No.1 Time Management Skill: Doing Nothing
You can improve your time management skills by doing nothing. Sounds impossible? Okay you’re right; you have to do something but not very much. The skill of time management is about knowing what to do and when. And one other important tip, but we’ll share that secret later.
Got to run, people to see, places to go…
Busy managers are always on the go. They have noisy phones, bursting email
inboxes, back-to-back meetings, and they grab lunch on the run. But hang on,
if they’re so great, why are they doing so much?
Being busy is not the same as being effective
A key time management skill is knowing what to do and when to do it. Imagine
this… The phone rings while you’re answering emails and a colleague is fast
approaching your desk. What do you do?
a) Answer the phone, whilst reading your emails. Your colleague will have to
wait.
b) Stop everything and talk to your colleague.
c) Ignore the phone and your colleague and keep working on emails.
d) None of the above.
Answer – d) there is no one correct answer!
How could I be so mean to ask a trick question? Simple, I wanted to
demonstrate that there are always 101 factors affecting decisions about how
best to manage your time. Only you know the right answer.
Tune-up your time management skills
The mental checklist for time management decision-making goes something like
this.
1. What is the most important thing for me to be doing right now?
2. What deadlines have I got?
3. What happens if I don’t do this? (this is the top time management
question
Let’s look at each of these in turn...
What’s most important?
Good relationships with your colleagues, that’s what’s most important.
Effective managers make time for people because they know in the long run it
will pay back many times more.
Back to the colleague approaching your desk. He just wants to go for
coffee... If you’ve got a great relationship with this person, then maybe
defer the invitation so you can finish up your emails. If you need to get to
know him better or smooth out some conflict, then go for it.
If thinking about relationships in terms of payback seems calculated and
ruthless, then get used to it. This is what good time managers do. It is
just another time management skill. The 10 minutes spent going for coffee
may uncover why you’ve had to chase your colleague for that report and get
it resolved then and there.
Is there a deadline?
If deadlines are looming then they win. After all, in olden days a prisoner
would be shot if they crossed the deadline! (Don’t you just love the
original meanings of words?
But is your deadline negotiable? Can you buy extra time and do it later or
de-scope the work and do less but on time? Your careful relationship
management will work wonders for you when time is tight.
If the deadline is non-negotiable, quit moaning and go do it, or you’ll get
shot!
Back to the ringing phone… It’s shouting loudly, demanding urgent attention.
Unless you’re in customer services or expecting an important call, consider
using voicemail to your advantage. Avoid switching from “email mode” to
“phone mode” and back where possible as it steals time and affects your
concentration.
What will happen if..?
Will the world stop turning if you don’t do something or do it in a
different way? Don’t fool yourself into being busy by thinking you’re work
is invaluable or perfect.
Question the value of everything you do and how you do it.
o Think through your routine tasks or tasks that simply take too much time –
are you doing them for a reason or from habit?
o Stop sending that report and see who notices.
o Prepare online answers to “frequently asked questions”.
o Delegate to a colleague.
o Redesign the process.
It may take time to save time, but it’s pays dividends in the long term and
makes your job more interesting.
Slow down, you go too fast
I hope you’re getting the idea by now – the sum of all time management
skills is knowing what to do and when. Busy managers are not effective
managers if they don’t stop and think;
o Is this important?
o Is this urgent?
o Do I have to do this
o Can I do this differently?
Asking these four simple questions will revolutionize your time management
skills. Put time in your diary today to become a more effective time
manager.
By Lyndsay Swinton
Owner, Management for the Rest of Us
www.mftrou.com
About the Author