Career Coach

By Barbara Poole

Ask anyone in business these days what they identify as their major challenges and I would lay odds on one of the top three being too much to do with too little time.

It is an epidemic that cuts across sector and industry, leaving casualties of hurry sickness and the stress of the undone in its wake.

Look at any organizational training curriculum and you will see “Time Management” among the top offerings, often with multiple dates and times to accommodate the hordes of corporate soldiers in search of a magic bullet.

I have always been a little curious about the term “time management.” Technically speaking, you can no more manage time than you can manage the weather. I like to tell people that they get the same 24 hours a day as the president, the pope and the queen of England.

Still, given that time is a precious organizational resource, how we manage our choices and activities around the use of time certainly is accessible and amenable to change.

Many people view this notion as a black or white issue: Either I use my time well or I don’t. I make the most of each day or I’m completely disorganized.

The reality is, not only do we all have productive days as well as completely ineffective ones, but we also typically exhibit distinctive patterns surrounding our use of time.

There are at least a dozen different dimensions involving characteristic behavior with respect to time. By looking at some of these various dimensions individually, we can identify the specific skills we are good at as well as those that need further development to help us make the best use of the time we have available each day.

Consider where you stand relative to each of these factors:

Goal Setting: It is hard to use your time effectively if you don’t know what you are pursuing. Although they can certainly be flexible, goals keep you on track and determine what activities are productive in helping you achieve what you want to accomplish. Remember to develop SMART goals— specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timed.

Priorities: Followers of Stephen Covey will recall that he makes an important distinction between what is urgent and what is important. Unfortunately, the demands of a busy world often have us responding primarily to what is urgent and not getting around to those activities that could help us avoid those last-minute crises in the future. Pay attention to where your energy goes, and focus on making time for the building block activities that are important.

Planning: I once worked with a sales leader whose favorite saying was, “Plan your work and work your plan.” She managed to that adage, and it helped her guide her team to produce spectacular results year after year. Many people resist planning because they prefer to operate spontaneously and in the moment. The effective compromise is to have a game plan and a degree of flexibility that allows you to shift gears when a great opportunity presents itself.

Scheduling: Perhaps the best way to get the most out of your 24 hours a day is to map it out rather than simply operating from a to-do list. I always advise my clients, who have laundry lists of things to get done, to assign each item on the list to a specific time frame. If you schedule the hour between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Tuesday to complete a report, it is much more likely to get done than if you simply keep writing “finish report” on your to-do list each day.

Managing Interruptions: I know people often take the notion of an open door policy way too literally. The constant stream of visitors in their offices prevents them from getting their work done. They are confusing accessibility with being available 24/7. Manage interruptions by implementing good boundaries. Let people know when you need to be in a heads-down mode to make a deadline; request that they make their questions brief when you are in a time crunch. And don’t be afraid to shut that door when you need to.

Meetings: Most corporate employees agree that they spend too much time in meetings, often going from one meeting to the next, hour after hour each day. In a collaborative world, it is not that meetings are unnecessary; it is that they are often unproductive. Get the most from meetings by making sure that they have a specific purpose, an agenda and the right people present. Stick to designated start and stop times, and summarize next step actions at the end, along with a game plan for follow up.

E-mail: Is there anyone who has not felt overwhelmed by an overflowing e-mail inbox? In many environments, the prevailing MO is to blanket the e-mail boxes of everyone and their brother, just in case. Be judicious with your send list so that you don’t contribute to the problem. Make good use of folders and message rules to manage incoming mail. And resist the tendency to write lengthy tomes in your outgoing mail. Be cognizant of the tone you establish and consider how your messages will “land” but be brief.

Barbara Poole is a leadership and career development coach with Success Builders Inc. E-mail her at CoachBarbara@SuccessBuildersInc.com.

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