Wali Zahid CEO at Skillcity Follow Managing Time by Managing Three Things July 30, 2014 1,784 Views Plenty has been written about time management. Yet, most of us find it challenging to use time judiciously and finish our projects on time. In my experience, time management is much simpler than the science we trainers have turned this into. Those who often complain about time management are sometimes handicapped by one of these three things (and for some, a fourth). First and more often, poor time management could be because of lack of skill. A no-brainer? Yes! When we are asked to produce an A4 page on our assessment of the market and how it is shaping, we require many skills. Knowing how to gather data if it’s already available; knowing who to ask if it’s not; how to make sense of the data at hand; what key trends are emerging; how to put them in one…two…three for decision makers; etc. Next, for non-natives, is our skill in English language (assuming it’s written in English). Another skill is using Office apps like MS Word: How quickly we can put this on a page, edit and format it. Another skill could be sending an attachment through email or Dropbox. Example: I worked with a British boss for four years, who certainly wasn’t a role model for hard work. But when it came to deadlines, he was able to dissect information, create patterns, develop outcomes and produce an A4 in just 15 minutes. He could then have a full day to chill (of course, he won’t tell his direct reports that he’s chilling in his corner office!) Here’s the learning: If we are short on any of the skills required to accomplish a task, a time management issue will definitely crop up. Action One: Get some skills! Skills usually come with P word – practice. Try creating templates which you can reuse every time a repetitive task presents itself. Second, it could be because of lack of focus. Ah! That makes sense! At a cluttered workplace with conflicting work priorities, unreasonable bosses, peers and inefficient team members, we often fail to focus on the core task at hand. Distraction is the key word here. Lack of focus presents us many distractions to engage ourselves in and we take the bait. Taking the above report writing example, rather than getting down and producing the A4 report, we will continue to do all the usual things we do rather than writing up the report! Of course, we are clever enough to find sufficient reasons to tell ourselves and bosses that we have been really busy! Another issue in focus is trying to do too much. Inappropriate ambition and overkill come in our way. My advice to people usually is: try to under-plan and over-achieve, rather than the opposite. Still another related issue could be your energy - physical, emotional, mental - which may hamper your focus and ability to do your job. A related issue could be what I may call our boot time (topic for a future post). Some people take forever to start the task. The answer could be: Just do it! Now! Example: I know of a magazine editor and conference planner. He has his finger in too many pies. But when it comes to a deadline, in spite of having a low skillset, he leaves all distractions, zero-in on the project on hand and finishes well. Here’s the learning: If we lack focus, we will engage in distractions and the time management issue may still haunt us. Action Two: Get focus! Use self-discipline. Work on your energy levels. Just do it! Now! Third, it could be because of interruptions. I know you hate them! While distractions above could be voluntary, interruptions are external and usually involuntary. Modern technologies have been invasive and bring us interruptions which we often fail to manage. Wifi’ed smartphones, 24/7 emails, social media newsfeed, unrelated, unimportant meetings, continuous phone calls, unnecessary approval procedures, unexpected visitors coupled with emergencies from bosses and head offices, uncertain marketplace and disengaged employees (and the list could go on) all bring a share of complexities to our effort in managing our time. Do we have control on these interruptions? Contrary to some of us believing that we do, my answer is no. We all will be presented with a due share of interruptions with varying degrees of risk, some more some less. We need to learn to manage them using whatever style suits us. Some can manage interruptions by being assertive and able to say no. Some are trying to use phone apps which block all external interruptions and help you achieve focus. Others like myself are minimalists: only a few approvals to make, a few meetings to go to (will aim to write on this separately), very few calls to pick. Some build their own system of when to check and reply to emails. And so on. Example: Many successful businessmen and billionaires like Richard Branson and Warren Buffet refuse to be bogged down by interruptions from others. They will only do what they think can bring them to their next desirable outcome. BTW, they didn’t reach this stage by showing up at every meeting and listening to the garbage rolled out through PowerPoint. Here’s the learning: There will always be interruptions and we need to learn to manage them. Action Three: Manage interruptions assertively. Say no. Become minimalist. Fourth, a postscript. Most research in personality assessment/personal preferences in how we organise ourselves and others at work strongly indicate that it’s in our personalities built in childhood on how we will respond to managing tasks and time. For some, managing time will always be a challenge. However, this doesn’t mean they are less effective than others who are able to manage time well. This only means that they excel in other things, like flexibility or creativity perhaps. If you feel you are one of those people for whom time management is a continuous struggle, no worries. Organisations in today’s competitive world do not thrive because of just those people who hand in their reports by the deadline! There are so many other stars involved in bringing organisations to where they are today. Example: Blackberrys and Nokias of this world weren’t short of capable time managers! They went down because there were not enough creative (better: assertive) people in these firms who could push them to come into touch-phone market quick enough. The rest is history. Here’s the learning: If you and your boss are aware of your struggle with time, you both will be able to manage this challenge in some other way, perhaps by using your other nuanced competencies. Action Four: Relax! Time management is not the end of all!
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 13:26:39 +0000
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