TIME MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES A Bray Leino Learning Whitepaper WRITTEN BY STEPHANIE MORGAN FLPI PUBLISHED AUGUST 2015
Time Management is a neat little phrase that means so much to so many. Google it and hundreds of thousands of links come up, all offering help, tips and advice on how to improve your Time Management skills. However, if improving your Time Management skills was as simple as googling it, then the term would have fallen out of use years ago. In this whitepaper we are going to identify some of the typical Time Management problems that people are usually trying to address. We will then look at a range of tools and techniques to help solve those problems. Discussion Points Why is Time Management, or the lack of it, such a perpetual problem? Counting the cost What is the real problem here? There is no magic answer! The 7 Time Management Techniques: Planning your daily workload Knowing what is important Having boundaries Managing email Saying No Managing suppliers, customers and stakeholders Putting yourself first
Why is Time Management, or the lack of it, such a perpetual problem? How come even the most skilled managers sometimes fail to apply good Time Management skills? There are a number of key reasons: Stress Many people cite stress as the problem, but often it is a symptom of poor time management. One small incident can start a slow, but constant decline that is only apparent when physical stress symptoms, such as not sleeping properly, start to appear. We don t seem to notice that not planning today will cause us trouble later on. It is a bit like committing to a healthy eating plan. A few weeks in, you convince yourself that having one or two biscuits occationally will be fine, but in a few months you realise that one or two occationally has turned into one or two every day. Ego It suits many of us to be very busy, the person everyone goes to, the person who gets everything done. Even when getting all this done means giving up our own personal time. We often get a rush from helping people, being the saviour and getting a pat on the back. Especially when a pat on the back is very rare in your life. Being too nice Some people might ask is it even possible to be too nice? Perhaps not, but many people cannot say NO. They are not able to give timely feedback, they accept all sorts of inappropriate behaviour from others, and they don t voice their opinion when they really should. This isn t because they don t think they should say no, but because they believe it is not polite, or it is disrespectful to do so. It can be very difficult to try and behave in a way that it is at odds with your values In Dr Steve Peters book, The Chimp Paradox, he calls your values and beliefs The Stone of Life. He explains how they are hardwired into the computer area of your brain. This area works automatically, functioning 5 times faster than the logical part of your brain. This goes some way to explain why you may reflect later about what you could have done differently, but couldn t think of it in the moment. Why would we want to diminish that feeling, especially if it is has formed the backbone of our career and reputation?
Counting the cost There is a lot of anecdotal evidence about the cost of poor Time Management. Dr. Donald E. Wetmore states that: The average person uses 13 different methods to control and manage their time The average person is interrupted once every 8 minutes That s 7 per hour, or 50-60 per day 50% of the average workday is spent on interruptions The average interruption lasts 5 minutes If there are 7 interruptions per hour, that can add up to 4 hours or... 50% of the average workday! Typically, 80% of interruptions are rated as little value or no value, which can mean 3 hours of wasted time per day Only 20% of the average workday is spent on crucial or important things, while 80% of the average workday is spent on things that have little or no value 80% little or no value 20% crucial or important
What is the real problem here? As with any issue it is always best to establish what the problem really is, and solve that first, but with Time Management the symptoms are also very real problems for some people. Some of the reasons for poor Time Management are: Firefighting Email overload Being on call 24/7 (virtually and sometimes literally) Other people not delivering on time, interrupting, making mistakes Too large a workload No work-life balance There is no magic answer! If we could wave a magic wand that gave you all the skills you need to manage your time, what difference would it make? It can be life changing, from the feeling of being in control to the satisfaction of getting the right things done; it can make you feel happier and healthier. Studies show a direct correlation between using time management techniques and increased results. The Journal of Educational Psychology published one such study on the Time Management skills of college students, and how it affected their grades. The study followed the students over 4 years and the results showed that using two Time Management techniques was a better predictor of future Grade Point Average (GPA) than the SAT scores were. This suggests that to improve your results you need to consistently apply at least two Time Management techniques. On the following pages we will look at 7 useful techniques.
