BUSINESS: The Ultimate Resource

April 2003 Upgrade #7

ACTIONLIST
Effective Time Management
Getting Started
Time is a human concept. Animals do not understand the idea. They live in time; they are in the moment; the present is all that counts. Remembering this can be useful in the business world: being able to focus on the present is often an effective way of getting through laborious tasks and not worrying about the past or future. In business, time is money. Paradoxically, as technology proliferates (with the promise that it will increase productivity), it makes managers responsibilities more complexat the same time that there are fewer support staff to perform the work. The only realistic solution is to make better use of time.

FAQs
How can I be a better time manager? The desire to be good at time management is half the battle, but you need to be aware of the choices you have to make. These relate to your overall life balance and the values you hold. Look at what you are being asked to do and why. If some requests are outside your area of responsibility or expertise, you may need to meet with your boss to clarify boundaries. If additional responsibilities become a permanent part of your workload, something else will have to give wayunless you can improve your time management skills or delegate some of the tasks. Maybe youll have to be more realistic about your strengths and capabilities. Instead of submitting to external deadlines, try to have input into setting realistic ones. Build some slack into the schedule to give yourself the best possible chance of meeting deadlines. I run a very efficient team. One of my team members seems incredibly disorganized. What can I do? A good team leader often needs to work with individual team members to help them understand what is expected. Set realistic goals and give them adequate time and resources to complete the work. Additionally, if possible, ask them to examine their performance objectively and identify patterns of behavior that contribute to being disorganized. Often time management requires a change in habitual behavior. This can only be achieved by building awareness, charting a clear route, and rewarding success.

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2003

BUSINESS: The Ultimate Resource

April 2003 Upgrade #7

Ive recently invested in a computerized scheduler but find I am still using my old appointment book as well. How can I get away from using redundant systems? Plan the time it will take to learn the new technology and transfer your information. Ask for a tutorial from someone who has made the leap already. Then, over a period of a month, wean yourself off the dual system by omitting the appointment book. Youll probably be converted to the versatility and convenience of the computerized scheduler long before the month is out.

Making It Happen
Conduct a Time Audit You may find it useful to conduct a time audit on your life. What is the balance between the demands placed on you at work and those that define your private life? Does this balance satisfy you, or do you find yourself sacrificing one element for another? One key to good time management is being aware of the wider world in which you live and the interrelationships between its constituent parts. Another key is prioritizingif in fact there isnt enough time to satisfy all the competing demands and then choosing how you apportion your time. Take a large sheet of paper and write your name in the center. Write all the demands of your life around it. Include work hours, commuting, socializing, eating, sleeping, household responsibilities, and family commitments. Remember that taking time for family and friends, exercise, hobbies, vacations, and just plain fun is important. Mark the number of hours you devote to each of these areas on an average day, month, or year. This chart graphically represents your life in terms of the choices and tradeoffs you actually make in areas that are important to you. Ask yourself whether this is how you want to live your life. You may decide to sacrifice some important areas in the short term, but be aware of what might happen when a particular phase of your life comes to an end. For example, how will you manage if you get married or divorced; when children are grown and leave home; when you get transferred to another position or take another job in another company or state; when you have an accident or long-term illness; when you retire? Decide What Action Needs to Be Taken Take a highlighter and mark those areas on your chart that need attention. If, for instance, youre spending too much time at work, you need to review your professional objectives and decide how to achieve a better balance. Life is all about choices. You may find that you can recapture more time by telecommuting, if your employer will permit it and your family will respect the necessary home-work boundaries. You can probably find other ways to prune wasted hours. For instance, if you like sports or fitness activities, consider finding a club near work where you can go early in the morning instead of having to fit exercise into your evenings. Look for patterns in the way you use your time. You may find that you are constantly in meetings that run late or that you pick up a lot of extra work because you arent
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2003

BUSINESS: The Ultimate Resource

April 2003 Upgrade #7

assertive enough in saying no. If you dont have enough time and your own behavior is contributing to the shortage, change your patterns of behavior. Learn to Use the Right Tools Time management tools and techniques are only as useful as the time you invest in using them. Common ones include:

handheld organizers, also known as personal digital assistants (PDAs) organizers, both computer-based programs and paper appointment books or schedulers to do lists prioritizing work according to its importance and focusing only on whats essential

If youre a person who tends to concentrate on whats in your in-box or on todays schedule, you may find it useful to stand back and look at the big picture. Your activities dont happen in a succession of unrelated present moments; they mesh into a continuum of past and future. Develop and keep some perspective on how this broader context affects your choices in deciding how you spend your time. Some Dos and Donts of Time Management Do Dont Conduct a time-management assessment Spend time on unnecessary activities or on yourself those that dont serve your purpose Be honest about how long things take Take on more than you can handle

Build in time for reflecting and learning Blame others for your own disorganization Build in time for yourself Delegate wherever you can Get hung up on process Make commitments you cant meet

Anticipate the pressure of commitments Expect others to make up for what you cant you make do Communicate with others when you have time conflicts Plan ahead Give up

If too much work is the issue, look at your workload, prioritize, and refer back to how it fits your job description. Decide, perhaps in tandem with your manager, which things youre doing add value to your job and career potential and which would be better delegated to others. The central point is that planning is essential, and being very conscious of time is a necessary first step.

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2003

BUSINESS: The Ultimate Resource

April 2003 Upgrade #7

Common Mistakes
You Buy a New Gadget but Still Rely On Old Time Management Tools If youre going to buy a new device to help you plan your time better, you need to be disciplined in mastering it and using it daily. Dont buy something just for the sake of having it and leave it to gather dust. You Expect Too Much of Yourself and Become Discouraged Change is difficult and often requires a new set of skills. The principles of time management sound completely logical and straightforward, but in fact we lead extremely complex lives, and these simple principles are hard to put into practice. Dont overwhelm yourself by trying to change everything at once. Instead, establish a series of small, clear goals, and achieve them one by one. You Have Trouble Breaking out of Old Patterns Old habits do die hard, and one of the hardest to break is the way we structure and use our time. Everyone knows people who are always late or always early, who jump right onto tasks or are terrible procrastinators, who are stressed-out workaholics or who always seem miraculously refreshed and relaxed. The choices we make in managing our time are connected to the way we view ourselves and the world: making different choices affects our sense of identity and our relationships. Take it slowly, look to family, friends, and coworkers for support in making these changes, and dont discount the value of taking workshops or seeking out a consultant to help you.

For More Information

Books: Allen, David. Getting Things Done. New York: Viking, 2001. Cook, Marshall. Streetwise Time Management. Avon, MA: Adams Media Corporation, 1999. Covey, Stephen R., A. Roger Merrill, and Rebecca R. Merrill. First Things First: To Live, to Love, to Learn, to Leave a Legacy. New York: Fireside, 1996. Jensen, Bill. Simplicity: The New Competitive Advantage in a World of More, Better, Faster. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing, 2000. Morgenstern, Julie. Time Management from the Inside Out: The Foolproof System for Taking Control of Your Schedule and Your Life. New York: Henry Holt, 2000. Tracy, Brian. Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler, 2002. Web sites: Mindtools.com: www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_03.htm Steve Randall: http://members.aol.com/rslts/tmmap.html

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2003