Guidelines For Effective Time Management
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One of the smartest scheduling rules you can apply is to set due dates that are not just meetable but bearable. In other words, it's a good idea to somewhat overestimate the time you think a job will take in order to (1) ensure on-time delivery even in the face of unforeseen delays and (2) surprise and delight your boss, clients, fellow committee members, and family by delivering sooner than anticipated. By breaking a big task into manageable steps, setting a timetable for doing each step, and chipping away at the project, you can accomplish almost anything-and with a lot less stress than by trying to do it all at once.
Every major project requires its own schedule, timeline, or timetable identifying major steps or milestones on the way to completion. If you've set realistic target dates (and allowed for possible "slippage" time); your progress should match your plan. If unforeseen developments place you behind your projected dates, you can either alert your boss or client and set a revised completion date or take steps to hasten your progress and make up the lost time. Note: If you can, leave room on your schedule for work-in-progress notes.
