The 4 D's of Time Management

Time management is an important tool that allows individuals to be efficient, effective, and time conscientious in all their dealings. No successful person becomes successful without time management. To understand and implement time management techniques seamlessly, the term 4 D’s of time management was coined. In some instances, the term management is switched for productivity as the two words are closely related, especially in the business world.

What is the 4 D’s of Time Management

The 4 D’s of management are basically used to assess if performing a particular task is worthy of doing. Therefore, an individual uses this tool to quickly make decisions about present and upcoming tasks. Doing this allows them to perform the task, delay action, delegate another staff, or completely disregard a particular assignment if deemed unworthy. The 4 D’s of management are Do, Delay, Delegate, and Delete. Classifying tasks within any of these segments make it easy to manage work, projects, and people. The 4 D’s of management are discussed below.

Do

An important task must never be delayed. The moment a critical task is identified, an individual should quickly complete it without any delay. Successful managers always do the right task when due, which ensures productivity by increasing the likelihood of success. Also, it is critical to complete tasks that are interdependent and time-bound as soon as they appear. Delaying such a task will ultimately delay all other undertakings.

Delay

Good time management involves knowing which task to complete and what task to delay. In many cases, certain tasks are better completed later rather than now. For example, a task that is dependent on five different factors should be delayed if four out of five of the factors have not materialized. Therefore, an individual should complete the task once all five factors are in play. Additionally, delaying tasks that are not time-bound may allow for the completion of more critical undertakings.

Delegate

Attempting to complete all tasks is a sign of bad time management skills. Individuals should learn to carry out some tasks and delegate other tasks to others. Delegation allows everyone to say engaged by encouraging teamwork and preventing overload of work on a single person. Additionally, a good manager measures the strengths and weaknesses of individuals while assigning projects. Therefore, individuals that are skilled in certain aspects of work are given specific tasks. Also, hiring people with different skill sets is based on the concept of delegation.

Delete

The aspect of deleting tasks from the program of work is an important time management skill. A good time manager must know what to do and what to disregard as this can go a long way in optimizing the working hours within a given day. For example, a manager can simply refuse to schedule meetings that are unimportant to the advancement of the goals and objectives of a business. Therefore, doing this gives the manager, his staff, and other people the ability to manage their time efficiently. Also, this sufficiently increases productivity.

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