Want more time to make money, reorganize your company, spend time with the family. Get a handle on time management by looking at it from another angle. When you do, you'll find more than the consolation prize of a few extra minutes here and there. In fact, you'll soar through every day because you'll attack time problems knowing the key ingredient that's lacking in even the best systems.
Think time problems are simple and you're the only one who seems to be a day late, a step behind? Think again. An insurance company owner in the Midwest pays her 16-year-old son to buy the family groceries. The owner needs the extra time to work, and getting up at 1am to complete daily tasks still doesn't alleviate the time crunch. The director of a healthcare facility in New Hampshire says that his life is being consumed by his industry's Bureaucracy, his life is being consumed. Think he doesn't own a daily planner. Why do the quality control managers of some of the largest firms in the country ask, "How do I make more time?"
Time management systems, programs, tips and techniques are developed to help people manipulate a number of tasks into a specific block of time. Beyond the simple daily to-do list, there are the Steven Covey-esque concepts, like "first things first:" put the most impactful items at the top of your to-do list. And what about the programs that tell you to perform the most urgent activities first? The programs' concepts and methodologies are okay. They just don't do the whole job.
Time management is not a matter of access of knowledge, either. Do a quick tally. See how many people use a Franklin or a DayRunner. How many more have CRM software programs like Goldmine or Act? Are these people still in control of their time the way that they'd like?
Why don't even the best systems seem to yield the results we'd like? Two interrelated reasons. First, our assumption about the systems are wrong. Time management systems are at the END of the time management process, not the process itself. Second, the systems and programs we currently use tend to ignore the most important facet of time management: awareness of your TRUE priorities.
That's right. Imagine for just a moment that you diligently prioritize each day. You work your list perfectly, in spite of a deluge ofinterruptions. What if that list never contains your REAL priorities, because YOU DON'T KNOW THEY EXIST?
For example, you might place sales at the top of your agenda in your crude time management system only because you need revenue. Ah hah. You don't need sales, you need a lesson in how to look at your finances, perhaps. And if you took that lesson, you'd realize that increasing sales increases inventory, tying up much-needed cash.
Better yet, you might learn that your top-selling item loses the firm money every time your sales staff sells it. You ask, how can that be? You put the wrong things first.
So what's the solution? How do you uncover true priorities? Develop a time management mix by thinking of time management as a time-development tool. For starters, try the following areas:
1. View time management through a kaleidoscope.
Understand that it is more than cramming a lot of stuff into a 24-hour day. Become aware that much of what you do might not be necessary, or worse, could be leading you in the opposite direction away from your goals. Awareness is the first step to transforming your present condition.
2. Sure up structure and find the source.
If you lead others, what you don't do to manage time has a domino effect on everyone else. If the structure of the firm isn't strong, you may find yourself working late or paying overtime to those who do when others are late or don't show up. If you find yourself running to the store for emergency supplies, look for weaknesses in the structure that caused that problem to erupt in the first place.
3. Treat time management as a living, evolving entity.
Use a pencil and plan the night before. Why? You'll sleep better and start the morning with an agenda instead of reacting and organizing. You can reprioritize if necessary. However, it's tough to refocus right out of the starting blocks.
4. Anticipate unexpected situations, and be ready to adapt.
This means to add some flex time into your daily routine. For some this may mean 1 hour and for others 3 hours. You know that in any business there are interruptions, delays and even crises, so leave time on the agenda.
5. Add companions to the daily planner.
You need tools to make yourself stronger in all areas. Taking a course in line queue theory could eliminate bottlenecks in your production shop that steal time from other areas of your life. Using Robert Cooper's Stage-Gate Model, you can increase the effectiveness of teams that build new products and services. Getting a new product to market on time and on budget could reap boundless rewards.
6. Start with number one on the list and stick with it.
As you develop your time management mix, you'll have a number one that is true and on target. After you have new knowledge, ask yourself, "If I did only one thing today, what would it be? "That answer makes for a solid #1.
7. Equip others so they'll do it right the first time.
Send a master electrician to a site in a plumber's van, and even the best talent is wasted. Tools using intranets, extranets, software, and good old pen and paper can have an "unmeasureable" effect on a firm.
8. Build a top-notch human force.
Hire right and empower right. The first is tough enough, but the latter is usually done wrong. Take the time to walk people through a process the first couple of times.
Give them the tools they need to do it right (#5 above), and be accessible. Think, "How would I teach a 3-year-old how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?" Would you plunk down the ingredients and leave them alone with a knife?
When you change your mental model of what time management is, you can see that at present, you are only touching the surface of what time management is all about. It is a broader mix of components that enable you to use the traditional time management systems for greater results. The next time you plan your day, ask, "Is this my real priority or am I missing the greater picture?" The tips above should help you with the answer.
