Finding time to plan is a Catch 22.  Poorly designed systems force you to put out fires all day, leaving no time to plan.  The longer you go without time-saving systems, the more problems you face, robbing you of planning time and fun time. 

Saving time is like saving money.  Put $2000 in your IRA from age 20 to 30, and you accumulate over $1 million in savings at retirement.  Start the same retirement program at age 30, and you accumulate far less money. 

Find time with good planning.  If you can save only 15 minutes each day, at the end of the year you’ll have gained more than eight days of free time to spend as you choose.  That’s a full vacation.  Eliminate 60 wasted minutes each day…(it IS possible)…and gain an additional month of time for a vacation, a new endeavor, or to dine with your family. 

Finding time is easier than you think.  Here are 11 useful tips:

1. You might be the problem.  Before jumping to something new, make sure that you’re using what you have properly.  Plan each day the night before, not that morning when you’re already on the move.  List priorities and rank them by importance of results, not urgency.

2. Delegate. For some this is difficult, but worth doing. Don’t trust that others will produce top-quality results.  That’s a sign of flawed leadership.  Educate others to take on responsibility and deliver results.  Only keep tasks that belong to you.

3. Budget your time.  Assign a realistic estimate of time for daily activities to prevent overbooking.  Allow 20% to 30% of your day for the unexpected: impromptu meetings, returning phone calls.  A good rule of thumb is to book only 6 hours of work for an 8-hour workday.

4. Batch similar activities to save time. If you will be conducting 10 personnel reviews, pull all 10 employee files at once. Planning in advance enables you to group similar tasks.

5. Run meetings with purpose, time limits, and focus.  Use meetings to discuss ideas already thought about, not to start thinking.  Exchange and benchmark progress by having participants bring completed work when they arrive.  Each person should leave with an assignment due for the next meeting.

6. Turn off email pop-ups and instant messaging.  They cause you to react at inopportune times.  They're no different than having someone barge into your office uninvited. When you need blocks of time, hold non-emergency interruptions and address them at your convenience.

7. Reduce interruptions from staff through strategy, systems, and education.  Strategic plans set direction.  Systems control flow of operations.  Education produces empowered and independent employees. Jonathan Shultz of TCN Worldwide says that his job is to deliver the “vehicles for others to be successful.”

8. Take control of clutter.  Trashcans and filing tools free up workspace, mental space, and time.  Select a filing system based on how easy it is to find information, such as Paper Tiger Software ( www.thepapertiger.com).  Documents are filed by number, and numbers are retrieved in “less than 5 seconds” via software.

9. Use customer resource-management (CRM) tools such as ACT, Seibel or Goldmine software to organize digital communications.  Notes taken during correspondence are available at the press of a button…no more searching through stacks of papers or file folders.  But, if you have it and don’t use it, others won’t trust the system.

10. Put computer files in chronological order using a dating system.  Year-month-day: February 4, 2003 reads 03-02-04.  Now all 2000s group together, as do 2001s and 2002s.

11. Cut ties with negative people, especially if they’re employees.  They easily suck away time.  Challenged and excited people achieve more than the living dead…so do their supervisors.

There’s no substitute for great planning.  Pushing off planning will bite you later, whereas great planning puts you in charge of your life.  “Create” time with useful tools such as strategic and tactical planning, priority management, and systems. Strategic and tactical planning saves time and directs everyone toward the same goals.  Priority management brings balance and achievement to work and personal life.  Systems and procedures focus activities, maintain order, and reduce waste.

Once you’ve mastered the art of planning, you’ll need to find something to do with all that extra time.