Time Management: Know about time management

Great time management is one of the most vital skills leaders can develop. All of us have the same number of hours in a day, and no amount of effort can change that. What we can influence is how we spend those hours. A quote from Stephen Covey sums up how we can best use our time : "I am personally persuaded that the best thinking in the area of time management can be captured in a single phrase : Organize and execute around priorities." We offer three tools to help leaders focus their time against their priorities :
	TOOL 1 : The Time Management Grid. This grid focuses on the two key dimensions of Time Management Grid : the urgency and importance of tasks clamouring for our attention. long the top is the urgency axis : LHS is very urgent, RHS is less urgent. The vertical axis is the importance axis. The top boxes contain more important activities, the bottom activities are less important. This gives us four quadrants :
Quadrant 1 represents things which are both urgent and important. We've called this "firefighting". The activities need to be dealt with immediately, and they're important. Quadrant 2 represents things which are important, but not urgent. We've termed this one "Quality Time". Although the activities here are important, and contribute to achieving the goals and priorities - they don't have to be done right now. As a result, they can be scheduled in when you can give quality thought to them. A good example would be the preparation of an important talk, or mentoring a key individual. Prayer time, family time and personal relaxation/recreation are also part of Quadrant 2. Quadrant 3 are distractions. They must be dealt with right now, but frankly, are not important. For example, when you answer an unwanted phone call, - you've had to interrupt whatever you were doing to answer it. The final quadrant, Quadrant 4, are things which are neither urgent nor important. Some meetings could fall into this category - they've been scheduled in advance, but if they achieve nothing, or you don't contribute to them, then they have simply wasted time. Other examples could include driving time and low quality relaxation or family time.
Using the tool : consciously strive to maximize Quadrant 2 time. Allocate time in your diary to carry out these tasks when you are at your best. Doing so can reduce the amount of time taken up by firefighting quadrant 1 activities, since many quadrant 1 activities could have been quadrant 2 if they had been done earlier. You can also seek to reduce time spent in Quadrant 3 by improving your systems and processes for dealing with distractions, and you can seek to eliminate as much as possible of quadrant 4 activities, by either not spending time on these things, or changing the nature of them to make them more productive. For example, driving can be quadrant 4 if the time is unproductive, but there are a number of ways of making this time more productive by listening to a praise tape, praying, learning new skills with a tape course, planning and so on.
TOOL 2 : Goal Planning Many people have a daily to-do list which they can prioritize and then work through. However, to focus your time on that which is truly important, ie in line with your goals, you will need to : i. Consciously become aware (and write down!) of what you are trying to achieve across the key roles and different parts of your life. Some leaders may feel strange to set goals for family life, but these goals may be more about finding quality time together than achieving specific objectives. However, if you only set goals for the parts of your life which are concerned with business or ministry, then these elements may squeeze out time for other parts of your life. ii. Write down three or four monthly plans of the progress you would like to achieve towards these goals. This can inform your daily and weekly planning. Don't be over ambitious, since that can lead to feelings of frustration, but equally set at least one or two stretching challenges for some of the most important goals. Tool 3 : Eight Tips for Great Time Management Know what is important - write down the key goals you are working towards. (This can apply to all parts of your life.) Consciously plan your time : using three or four monthly and weekly plans Choose how you communicate : phone, memo, meeting or e-mail. Write in your diary in pencil, then you won't feel bad about changing your plans. Avoid being driven by your diary. Just because something has already been entered, doesn't mean that you can't do something else with the time. Know when you are at your best, and schedule quadrant 2 activity for that time. Make the most of 10 minutes - many tasks can be done in a "spare" 10 minutes, including taking a relaxation break. Periodically review your time effectiveness against the quadrant map, and against your goals.

Improve Time Management: Overcome Procrastination

Improve your time management routines, following some simple tips. Don't say "I'll read them later".

