At a time when we are all coming under huge pressure to improve efficiency then a very good place to start is in how we use our own 1,440 minutes each day.
If you’re leading a team you will also find that the way you allocate your time will have a direct bearing on how others around you behave.
1. Schedule your priorities
- very different from prioritising your schedule!
- don’t let the urgent tasks displace the important
2. Plan your time – both business and private
- don’t be driven by random events or the whims of others
- align the time you spend on a task to its importance
3. Moderate your standards
- sometimes you just have to spend however long it takes
- usually 90% will do, will take half the time – and will allow completion of other tasks
4. “Results” not “Activity”
- Work smarter, not harder
- Achieve the maximum possible with the minimum effort
5. Delegate
- remember this may be downwards, sideways or upward
- in a structured way – and avoid checking/duplicating activity
6. Be prepared to say “no”
- justify the basis on which you allocate your time
- propose alternative approaches or timescales where relevant
7. Stay focused
- think how you blast through your “to do” list when you’re on holiday tomorrow
- ignore petty distractions
Try these simple techniques to improve your time management performance.
1. Survey yourself
- for 2 weeks, in 15 min increments, track how you use your time
- compare this to your personal or business objectives
2. Draw a 2×2 grid for “urgent” and “important”
- position tasks in each quadrant
- plan how to avoid tasks becoming both urgent and important
3. Stay on top of e-mail using the Donaldson-Fielder approach
- Delete: half or more emails can go immediately
- Do: if the email is urgent or can be dealt with quickly
- Delegate: if it can be better dealt with by others
- Defer: set aside time at a later date for emails that need more time to action
And make certain you schedule non active time. You need time to think and reflect. This is when you are most likely to work out your true priorities.
Still think you or your team need help with Time Management?
>> Find out about Focus on-site Time Management training
>> Book a public scheduled time management course
Blogalot – March 2010