The 7 Time Management Techniques Here are 7 Time Management techniques. They are in no particular order, but once you have mastered the skills of planning your daily workload you will have more time available to achieve the others. Planning your daily workload Knowing what is important Managing email Managing suppliers, customers and stakeholders Saying No Putting yourself first Having boundaries Try selecting at least two and perfect them, so that they become a longterm habit. Make a note in your diary to check how you are getting on in one month s time, and aim to add a new technique each month. For the best results, learn the technique and apply it consistently. Planning your daily workload Most of us have a to-do list. It could be written down, a task list in an app, or simply in our head. A to-do list can cover anything from what needs to be done today, to aspirational ideas for the future (i.e. some personal development). Most people review the list many times a day, cherry-picking what task to do next. However, at the end of the day, rather than celebrating what they have ticked off, they berate themselves for what they have still not done! The trick to a to-do list is to allocate tasks to specific days. Be realistic about what you can achieve in one day. You need to consider what is acheiveable at the start, or you are setting yourself up to fail. Next, number the tasks in order of priority, with the mantra if I only get this one thing done today, I will be happy. Once you have your numbered list, carry out the tasks in that order. By sticking to the numbered list you will get greater satisfaction as you complete tasks. Achieving three out of five top priority tasks will leave you feeling positive and motivated a completely different feeling to a day where you cherry-picked the easiest tasks to complete. Some of you are saying that will be impossible for me, I just have too much to do but ask yourself, do you ever accomplish it all? Because if you don t (which is probably why you are reading this), then try this technique. This technique puts you in charge. You are doing the things that matter most and working productively with the time you have available. Prioritise your to-do list every day. Pick out the top 3 things that must be achieved and start with those first
Knowing what is important Many people have heard of Steven Covey s matrix of important versus urgent. Try using it to categorise your workload into four quadrants: For each quadrant there is only one thing you can do. Important Q1 Important and urgent Q2 Important but not urgent Once you get good at this, you will be able to categorise a task in an instant and know what to do about it. The four options you have are: Decide, do, delegate and dump! Let s look at how that works... Not Important Q3 Urgent but not important Urgent Q4 Not important and not urgent Not Urgent Q1 - Important and Urgent These are usually your day-to-day responsibilities. Quite simply these are the DO tasks, so get your list prioritised and get on with them. Sometimes you have to be ruthless with these, so if you know you can t get them all done, at least prioritise them. Q3 - Urgent but not Important Ask yourself why is this task on your to-do list? Why would you be doing anything that is not important? Quite often the answer is because it is something that someone else wants. This type of request needs to be carried out, but do you have to do it all? Consider delegating these tasks completely or partially. For example, if you cannot start until you have all the stats, or some research, DELEGATE that aspect of the task. Q2 - Important but not Urgent These are using longer term planning items that aren t due yet. They will often become the things that stress you out the most as the deadline gets closer. The best way to deal with these is to book a date in your diary to do them. DECIDE when you will actually do the task and protect that time slot with religious zeal. Q4 - Not Urgent and not Important Why are you even considering doing these? DUMP them! We usually get caught up in not urgent or important tasks when we are overwhelmed, bored or procrastinating about something else. Face facts, and dump them. Limit yourself to one of 4 options each time you look at your task list decide to do it later, do it now, delegate, or just dump it
Managing email We are available 24/7 now, not just with email and telephone but with all the different types of social media available. However, our brains can t adapt quickly enough. When you try and multitask you slow yourself down. Fact! Professor David Meyers carried out a research project showing that when we multitask, it can take up to 50% more time to complete tasks than when we carry them out individually. Checking emails whilst trying to do other things does just that. So turn off your notifications, and decide how often you should check them in your role. For some people that might be twice a day, for others it might be every hour. The most important thing is that you decide when, and that you don t allow technology (over which you have total control) to interrupt you all the time. Consider turning off emails when you are not in work, put an out of office on to that effect if you feel the need, or just let people know. Definitely turn it off completely for at least a few hours every week. Lastly, when checking your emails only do it once, applying the decide, do, delegate, dump technique to each email. Turn off email sounds and alerts Managing suppliers, customers and stakeholders Most people, on some level or another, are working on something that is for a customer. That customer may be their manager or a colleague, but ultimately they are delivering something to someone else. In addition, they often have to rely on another person to provide data or information in order to do their part of the process and deliver. Use a project management mindset when working with suppliers, customers and stakeholders. Not managing these relationships can cause unnecessary time waiting, or chasing. Always take control, identify what you need and when you need it and hone your communication skills to communicate that to all concerned. Use a project management mindset even for everyday tasks. Take the responsibility to get clarity where it is needed and to negotiate and agree deliverables. Using your time to do that will be far better than worrying about when something will arrive, or worse, being let down, because someone else forgot to do it.