* start with a written plan of action to avoid getting distracted
* keep your plan simple and straightforward
* start with the one thing you must get done today to feel productive
* should be a manageable item you can complete in 10-15 minutes
* your tasks should match your values or purpose
* bring each task into congruence with your basic mission
* if you can't, take it off of your list
* don't put any "to-do" on your list that takes more than 30 minutes
* if it takes longer, it's actually a series of smaller "to-do's"

* don't try to do everything perfectly
* perfectionism often causes procrastination
* any small step toward completion is an accomplishment
* do the worst job (or part of the job) first and get it out of the way
* set a time limit -- "I'll file papers for 5 minutes"
* alternate unpleasant jobs with tasks you enjoy
* delegate out items you can't make yourself do

* interruptions tend to occur in identifiable patterns
* notice when interruptions occur, by whom, and why
* take steps to prevent those interruptions before they occur
* if they can't be prevented, learn how to delegate to someone else
* if they can't be delegated, learn how to delay until you are finished

* make the project and environment as pleasant as possible
* give yourself the best tools and work space for the project
* take a few minutes to organize your work space
* schedule a regular time to check in with a friend or colleague
* rewarding your accomplishments encourages productivity

My Ten Principles of Time Management

An econ grad student writes to ask about time management:

One of the most interesting topics discussed in Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography was his schedule. It was helpful to see how he organized his day, which I imagine a proper allocation of time was necessary for his diverse and fecund life. In an earlier post, you answered why economists, including you, take the time to educate the public. My question is a combination of both: how do you spend your time?....I am curious how you schedule your time and, like Benjamin Franklin, if you have a fixed schedule or if what you do is guided by what you feel like doing.

Time management is a topic I have occassionally struggled with, as I like being involved with a diverse range of activities, and figuring out the right balance is not always easy. Here are ten things I have learned about myself. (Note: I don't pretend these observations apply to others; they are functions of my own tastes, quirks, and personality.)

1. When I am involved in a big writing project, such as one of my textbooks, I try to keep to a very regular schedule. I aim to start every day, seven days a week, writing about 600 words. It is the first thing I do (after getting my kids off to school). After that, I feel I have "earned" my freedom for the rest of the day. If you do this for a few years, you have a good-sized book on your hands.

2. I like to attend seminars and take classes. It feels like goofing off at the time, but it often ends up productive. Interesting ideas pop up in unexpected places. During the academic year, the seminar and class schedule is the skeleton of my day.

3. Travel is usually an inefficient use of time. I hate sitting on planes and waiting in airports. As a result, I turn down over 90 percent of invitations I get to attend conferences, give talks, etc. Being in Cambridge, at Harvard and near the NBER, makes this choice a luxury that is feasible at low cost. It is harder to replicate in other places. There are so many seminars and conferences here that I don't feel the need to travel.

4. I don't allocate any of my time to consulting. I did some consulting once, very briefly for Microsoft during the antitrust case. I was interested in the policy issues, and Microsoft approached me after I had written a column critical of the government's case. But I learned that consulting was not to my taste. I prefer the freedom of more academic work.

5. I avoid university committees. They are vast wastes of time. I won't bother saying anything more about them, because that would be a waste of time, too. (If some Harvard dean is reading this, thinking "Yes, we need a new committee to investigate how to make university committees more efficient," please don't ask me to be on it.)

6. I have never accepted offers to edit academic journals. Bob Solow made the same decision during his career. He once explained that decision to me as follows: "For every ten papers you handle, you create nine enemies and one ingrate."

7. Time allocated to talking with students is always well spent. Whenever my ec 10 students invite me to dinner, I accept the invitation if I possibly can. If I keep doing this, I am confident that Saint Peter will smile down upon me when my time comes.

8. I usually spend my research time working on whatever moves me. One of the great features of an academic career is the freedom to think and write about those topics that most interest you. As a young academic, one has to consider, to some degree, what will impress colleagues on promotion and hiring committees. (But even youngsters shouldn't overdo it: I recommend that students focus more on their own passions than on those of others.) But certainly, after publishing dozens of academic articles and collecting a few thousand citations in the Social Science Citation Index, I now think less about impressing others and spend more of my time doing what I want. It is one of the upsides of getting older, perhaps God's way to compensate for the graying hair and expanding waistline.

9. Lately, I have been spending some of my time writing this blog, which started as a by-product of teaching ec 10, the principles class at Harvard. I am still trying to figure out if this is a good use of my time or not. On the one hand, this feels like providing a public good. (Perhaps at a low cost: some of the time I spend on it has come from watching reruns of Law and Order.) On the other hand, at times writing this blog feels like being hooked on crack.

10. My wife would tell you that my life works only because I am a workaholic. But I don't think of myself as a workaholic, and I don't feel like I am working hard. I just really enjoy what I do.

courtesy @ http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2006/05/my-ten-principles-of-time-management.html