Time management is the process of planning and controlling how much time to spend on specific activities. Good time management enables an individual to complete more in a shorter period of time, lowers stress, and leads to career success.
Every industry requires some form of time management.
Managing your daily tasks, priorities, and time are some of the most important parts of any job.
In order to become a great Analyst or employee, you're going to have to allocate your time wisely and accomplish the necessary tasks in a timely fashion.
Time management is the process of planning and controlling how much time you spend on specific activities.
The ability to manage your time effectively is important.
Good time management enables you to be more efficient, more effective and lowers stress.
Making and following a task schedule reduces anxiety.
As you check off items on your to-do list, you can see that you are making tangible progress.
This helps you avoid feeling stressed out with worry about whether you’re getting things done.
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When done right, time management gives you extra time to spend doing things you enjoy, more time out of the office, and creating a more enjoyable lifestyle.
People who can time-manage effectively enjoy having more time to spend on personal goals, and their aspirations.
3Managing time well leads to more opportunities and less time wasted on trivial activities.
Good time management skills are key qualities that employers look for. The ability to prioritize and complete work is extremely desirable for any organization.
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Every Analyst wants to be a contributor from day one.
Unfortunately, that isn't the case with most, and nor does anyone truly expect you to.
Becoming a fully functioning Analyst takes time.
Regardless of the industry or the asset class you're in, you're going to have to learn the ins and outs before you become a fully operational Analyst.
5Seriously, we were like you.
We wanted to hit the ground running and become an Associate ASAP.
When we started our Analyst gig, we tried setting and meeting aggressive deadlines that would make our bosses happy.
Little did we know, we were telling our boss we could complete the work faster than the experienced Analysts.
Quick Hint: Never a good idea. We ended up being the reason for a lot of late nights and added stress that weren’t necessary.
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It's incredibly important to do this.
When you give your boss unrealistic expectations, the person you are hurting most is you.
Not only are you making your life tougher, and the job more difficult, you're going to be disappointing your boss if you're unable to meet the expectations you set.
7We learned it the hard way, by staying late, missing out on unrealistic deadlines we set for ourselves, all due to our ambitious and naive nature.
Our Tip: When your boss asks when you will have a project or work done, give them the real answer, not the incredibly optimistic one you're hoping to complete it by.
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This one is difficult, especially when you're starting out, with little idea of what to do, and how to do it.
But take it from an Analyst who's been there, it's crucial at any stage of the game.
Sometimes you might even have a pressing task hand or one that needs to get done before another one.
But a lot of the time you'll be unsure, and not know which to work on first, especially in the fast-paced environment.
9You DO NOT want to get caught in a situation where your boss looks bad, or you don't have the work needed, because you prioritized the wrong work.
That's an easily preventable mistake and one that is a simple conversation when you get assigned any task.
10If you forget to an important task, it could be a recipe for disaster, and cause your boss a lot of frustration, especially with you.
Our Tip: Ask your boss to prioritize for you. To be honest, you might have an idea of which tasks are the priority, but you only know for sure once your boss has told you. Plus, if anything pops up, you're off the hook because they set your schedule.
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This one works hand-in-hand with Prioritization.
Certain tasks, your boss will ask you to complete when you have downtime, or when you're able to.
A few examples of downtime tasks are helping your bosses’ prospect for new business and researching potential clients for your team.
12These don't take priority over the pressing matters, but it’s how your boss would like you to use your free time, it definitely has priority over that! LOL
Our Tip: Push Less Important Tasks to the Side. Every Analyst has tasks they are asked to complete, but not right away. This will help clear your plate and allow you to focus on the pressing tasks.
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As an Analyst, it's tough to have any real type of work-life balance.
You are expected to be the one to sacrifice the most time, energy, and lifestyle.
If you are an Analyst, its expected that your number one priority, is to be just that, an Analyst.
14We made the mistake early on of trying to make plans or meet friends after work or for dinner on a weeknight, and it was a mistake.
Our Tip: Don't make plans with friends after work, it's probably going to make your job and life tougher.
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For us, the way we stayed organized was by keeping a list of all the tasks we needed to complete on a note pad.
Every week our boss gave us a variety of things to complete, and the best way to track them was with notepads and post-its.
16It turned into a mini weekly meeting, every Monday and Friday we would go over the list to see what needed to get done and plan ahead for the next week.
