designation is given to those who can show their expertise in providing value via Zoom and other platforms. I have been using Zoom before it was cool as a way to educate tourism professionals and provide DMO’s with remote training opportunities and the ability to build a resource library for their partners.
And here’s a way to watch me – for Free!
I will be offering a FREE Group tour webinar – Group Tour Tactics for Our New Reality– on Thursday, October 7th at 1 pm EST. If you are interested in learning more about group tours- or have partners that could benefit, click on this link to register. It is free and you will be able to ask questions at the end ( I love questions from the attendees!) Feel free to share the link with others. We can take up to 100 people on the webinar that day. You can check out my Virtual presenting skills in person!
New Group Tour Resource
Are you new to the Group Tour world? Serendipity Media has developed a free e-book ” New to Group Travel”. There are many helpful articles in there – several of which I wrote. You can click here to go to the Groups Today site and download the book. Make sure to thank them for creating this helpful resource!