Saying No No! We are not suggesting that you actually say NO, but that your automatic response isn t always yes of course, right away! Whenever you are asked to carry out a project, plan or even just a small task, get into the habit of asking two questions straight away. The first question is when do you need this by? Never assume you know the answer. Stop saying yes, start negotiating The second question is how long will it take you to complete the task and when can you schedule it in. Do the two dates match? If they do, take the task on board. If they don t, let the other person know your challenge. Explain the consequences of not completing the items you already have agreed to deliver and between you work out a way to solve the problem. Putting yourself first If you have ever flown in an aeroplane you will have heard the advice that in an emergency you must put your own oxygen mask on first. If you have any hope of helping yourself or others you must not waste time before doing this. This is a good advice all round. If you are to do a good job, you must look after yourself first and the rest will be so much easier. Yes, you should write up your notes, check your emails and messages, but if you take 10 minutes to recover first, you will be able to do those things much quicker and easier. You will procrastinate less, which means you will actually save time in the long run, and you will even feel better! This also means taking time out to recover. For example, if you have been in a 6 hour meeting with only coffee to keep you going, you are going to be jittery. You will need food and you will need to clear your head. In Leadership and Management always put your own oxygen mask on first, support yourself to enable the support of others.
Having Boundaries Do you work to live or live to work? It is all too easy to forget what is really important to us, or worse still to remember it vividly and have to compromise it often. Working out some rules for your life, about what you can and will do, and what you can t and won t do, will put you in a better position to set boundaries and then keep them. Decide your boundaries, then manage them If you know your own boundaries you can communicate them to others. You will find most people, most of the time, will respect them. It all starts with you though, because if you don t set and respect your own boundaries, no one else will. Remember: Select at least two of these techniques and perfect them, so that they become a long term habit. Then try to add a new technique each month. No! You will get the best results if you apply each technique consistently.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Stephanie Morgan FLPI is the Director of Learning Solutions at Bray Leino Learning. Stephanie has extensive experience in Learning and Development and is passionate about helping people thrive in an ever changing world! One particular passion is helping individuals progress their careers to board level. Stephanie believes that learning is at the core of becoming a great leader. ABOUT BRAY LEINO LEARNING Learning and Development is vital for any organisation to embrace change. With 20 years experience helping our clients with their training needs, we re in the business of skills change, knowledge change, and behaviour change. Many clients want us to improve their productivity, communications or service quality; some need an increase in sales or better staff retention rates. Others need support with rapid growth, or help resolving crucial issues such as change management, individual performance or customer service. Whatever the challenge, we will rise to the occasion, helping your organisation develop to create the results you require with our bespoke learning solutions. Contact us and find out how we can help. Telephone - 01271 337110 Website - brayleinolearning.co.uk Email - learning@brayleino.co.uk Twitter - @BrayLearning #bllsoftskills LinkedIn - /company/bray-leino-learning