How to Manage Your Time
Are you trying to get more done in the time you have? Do you need to get more done in less time so you can cut back on evening and weekend work? Managing your time more actively, more proactively, will make a huge difference.
Here are seven steps that you can take to manage your time efficiently and effectively.
1. Revisit ObjectivesFirst, start by revisiting your objectives. Effective time management involves more than simply checking off to-do lists or tackling tasks as they come up in your inbox or during meetings. One of the most important things we miss in time management is actually using our time to prioritize and accomplish the most important things.
Going back to your objectives, one strategy I find helpful is to visually display my top three goals on a poster right behind my computer monitor. This serves as a constant reminder of my priorities. I’m always able to look at them and assess whether a task is aligned with or advances one of them. Being able to look at and revisit your goals helps you stay connected and focused on what matters most.
2. Prune Your CalendarSecond, before you add more tasks to your already busy calendar, consider this alarming statistic: The average North American employee now spends about 22 hours a week in meetings! So before you try to shove anything else in, take the time to prune your calendar.
Open your calendar, review what’s on it, and identify tasks or commitments that you can remove or delegate to someone else. Do you have a lot of meetings? Consider attending only those meetings that are necessary, or attending for half the time instead of the entire time. Are there any volunteer activities that are draining your energy or no longer align with your goals? Consider eliminating them. Try to prune back what’s in your calendar as much as possible before adding new commitments.
3. AdministriviaThe third step may seem counterintuitive because we often view administriva as time-wasting. However, as part of an organization, administrative tasks like answering emails, helping colleagues, and doing compliance training videos are necessary. If you don’t put a fence around those tasks, set boundaries, they’ll consume all your time. It’s surprising how many emails and requests for help can come your way. That’s why it’s important to build that boundary around those tasks at the beginning of the week.
Something I’ve found helpful is to schedule these tasks as recurring events on my calendar. For example, block out an hour in the morning to catch up on emails, respond to clients, and help colleagues. Another option is to set aside time right before lunch when you might be feeling burnt out from your own work. This is a great time to take care of administrative tasks. Or consider reserving every Friday afternoon for any corporate needs, such as performance management tasks or uploading data to Salesforce.
Counterintuitively, when you carve out time for these administrative tasks, when you put a very solid fence around them, it helps you manage your time. By setting aside specific time slots, you’re acknowledging that you’re going to do these things efficiently, but you’re limiting the time you spend on them to just one hour a day.
4. Focus And FlowStep four revolves around what I call focus and flow time, or F and F time. This is my favorite time of the week because it’s a block of time where I can focus and get work done, whether it’s drafting an output report for a client or writing my next blog post. Everyone needs think-time and time to work. F and F time is dedicated to both contemplation and productivity. I like to set aside three hours at least twice a week for writing, and when I’m in my focus and flow time, I intentionally turn off all notifications and put my phone out of sight—we all know that even without its bells and whistles going off, our phones can distract us.
Now, everyone’s schedule is different, and three hours may not fit your job or responsibilities. In my case, it’s essential for tasks like writing and so on. But I recommend setting aside at least 45 minutes, preferably split in two 45-minute blocks with a short five-minute break in between for movement and hydration. If you can carve out more F and F time, even better, but building focus and flow periods into your week will make you happier and more productive. It feels great to do meaningful work.
5. Identify Concerns And ConsequencesOkay, on to step five. With your administrative time fenced off, and your focus and flow time set, now look for any commitments you have that won’t be done as planned. Is someone counting on you to do something that’s not going to happen? If something doesn’t align with your schedule or priorities, acknowledge it and make necessary adjustments. Identifying these kinds of concerns or consequences is really important when you’re on a team.
You may need to validate your prioritization with your manager. If so, present your weekly time allocation, highlighting your tasks and concerns. For example, you might say, “This is how I’ve allocated the week. I’ve got this and this, but I’m afraid I won’t get that performance review done by Friday. Is it okay if I push that into next week?” Your manager may be fine with it. They may say no if it’s something that will affect a colleague or customer. They may also suggest alternatives, depending on the urgency. Just make sure you’re communicating so that people have a heads-up instead of a big last-minute surprise.
6. Play It Like A GameNow that you’ve got your week mapped out, let’s move on to step six: play it like a game. This is where we can have a little fun and to give you an idea of what that looks like, I use something called a Time Timer. It’s a quirky timer with a big red dial that looks like a toy. I set it for each task, whether it’s email and collaboration time or administrative tasks. When the timer goes off I move on. For example, if I’m doing invoices and the timer beeps, then that’s it—time’s up. I’ll come back to it later because I’m protecting my focus and flow time.
And when I’m in my F and F time, I reset the timer for the first of three 45- to 50-minute intervals. When it beeps, I turn on my Spotify Dance Break playlist, get up, shake my booty, get a drink of water, and get back to work. My timer keeps me honest. It makes me feel like I’m on a game show where I have to beat the clock, which not only keeps me on track but turns my work into a fun challenge. Playing it like a game works wonders!
7. EvaluateLastly, it’s important to schedule regular evaluations into your week or perhaps your month. During these blocks, reflect on where your time estimates went wrong and what lessons you can learn from them. Ask yourself questions:
For which tasks did my time estimates differ significantly from the actual time required, and what lessons can I learn from this?What did I learn about which meetings and tasks from other people were useful? Which were not? And how do I reset accordingly?Take time to reflect and learn from your own behavior. Identify the best time of the week. What was the most productive time and what did you do differently? Can you replicate those conditions in future weeks? This self-awareness is also really valuable for time management.
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These are the seven steps to proactively manage your time to get the most out of it. Make sure you reassess your goals, prune back your existing calendar, protect your time, put a fence around administrative and email time, block really important chunks of time for focus and flow, identify concerns or consequences of your prioritization on other people, then make sure you play like a game with time, have fun with it, beat the clock, and finally evaluate your performance and identify what you can do better next time.
All right, for other tips on how to be more productive at work, check out 5 Ways to Say No.
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Is it time to start saying “no”?
Video: When to Say No at Work
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