{"id":312,"date":"2018-06-04T08:00:23","date_gmt":"2018-06-04T13:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/?p=312"},"modified":"2018-06-19T13:25:50","modified_gmt":"2018-06-19T18:25:50","slug":"time-management-tips-for-child-care-directors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/04\/time-management-tips-for-child-care-directors\/","title":{"rendered":"Time Management Tips for Child Care Directors"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\" class=\"intro-content\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-315 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/juggling-calendar-schedule-meeting-281x300.jpg\" alt=\"Time Management Tips for Child Care Directors or Day Care Managers \" width=\"345\" height=\"358\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A frequent complaint of center directors is not having enough time. Everyone has unique and distinct life goals but few of us feel we have enough time to carefully and consciously balance work, family, and personal priorities. Time management becomes an issue.<\/p>\n<p>What gets in the way of your being as effective as you would like in managing your time? Is it interruptions from staff and parents? Situations with children that require your assistance?\u00a0 Phone calls? Paperwork and reporting deadlines?<\/p>\n<p>Time management is all about making the most effective use of your time and working smarter, not harder. It requires planning, and then sticking to the plan \u2013 and that takes discipline. Time efficiency involves two issues: \u00a0your priorities and your schedule. Examine your priorities and write them down. Your priorities will guide how you can best use your time.<\/p>\n<p>Making some simple changes to your time management could make all the difference to the amount of work you are actually accomplishing. Here are some strategies:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Get a good start. <\/strong>Being relaxed at the start of the morning should carry through the day.\u00a0 Start your day by spending five to ten minutes planning your activities for the day.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Put good systems in place. <\/strong>Being organized and having a good system for filing emails, computer documents and papers will save you many valuable hours in the long run \u2013 so spend some time initially setting up your systems, then you won\u2019t have to worry about it.<\/li>\n<li><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Make a to-do list. <\/strong>To-do lists are your best friend. They can increase your productivity by 20 per cent, help to clear your mind, and save you energy and stress. Write out your tasks, then break down large or complex tasks into smaller sections and group them into manageable units that don\u2019t feel too overwhelming. Focus on one at a time. As you complete your tasks, cross them off. You\u2019re making progress, and it\u2019s a great feeling!<\/li>\n<li><strong>Prioritize tasks. <\/strong>There\u2019s a good chance you won\u2019t get everything on your to-do list done, but make sure you get the most important things done. That means you have to prioritize the tasks on your list and figure out what is most important, as well as most urgent (not necessarily the same thing).<\/li>\n<li><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Make a schedule. <\/strong>Using your to-do list and priorities as a starting point, make a schedule for the day and for the week. The schedule needs to be realistic, with flexibility for interruptions and unscheduled events.\u00a0 Be careful not to overschedule. Having a schedule means you won\u2019t have to waste time and energy thinking about what you have to do next \u2013 just follow your schedule.<\/li>\n<li><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Take regular breaks. <\/strong>Breaks will keep your mind fresh and you will be able to return to your work with better focus. Take a few minutes to walk around, get away from your desk, and you will return to your tasks with a little more sight of the end product and what needs to\u00a0be done.\u00a0 If you work straight through, you will put in more hours but work less productively.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Manage your emails and phone calls. <\/strong>For many, emails and phone calls constitute the single biggest obstacle to effective time management. \u00a0Read and respond to emails and phone calls in blocks only a few times a day so you\u2019re not constantly changing what you\u2019re doing and breaking up your day.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Determine your prime time. <\/strong>Block off the time when you are most energized and creative. Use this time for high priority projects that require thoughtful analysis rather than routine tasks.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Keep a time log.\u00a0 <\/strong>You might find it useful to track your daily activities and how much time each takes. This will help you analyze where your time is going. You might be surprised by how much time certain tasks actually take or how much time is wasted in ways you didn\u2019t even realize.\u00a0 Being aware of these factors will help you better manage your time.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Delegate effectively.<\/strong> Effective leaders know how to motivate others to help get work done. Delegating maximizes efficiency and increases the ability to get more done in less time. The art of delegating involves carefully organizing the task, stating your expectations, and providing feedback from a distance. Be available if needed, but consistently communicate your trust that the job will be done independently and successfully. This builds confidence in the staff to whom the tasks have been delegated.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Time management is a skill.<\/h3>\n<p>Like any new skill it takes time and commitment to develop. \u00a0Knowing how to make the most of your time is essential to you, your center, and your work\/life balance.\u00a0 So put these tips to work and take control of your time and your life! Learn about our <a href=\"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/cw\/overview\">business tools<\/a> that can maximize your productivity and efficiency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A frequent complaint of center directors is not having enough time. Everyone has unique and distinct life goals but few of us feel we have enough time to carefully and consciously balance work, family, and personal priorities. Time management becomes an issue. What gets in the way of your being as effective as you would like in managing your time? Is it interruptions from staff and parents? Situations with children that require your assistance?