We tend to rush and save time when we are driving from office to home only to watch a television show of one complete hour, and then we sit in front of our television set whereas our other important things are still pending. We tend to be in emergency while we are describing an assignment to our subordinate and at the same time if a friend calls from a distant place we may waste half an hour on telephone and ask our subordinate to come again at a later time. It does not mean that one should not watch television or not talk to friends on phone but we must try and create a balance to save and manage our time. It is the most precious asset of our life. Though we all know its importance but many among us hardly realize its value.

Saving Time
Time management is a skill, which we can learn only by practicing. But first we must learn to save our time. Here are some useful tips to save time: -
a. To ensure effective use of time make a list and know where do you tend to waste your time. A common man’s/woman's list may include: -
(1) Sleeping at night - 8 hours
(2) Talking with friends on phone - ½ hour
(3) Chatting with colleagues - ½ hour
(4) Tea/refreshment etc at office - ½ hour
(5) Meals - 1 hour
(6) Sleeping after lunch - 1 to 2 hours (May not be applicable in few cases)
(7) Television - 2 hours
(8) Some other unnecessary wastage of time at home/office - 1 hour
(9) Using PC other than office - 1 hour
b. In these sixteen hours, 6 ½ hours to 7 hours are unavoidable which we require for sleep. Cases may differ person to person but so far we have wasted almost 16 hours out of our 24 allocated hours of a day. What do you expect to do in these 8 possible hours in office and at home? Can you give a productive time to your work or spent a quality time with your family during only these 8 available hours?
c. Now when you have prepared your own list, you must review it and see what is justified and what is not. You may give it to a friend to review it critically and tell you from where to save the time. For example from the above-mentioned list you can save: -
(1) 1 hour - From television
(2) 1 to 2 hours - From afternoon nap
(3) 1 hour - Unnecessary wastage of time at home/office
(4) 1 hour - By waking up early and restricting your sleep to 6 ½ to 7 hours
(5) 1 hour - From unnecessary chatting with friends,tea/refreshments and telephone
(6) ½ hour - From meals
(7) 1 hour - From unproductive time on PC
d. You have just saved precious 6 ½ hours, you may be able to save some more time if you view your own list more critically and have a will to save time.
e. There are many other time wasters in our life, try to avoid them. Some of the time wasters can be: -
(1) Unnecessary traveling
(2) Chatting on the Internet
(3) Long discussions in the office or at home
(4) Political/religious discussions, which serve no purpose
(5) Unnecessary meetings
(6) Unnecessary callers
(7) Sitting in other's office without any justified reason
(8) Those unfinished tasks which keep bothering your mind
f. Saving minutes will ultimately save hours and you can utilize these hours for a substantial work
g. Follow the famous saying, “don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today”
h. Learn fast and effective reading
i. Make a timetable for yourself and follow it
j. Telephone, television and PCs are user friendly and are suppose to facilitate you. Do not let these things waste your time

Managing Time
a. Restrict office works to your office and do not carry it to your home. Manage your time at the office and finish your office work within the prescribed time
b. Try to handle a letter, report or file once only when it comes to you for the very first time
c. Do the important task or assignment first, let it not bother you all the time
d. Write down all the things you need to do in a days work and make a plan to deal with them
e. Spare some time for emergencies while making your plan
f. Do one thing at a time, do not try to handle several problems simultaneously
g. Organize your work
h. Delegate responsibilities for various tasks to appropriate subordinates. You do not need to do a job, which your subordinate can or should do
j. While giving a task to your subordinate be brief and to the point. Make him understand his assignment once for all. He should not disturb you time and again for the same thing
k. Build the power of decision-making. If it is to be made by a superior officer, get it done immediately and then take action
l. Prioritize your work
m. Things you personally don’t like should be done first so that they do not irritate you while doing other work
n. Make a target for a particular job in hand or any other thing you do. And finish it within the target time. For example if you want to reed a book of 500 pages you may target 50 pages a day and finish within 10 days

Uses of Saved Time
a. Utilize this time to plan for the training of your subordinates
b. Do some creative work/activity
c. Spend quality time with your family
d. Enhance your knowledge by reading books and newspapers
e. Learn some skill
f. Utilize this times to think about the welfare of your subordinates
g. Think of eradicating ills from the institution you are serving in
h. Improve your health
i. Work towards the greater aim of your life
j. Do some future planning for yourself and your family

In the fast advancing world we are racing for the best. We can progress and lead the race when we exactly know to utilize our time at its best. Time is money, an endeavor should be made to save it, manage it and spend it for a useful purpose. There are no prescribed rules for saving and managing time. Being flexible you can draw your own priorities and ultimately you will add something better to your own life. The beauty of life lies in organizing it. Use your time, “enjoy life it’s not a rehearsal”.