Take control of your day
There's always a challenge to finding enough time to work on the business while keeping up with the demands of working in the business, and to deal with the new issues that always seem to be surfacing. Because long-term projects and planning activities get placed on hold while you put out fires and deal with unexpected interruptions, actual management of the business is often fragmented and very low in real productivity.
There is a simple approach to solving the time management problem that's guaranteed to work for you once you commit to it. This approach is based on prioritisation of tasks and involves four steps to implement.
Step 1. Create a "to do" list
Make it as complete as possible by including both long-term and short-term tasks - everything that you have to do in a business day regardless of its importance or urgency. Include time for making and receiving telephone calls, as well as time for conversations and meetings. Assign everything that's there into one of these four categories:
- Category 1: Urgent and Important - things that are critical to the business and have a deadline involved
- Category 2: Important things but they don't have an immediate deadline
- Category 3: Activities that just arise such as telephone calls or meetings not related to your category 1 or 2 projects. They are urgent only because they need to be handled immediately but are not really important
- Category 4: Activities that are unimportant and don't have to be done by any particular time
Step 2. Track your real workday
Throughout the next day, without referring to your "to do" list, make a note of everything you do and how much time you spend on it. You're recording how you actually allocate your time during the day.
When the work day is complete go back to your "to do" list and compare what you've actually done during your day with what you rated as really the most urgent and important tasks before you. If you're like most people you'll have spent far too much time on activities you've judged to be category 3 and 4 types and consequently far too little time on those activities and projects that really matter.
Chances are you've wasted a fair amount of time. Experts vary in their estimates of how much time we waste each day but it's safe to say that by being more efficient we can gain an extra 5% to 10% of effective time in every day we spend at work.
Step 3. Restructure your time usage
Start by taking the prioritised "to do" list and making an estimate of how much time every category 1 and 2 item requires for completion. Relate these to any deadlines or completion dates that may apply and calculate just how much time needs to be spent on them each day. For example, you may have a major project that needs to be completed in ten days and will require approximately fifteen hours of your time to complete. That works out to needing 1.5 hours on average each day if you're going to meet the deadline.
Step 4. Develop your schedule
Now go to your calendar or diary and block out the necessary time you need to complete everything that's in categories 1 and 2, that is, according to your real priorities.
Go back to your list and review everything that's in category 4. Either delete these items from your list or delegate as many of them as possible. Things you've put into category 3 can be handled on an ad hoc basis when time permits, but only when you are sure that everything in categories 1 and 2 have received sufficient attention.
Once you begin working in this new way you'll find that every day is more productive. You'll be tempted to find excuses to make exceptions for one reason or another. Don't! Taking control of your day won't be easy at first, but stick with it and you'll be hours ahead every week.
Copyright © 2005 RAN ONE Inc
For more information contact your RAN ONE business professionals at
Academy of Business Excellence Limited