Time management

From PLN

Time management

1 Are you spending your time the right way?
2 Manage your energy, not your time
3 Related articles
4 Your turn: Talk about it

Notes on effective time management and use.

Are you spending your time the right way?

by Leslie Dillon from Leader's Digest May 2008

It may be true that "natural born leaders know how to leverage their time." And, while the rest of us may know at some level that "time is our scarcest resource," very few of us "make the effort to gain a strategic perspective" on how we spend our time each week. Even fewer of us regularly keep track of how our highest priorities jibe with the way we actually spend our time.

So, if you're one of the rest of us, here's a three-step plan for using your time wisely and strategically!

Break your responsibilities into categories. Categories need to be both tactical and strategic. Don't identify more than six, such as, growth and development; managing people, primary responsibilities; administration, etc.
$What percent of your time should you spend on each category? Before you allocate percentages, ask yourself what's the best use of your time, thinking in terms of strategic priorities, short-term staff needs and supervisor's requirements. Then assign a percentage to each category, and translate that into hours. How realistic is the total number of hours?
Check with superiors and colleagues for alignment. Discussing time allotments helps give a group focus.

"Now that you have a plan for leveraging your time, all you need to do is be ruthless in your execution of it."

First audit your time. Then practice "time-boxing" by estimating the time needed to perform a task and box it in on your calendar. This will help you estimate time and manage expectations. Finally, pay attention to your weakest areas.

"[E]ffective managers focus on opportunities, ... and they structure their schedules accordingly."

(Melissa Raffoni, "Are you spending your time the right way?," ConversationStarter, Harvard Business Blogs, Apr. 23, 2008.)

Manage your energy, not your time

by Leslie Dillon, from Leader's Digest October 2007

You can significantly increase your capacity to get things done!

In today’s hectic environment, people are putting in longer and longer hours and taking for granted the energy that fuels our capacity to work. All this leads to loss of energy and ultimately to burnout. Increasing that capacity for work is the best way to get more done faster and better.

Energy has four “wellsprings--the body, emotions, mind and spirit--and in each, it can be systematically expanded and renewed.” This article describes how to establish rituals that will build energy in those four key dimensions. For example, taking intermittent breaks restores physical energy. “Buying time” is one way to defuse negative emotions. You can do this with deep abdominal breathing; exhaling slowly for five or six seconds “induces relaxation and recovery, and turns off the fight-or-flight response.” Viewing events from a different perspective defuses energy-draining negative emotions. Avoiding technology’s constant distractions increases mental energy. And participating in activities that give you a sense of meaning and purpose can boost your spiritual energy.

Wachovia Bank employees who participated in an energy management program outperformed a control group and reported substantially improved customer relationships, productivity, and personal satisfaction.

To recharge their workforces, organizations need to shift their emphasis from getting more out of people to investing more in them. To re-energize themselves, individuals need to learn the costs of energy-depleting behaviors and then take responsibility for changing them.

Are you headed for an energy crisis? To find out, fill out this questionnaire!

(Tony Schwartz and Catherine McCarthy, “Manage your energy, not your time,” Harvard Business Review, Oct. 2007. This article’s definitely worth reading in full, and it’s available free from HBR.