Time Management

What could you accomplish if you had more time?  A friend of mine who was a college professor gave an assignment to his students, “No television for two weeks, and through journaling, I’d like to know how you’ve spent that extra time.”  The changes, results, and impact on the students were miraculous.  They spent more time reading, interacting with friends, staying active (sports and gym activities), and most importantly they were engaged in something that helped them grow. Television is just one example of how we spend our time; what happens in the office when TV isn’t a distraction?               

Often times, distractions are so common that when the day passes you by and at 5 pm, you wonder why you didn’t get anything accomplished. Do you recall learning the 80/20 rule?  This has been interpreted in many ways including, 80% of the work is completed by 20% of the people, or 80% of the revenue is brought in by 20% of the clients. Regardless of how you interpret it, let’s make the most of the 20%! Here are some suggestions to maximize your time and feel more accomplished on a daily basis: 

1. Plan your day-Failing to plan is planning to fail so create a to-do list.  If necessary, break up your day by time blocking so you know if you’re on track.  If you have a large project due, break it up into manageable tasks.
2. Complete a time journal-This will help you evaluate where you are spending the majority of your time and how long it takes to complete tasks.
3. Do the toughest or most daunting thing first-Once you get the toughest task out of the way, it’ll no longer weigh you down and you’ll feel less anxiety about what’s ahead.
4. Keep your desk clean-The typical office worker wastes two hours per day on distractions, one being the messiness of their desk.
5. Keep email un-cluttered-Many people use email as their to-do list.  Instead, read, mark on your task list, and then file in a folder.  This way, you can prioritize based on importance and urgency within a centralized place instead of having two separate to-do lists.
6. Have a good file system- It’s important that things are organized and filed away so they can be easily accessed when necessary.
7. Get a speakerphone or headset-This will allow you to multitask while on the phone.
8. Limit call times-Keep track of call times by having something else to look forward to, lunch, another call, or a project you’re looking forward to completing.  You can always call people right before their lunch or dinner time; this way you know the call can’t last more than 10 minutes because they’ll be rushed to prioritize their meal over the phone conversation.
9. Delegate-If possible, utilize the resources around you by outsourcing work that others can complete.
10. Time Management Matrix-Use the matrix below and sort your tasks based on importance and urgency.  If you find that tasks belong in the forth quadrant, think about eliminating them all together; there’s no need to spend your time on unimportant, non-urgent tasks.  Eventually you should be spending the majority of your time in quad 2.

When it comes to time management, ask yourself these questions to confirm you are doing the tasks that will help you feel good about how you spend your time: Why am I doing this? What is the goal? Is this the best utilization of my time?