\u00a0 Phone calls? Paperwork and reporting deadlines? Time management is all about making the most effective use of your time and working smarter, not harder. It requires [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/04\/time-management-tips-for-child-care-directors\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4,5],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>Time Management Tips for Child Care Directors or Day Care Managers<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Are you a Child Care director having trouble with Time Management ? It&#039;s difficult to balance work, family and personal priorities. Let us help!\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/04\/time-management-tips-for-child-care-directors\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Time Management Tips for Child Care Directors or Day Care Managers\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Are you a Child Care director having trouble with Time Management ? It&#039;s difficult to balance work, family and personal priorities. Let us help!\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/04\/time-management-tips-for-child-care-directors\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ChildWatch\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-06-04T13:00:23+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-06-19T18:25:50+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/juggling-calendar-schedule-meeting-281x300.jpg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Denise R\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Denise R\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/04\/time-management-tips-for-child-care-directors\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/04\/time-management-tips-for-child-care-directors\/\",\"name\":\"Time Management Tips for Child Care Directors or Day Care Managers\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-06-04T13:00:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-06-19T18:25:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/394d538b0377b023f4f48899773e10ef\"},\"description\":\"Are you a Child Care director having trouble with Time Management ? It's difficult to balance work, family and personal priorities. Let us help!\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/04\/time-management-tips-for-child-care-directors\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/04\/time-management-tips-for-child-care-directors\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/04\/time-management-tips-for-child-care-directors\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Time Management Tips for Child Care Directors\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"ChildWatch\",\"description\":\"A Childcare Blog For All\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/394d538b0377b023f4f48899773e10ef\",\"name\":\"Denise R\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b482b7edd73e6551cfb3135981631a50?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b482b7edd73e6551cfb3135981631a50?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Denise R\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/author\/drubin\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Time Management Tips for Child Care Directors or Day Care Managers","description":"Are you a Child Care director having trouble with Time Management ? It's difficult to balance work, family and personal priorities. Let us help!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/04\/time-management-tips-for-child-care-directors\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Time Management Tips for Child Care Directors or Day Care Managers","og_description":"Are you a Child Care director having trouble with Time Management ? It's difficult to balance work, family and personal priorities. Let us help!","og_url":"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/04\/time-management-tips-for-child-care-directors\/","og_site_name":"ChildWatch","article_published_time":"2018-06-04T13:00:23+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-06-19T18:25:50+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/juggling-calendar-schedule-meeting-281x300.jpg"}],"author":"Denise R","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Denise R","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/04\/time-management-tips-for-child-care-directors\/","url":"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/04\/time-management-tips-for-child-care-directors\/","name":"Time Management Tips for Child Care Directors or Day Care Managers","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-06-04T13:00:23+00:00","dateModified":"2018-06-19T18:25:50+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/394d538b0377b023f4f48899773e10ef"},"description":"Are you a Child Care director having trouble with Time Management ? It's difficult to balance work, family and personal priorities. Let us help!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/04\/time-management-tips-for-child-care-directors\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/04\/time-management-tips-for-child-care-directors\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/04\/time-management-tips-for-child-care-directors\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Time Management Tips for Child Care Directors"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/","name":"ChildWatch","description":"A Childcare Blog For All","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/394d538b0377b023f4f48899773e10ef","name":"Denise R","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b482b7edd73e6551cfb3135981631a50?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b482b7edd73e6551cfb3135981631a50?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Denise R"},"url":"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/author\/drubin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=312"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":325,"href":"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312\/revisions\/325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/childwatch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}