TIME MANAGEMENT IS SELF-MANAGEMENT
You have heard people say over and over again: “I don’t have time.” The fact is that every person has the same number of hours in each day and can choose what to do with those hours. According to Benjamin Franklin, time is the stuff of which life is made. If that is true, it means that time management is no more than self-management. Start with these simple ideas to make your life a little easier. Remember, they are simple ideas, but not necessarily easy; they will require self-discipline, just as developing any good habit does.
- Put your personal and organizational goals in writing. Understand your unique talents. What have you done excellently in the past? What do you do well? What are your key result areas? Use checklists for recurring events such as meetings, sales calls and business trips.
- Do rigorous timeline-driven project management. Make minor decisions quickly. Recognize that you cannot do everything. Work on the 20% of the activities that produce 80% of your results. Tackle the tough jobs first – quit doing petty tasks in the hope of building momentum. The key is not to prioritize what is on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.
- Carry out a time audit for two weeks by keeping track of your time in 15 minute increments to see how you actually spend your time. Compare this with what you should be or want to be spending your time on. It will give you the motivation to make the needed changes.
- If you earn Rs ‘x’ a year, identify the cost per minute that you are paid by the business. Use this to help you decide what you need to ‘do’ and what you need to ‘delegate’. When you do a task that someone else at a lower wage could be doing, you are losing money for the organization. Hire the right people to perform the tasks. Use a delegation record to keep track of assignments handed out to others. Don’t allow upward delegation – ask for solutions, not problems.
- Start earlier in the morning if possible. Use your prime time for priorities. Schedule appointments with yourself to complete priority work. Schedule more time for tasks.Take advantage of commuting time and waiting time to get things done. Always carry a small scratch pad, pocket recorder or handheld computer to record notes and capture ideas.
- Identify the time of the day that you operate at peak attention and concentration. Are you a ‘morning person’ or a ‘night person’? Use your power times to work on your key goals and use the down times for routines such as tidying up, shopping and errands.
- Develop the do-it-now habit. Don’t delay. Be time conscious rather than a perfectionist. Let the amount of time spent on a task be proportionate to the value of the outcome.Procrastination has many different causes: fear, boredom, perfectionism, an overwhelming task and unclear goals. Identify the reason behind the procrastination to help you solve the right problem when dealing with it.
- Have meetings only when absolutely necessary, and keep them brief. Get the meetings to start and end on time and have a timed agenda. To reduce interruptions during the day, hold brief stand up meetings with your team every morning. Say “no” more often. Have as much respect for your own time as you have for other people’s time. Say “no” to the task or project, not the person. You cannot do everything everyone asks you to do.
- Keep telephone conversations brief and discuss the business upfront. Assign a time limit. If someone calls for an appointment, try to settle the matter right there on the telephone. Write brief letters, reports and emails. Encourage brevity in others. Have set times each day to review your email (not more than three specific times in the day unless you are in the internet business). Use the 4D principle – Do, Delay, Delegate, Dump to control your email inbox. Instead of storing magazines, tear out or photocopy relevant articles.
- Manage stress by putting life in perspective, and not taking yourself too seriously. Avoid marathon work sessions by scheduling two-hour sessions with a 10 minute break at the end of each session. Make room for entertainment and relaxation. Life is more than work and more work. You need to have a social life and strive for work-life balance.
There is a difference between the self-management and time management….you cannot manage your time – however, your time can manage you, if you don’t manage yourself!