Side Note: It will also help your boss stay organized and on track to complete all the necessary tasks.
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Organization as an Analyst is very important.
You are the one responsible for producing the work needed to move things for your company.
Without organization, you’ll have a tough time knowing what needs to get done, and where everything you need is.
18It will help you stay on top of your tasks, meet deadlines, and know what work needs to be done.
Our Tip: Try and figure out a way you like to organize and works best for you to get your daily tasks completed. This means your desk, file names, document names, and other assignments.
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Don't let your mistakes bother you and affect the other work you have to complete.
We let our mistakes eat up part of our day after we made them, and it ended up having a domino effect.
Any time you waste during the day, you're going to have to make up at night, don't let your mistakes ruin more of the day than they already have.
20It’s definitely easier said than done, but it’s the best for thing for you to do.
If you make a mistake, and it's going to happen, learn from it.
The more you let it bother you, the more weight the mistake gets.
Side Note: Honestly, everyone makes mistakes, especially early on as an Analyst. Let the mistake go and get back on the horse.
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As an Analyst, your job is basically to help prepare your bosses for their meetings, their pitches, and to help them close their deals.
It's tough to manage your workload, while also helping to manage their workload, but it could be worth it.
When our bosses had a meeting coming up, we tried our best to be aware of it, and help them in any way to win the business.
22Researching a market background, analyzing comparable deals, or giving them valuable insight on the company will go a long way.
Our Tip: Prepare for your work coming in advance, even if you don't have the assignment. This way, when it comes time to discuss the deal or to work on it, you are prepared and ready to go, spending less time to get up to speed and get going.
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Every Analyst job is one big competition, and it comes down to who wants it more.
If you want to be the best Analyst at your company or in your class, you're going to have to be willing to sacrifice time others aren't willing to.
24It’s tough to sacrifice more time than you already do, but it could be the reason why good things happen to you inside the office, like a promotion or larger bonus check.
Spoiler: The first Associate promotions are going to be given to the people who work both the hardest and the smartest. Sacrificing your free time is one of the ways to separate yourself, and show your commitment to the company.
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If you let your commute affect your decision making, and daily work schedule, then you're going to be behind the other Analysts who don't have to.
If you're worrying about trains, busses, or what time you'll get home, you'll always be behind the people who live close by.
26Commuting is tough and makes life harder as it is, but if your choosing to do it, then try to not let it affect your decision making the best you can.
Our Tip: Forget about your commute. It’s easier said than done, but if you want one of the first Associate promotions, you're going to have to. In your mind, you live next door to the office.
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To be honest, rest is an essential part of being efficient and productive.
We were much more effective when we gave ourselves time to rest or relax.
It will give you something to look forward to, something to motivate you, and something to push towards.
28Setting aside 10-15 minutes for a walk outside, or even just to completely shut your brain off, will help you be more productive.
Being productive is the goal, but part of being productive is rest.
Side Note: By doing this, you'll know to limit your time on your phone to a set number of minutes. Odds are you won't get carried away and lose track of time, the way we always do on our phones. You’ll be less stressed, more focused, and more effective throughout the day.
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However, you were able to complete work in your time at college or university is also a great strategy for being time efficient.
Everyone's time management ways are different, but you've definitely had to manage time in the past.
If there's a way or method that works for you, go back to it.
If it's worked for you already, odds are it will work again.
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First off, we’d like to remind you that you are already skilled at managing time. You've done it your whole life, whether you know it or not.
In any position, at any company, you're going to have to become efficient at managing your time.
Especially as an Analyst, which is most likely a high-pressure environment, with a lot of deadlines.
31At first, you might feel overwhelmed and unsure of how to handle everything, but try to use some of our strategies, and they'll be a big help.
Plus, the confidence that you've already done it, and the previous methods you've used to manage your time wisely should help as well.
One we really want to highlight using is to ask your boss to prioritize for you.
This way if anything needs to be done, you'll know, and you can move the less important stuff to the side.
32We highly recommend building some rest time into your day.
For us, we struggled in the afternoon to be as effective as we were in the morning.
By using breaks as things to look forward to, and to limit the amount of time we wasted, really helped us out.
33Along with some of the other strategies we presented.
Do your best to manage those 24 hours or 1440 minutes wisely.
You can do it. You already have.
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