Time management is time well spent
December 2002
How do you manage your time? Does your typical day involve running around putting out fires? Do you find yourself promising every morning that today, surely today, you will sit down and prioritize, but within an hour of being in the office, you are awash in the usual flurry of phone calls, memos and crisis du jour? While you are not alone, this is not the path to success.
What to do? Here are some tried and true methods. They may not seem like they will change the world, but if they change a few hours a week, it may seem world-shifting to you!
Make lists. Oh, I’m not a list-maker, you say. Well, how do you organize your tasks? If you are always reacting, you cannot act. (Effectively, anyway.) Either at the end or beginning of each day, take five minutes to list what needs to be accomplished for a successful day. Whom do you have to call? Meet with? What has to be written? List it all. This provides both the value of having tasks clearly defined and the satisfaction of checking them off when they are finished.
Start the day with your top three tasks. It can be particularly helpful to first do the ones you most dread. This was tough for me; I finally realized that all the time I spent dreading a task took more of my energy than doing it. I don’t enjoy talking on the phone, so I make sure that returning calls is the first thing I do.
On Friday afternoon, do the same thing for the following week. Look at larger tasks and projects. Include at least one thing that you’ve really been meaning to get to. Perhaps it’s reading a business publication or trade newsletter (or my column!). Maybe it’s outlining a large project that there’s just not enough time to get to. There will never be enough time. You have to make the time.
Purge your computer games. (I’m still working on this one.) While it can be very relaxing to enjoy a nice game of Free Cell, looking up to see that an hour -- or three -- has passed is not very relaxing. If you need to relax, and we all do, walk around the block, write a letter, make a list, answer some non-critical e-mails.
Get some sort of a calendar, notebook, PDA, or organizational system. I’ve tried them all, and for me, a combination of daily appointment book and task list combined with a large yearly dry-erase planner seems to work the best. This enables me to balance the day-to-day necessities with large-picture deadlines that can sneak up on me if I am only looking at one week at a time. Have you ever turned over your calendar on Monday morning or the first of the month only to see something that makes your heart stop? That kind of adrenaline rush is not healthy - while panic can be a great motivator, it isn’t good for your system.
On the topic of adrenaline, one thing is important to understand about managing by crisis: it’s addictive. While this is not frequently talked about or admitted, it is true. Think about it - when you are performing miracles of damage control, juggling seven crisis at once and covering for three missing co-workers, it feels pretty darned good. It’s exhausting, but how thrilling is it to be the one who can perform on a superhuman level? And it should be - not everyone can! The only problem here is that after a while of doing so, regular, well-ordered days feel a little flat. Crisis management is very seductive. While adrenaline is addictive, a steady diet of it can crush you.
And most importantly: Set aside one hour a day or a couple of hours a week that is sacred. Hold all non-emergency phone calls. Close your door, or in some way make it clear that you are not to be interrupted. Once, working on a huge project with a looming deadline, I put a chair across the opening of my cubicle. On it I taped a sign that said, “If it’s not on fire, I’m not here.” This was quite successful, until at the end of the day, I heard footsteps come, pause, and then stand in front of the opening. I resolutely did not make eye contact. The footsteps went away, and I heaved a sigh of relief. A few minutes later, they were back, followed by a strange noise. I finally looked up to see one of my employees standing there, holding a lighter that was aflame. I roared with laughter, and took care of the problem he had brought me. (It was on fire.)
The moral of the story is this: daily problems large and small will always find you. The trick is to reduce the number of them chasing you. If you’ve made the time to organize your thoughts, work, and priorities ahead of time, crisis will steadily diminish. Take the time; make the time. It will pay you back tenfold.
Ramona Abbott helps businesses maximize their efficiency, effectiveness and group dynamics. She utilizes proven techniques that are fun and affordable to help you improve your workplace in a variety of ways. She welcomes inquiries at 360-398-2606 or ramona@EssentiallyProfessional.com
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