Time and Management
Getting the most out of life

While time and management is important for everyone, it is especially important for those in a management position. As a member of management it's your responsibility to make sure that everyone else is not only managing their time well, but are also accurately and effectively doing their job.

Time and management go hand in hand.  A good manager will always understand the importance of using respected time management theories and techniques to get the best results. The key to getting everything accomplished is to know how to manage your time correctly and handle tasks as they come along.

Overview

Have you ever thought:

"if I want this done right I have to do it myself!"

I used to think that all the time.  This way of thinking is not healthy. The people who you were hired to manage got their jobs for a reason. They are capable of completing the tasks that they were hired to do.  They should be relied on to pick up slack when needed.

If you choose not to trust those you manage, you aren't understanding how time and management work together.  You'll end up doing everything yourself. The problem with doing everything yourself is that there is not enough time in the day for one person to complete everything that has to be done in a business. You need to have faith in your employees and learn how to trust them when you give them a task to do. Otherwise effective time management can never be achieved.

Triage Tasks

One of the first things to learn about time and management, when you're in a senior role, is the ability to triage tasks. Every task that comes to your desk will fall into a specific category.  Effective time management depends partly on your ability to identify the right category for each task.

There are several categories that tasks can fall into, and once you know them, you can quickly triage the tasks as they come along. The categories can be described as the 5 A’s,

When a task first comes to your attention, as a manager you need to decide where it fits. Start at the beginning of the 5 A’s and move down the list until you find a category that works.

For example, if you receive a request for billing information and you are in the marketing department you could “Assign it,” or send it to another department. If you receive a task that doesn't have to be done by you, again simply “Assign it,” to someone else in your department.

There will always be tasks that need your attention immediately, and these are tasks that may fall into the “Administer it” category. If a task must get done right away and you are the only one who can do it, remember there are some things that can be done at a basic level and not cause a problem. So if it's not writing a report for a star client but signing a bunch of inconsequential documents, don't worry.

There are of course certain tasks that come along which simply don't ever need to be done.  When this happens then "Abandon" them from your task list.  If it's really important it'll turn up again.

As part of time and management you should make sure you watch out for your important tasks.  These are tasks that are essential to your position or that are extremely important must be done perfectly.  These are tasks you should try to complete as soon as they cross your desk.  These are the "Achieve it" tasks.  This is when you should focus fully and make sure the job is done well.  These are the tasks that define your job.

Avoid Multitasking

If you want to get more accomplished as a manager, then avoid multitasking in most situations. When you multitask nothing is getting your full attention and everything is taking twice as long. You can't concentrate equally on two things at once.  Although juggling seems attractive it doesn't always bring results.

I don't mean by this that you shouldn't be working on many tasks at the same time.  Effective time and management actually assumes you will work on several tasks at once.

Instead I'm thinking about what you are doing at any given time.  So if you are writing a paper and the phone rings don't stop and answer it.  However if after an hour you've finished you're first draft and you need a break perhaps then might be a good time to check your phone messages.  Come back to the paper later and review it.  My point is not to jumble together lots of tasks.  You'll become inefficient and slow.  Do one thing at a time.

Sometimes multitasking is not even something we realize we are doing. For example, if you receive notices of incoming emails or messages at your computer, then you are automatically drawn to that task while trying to complete something else. When you take time to check an email you are loosing focus on your original task. Don't do it.  Switch off your computer screen while you work, you'll avoid the distraction and be more productive.

You need to avoid the urge to interrupt yourself as well. When you are working, other tasks will pop into your head.  This happens to me all the time.  I've found that the best way to deal with this is to have a bit of paper on my desk.  When I get some task in my head I simply write it down.  I can normally settle back to the task at hand after I've done that.

It is worth remembering that there are times when multitasking will not hurt your schedule.  For example if you're answering routine emails, and an employee stops in to ask for help on an assignment, then multitasking isn't likely to do much damage. Be sensible and you'll do fine.

If you want to be an effective member of management then you need to learn that time and management go hand in hand. Once you understand the importance of time management and its role in the workplace, you can effectively manage the employees around you.  If you learn how to triage tasks and avoid hurdles that waste your time you'll finish everything that needs to get done and produce quality work.

As a follow on to this page I suggest that you read about strategy in this complementary time and management page.