Can you manage time — really?

No. You can’t manage time.

What you can manage is the way you use it – by managing yourself, your energy, and your focus. “Time Management” is just a common business phrase that implies the need for some form of control and planning in order to accomplish specific outcomes.

The best way to look at this is to recognize that every human being gets so many hours, days, months, and years to live. Therefore, time in any individual life is limited. This is a given. While time is a limited commodity, the things to do are infinite. Therefore, since any given person cannot possibly do all there is to do in any one given lifetime or work life, the key to success when it comes to time is to choose how you will use it. If you don’t, others will “choose” for you.

For this reason, successful people choose their priorities (and continue to do so at various times throughout their careers) and focus on doing the most important things every day.

Individuals who use their time wisely have these things in common. They:

• Minimize distractions which are constant,
• Spend chunks of time on important priorities.
• Make certain that the major things they are trying to achieve get done.

They are in a very real sense ruthless about what is critical, are CLEAR and CERTAIN about their priorities, and they make time in their schedules to get those things done first.

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Want “more time” to take care of important things?

Eliminate these top 10 time wasters!

(Based on the work of Tania Khadder)

• Instant Messaging

IM provides a great platform for “casual” communication. But if you have something that requires discussion (especially for decision-making or problem-solving) — act wisely — use the phone or e-mail.

• E-mail

How many e-mails do you received per day? Likely too many. In fact, the average knowledge worker spends 28% of his/her time managing e-mail.* Even worse, research shows that only 14% of e-mails are deemed to be critically important. Instead of over reliance on email, act wisely by making sure you are sending messages that people really need to have and never assume because you sent something, that people are reading and absorbing your message.
*McKinsey Global Institute Report

• Meetings

Instead of meandering meetings, act wisely! Try to limit meetings to no more than 45 minutes (30 minutes if possible) and six people (if you really want to get something done). Use short, tight agendas with only a few items. Send a short follow-up immediately after the meeting with “to dos,” summary of accomplishments, and next steps. And, use bullet points to keep the follow-up short and crisp!

• Scheduling Meetings

Tired of back-to-back meetings? Act wisely by spreading meetings out and do your best to have them either at the beginning or end of the day. Meet early when you need people fresh and “on their toes.” Meet late in the day when you want to have a meeting that’s short, focused, and to-the-point.

• Interruptions

Instead of reacting to interruptions, act wisely. Schedule time for email and to return phone calls. Block out time for what’s most important first.

• Multi-tasking

Instead of multi-tasking, act wisely by focusing on doing one thing at a time. All current research suggests multi-tasking is a myth. People think they can do many things at once and do them all well, but that’s simply not true. Properly configured computers can multi-task well. People can’t.

• Workspace

Looking for misplaced or hidden files and materials is a huge time waster. Instead of working in a disorganized workspace — act wisely! Clean up and get organized at the end of each day.

• Personal Communications

Instead of allowing yourself to spend time on personal issues all day long, act wisely by scheduling time at lunch or on breaks to focus on your personal must-dos. Never forget why you’re getting paid!

• Web Surfing

Facebook, LinkedIn, Amazon, and other sites are favorite destinations for employees at work but typically have nothing to do with work! Instead of taking frequent breaks to surf the web, act wisely by staying on task. Taking a break once a day is likely a good thing. But making it a habit — multiple times a day — is a huge waste of time.

• Coffee Breaks

Instead of taking many short breaks during the day for cigarettes, coffee or something else, act wisely by taking stretch breaks and walk breaks. Use this time to relax, reflect, and think.

Final Point!

Adopt one new idea and stick with it until it becomes a habit. Then try another performance improver.

Time is precious! Act wisely!