Are you looking for a team-building project to draw your workers closer together? Do you have hopes of making 2017 your company’s most productive and profitable year yet?

Well, February is the month you can start to make that happen.

Welcome to National Time Management Month!

February is really the perfect time to focus on better time management. After all, your New Year’s resolutions have been established (and maybe a few of them set by the wayside); the holiday recovery period is over, and everyday life is back on track. Now is the time to start making positive changes that can have a ripple effect of greater productivity through the rest of 2017 and beyond.

How can you get your team on the time management bandwagon?

• Ask team-members to share a few of their top time management tips. (To get more enthusiastic participation, offer a prize—like a coffee shop gift card—to the person with the best tip.) Collect them all into one email or document and share with the entire team, asking each person to select a tip to implement this month. Make sure you follow up with them to find out how that tip impacted their workflow!
• Do some time management research of your own, and share your favorite tips with the team. Tell them that, as a group, you are all going to focus on implementing a new tip each month: tip 1 in February, tip 2 in March, and so on. At team meetings, make sure you save some time to talk about how implementing that tip has helped.
• Maybe your team is doing great, but as the manager, you are struggling because you’re pulled in so many directions at once. Tell your team you are going to focus on managing your time better, and share your methods (will only look at and respond to email twice a day; will not answer phone calls if you’re in the middle of a project; will close your door when working on a project, a sign that means “No interruptions allowed”). Help them understand that you are still just as accessible to them—you are simply trying to ensure that your part of the job gets done, too.

Time management doesn’t have to be complicated! The toughest part is putting new habits into action—and keeping them there. Get started on better time management this month… and if you have a tough time, don’t worry: practice makes perfect!

For more than 25 years, Beall Financial and Insurance Services, Inc., has been helping corporations and individuals protect their most important assets. The agency’s client base covers a spectrum of niche businesses, such as craft breweries, that require specialized insurance packages and knowledge. With California offices in Redlands and Newport Beach, Beall Financial and Insurance Services serves clients nationwide.