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Do you need more time?
DO YOU NEED MORE TIME?
“Kill time and you will kill your career” B.C. Forbes
“But, I just don’t have enough time” – how often have you said this phrase? As long as you are really willing to do something about, your problem has a solution. All you need is will power and certain techniques. With these, you will have enough time to do all the important activities in your work will still have time to relax. The secret of having enough time is not killing yourself working 18 hours daily. The objective should be to work more intelligently, not harder. You can’t save time, only use it well. Here are some techniques to give you some extra time:
TO DO LIST
The main secret of time control is a technique widely known but used by very few persons: the to-do list. The procedure is very simple. Every day, the first thing you should do at the office is to write down all the activities you have to do. Take your time to think them out carefully. List all activities, both short and long-range. It may seem strange to see “start MBA” along with “send the meeting memo”. However, if you think about it, you don’t want to control only the day’s activities, but your life as well. If you don’t set yourself goals to where you are going, you’ll end up somewhere else.
Once you have your activities written down, review and classify them:
“A” for those with highest priority.
“B” for those of medium priority.
“C” for those nice-to-have but not important.
Once this has been done, review your list again and assign a number to each activity by importance until you have A-1, A-2, … The following step is critical in this procedure. Most persons, after looking at their A-1 activity, decide to get a cup of coffee or chat with somebody, or do one of the “C” activities because it looks more appealing at that moment. The natural reaction at seeing a task to perform is the very human reaction of “I’ll do it later” The will power to “do it now” or “do it later” is what distinguishes those persons who lack time and those who have enough time to reach their goals and enjoy life.
WILL POWER
The problem at this stage is lack of will power. The first step to solve this problem is to recognize it and ask, “What am I trying to avoid?” The answers could be:
1.Fear to make a mistake – If this is the problem, you should ask “by how much would I reduce the probability of making a mistake if I wait?” – usually not very much. Your attitude should be positive and you should regard your mistakes as an opportunity to learn.
2.Postpone the less agreeable tasks – but really, isn’t it better to do it now and get rid of it, like taking a bad-tasting medicine.
3.Set priorities every day – if the problem is trying to do too much, learn to say “no”. Learn to set date for every goal, tell everybody about these dates, and then meet them.
The decision is yours. Having will power or not, leads you to one of these routes:
1.Do that interesting project you have wanted to do (work-related or personal). Also you will be able to enjoy things since you have the satisfaction of knowing you have finished the day’s “To-do´s” and are really controlling your time. Or else,
2.Spend the rest of the day doing To-Do´s “C” with the anguish of knowing there is that A-1 waiting for you and that “I don´t have time”. The result is you don´t do what you should, and you are not at peace knowing there is an urgent task that is “urgent” and you haven´t done it.
Knowing these two alternatives and their consequences at the time of starting
activity A-1 which would you rather chose?
ADDITIONAL TIPS FOR CONTROLLING TIME
•If possible, delegate. This is the first point to consider before starting the to-do´s. Never do others work because “I can do it faster and better”.
•Say “no” whenever you can. Of course, you must be careful of saying “no” to important projects or delicate tasks. A good rule to follow is to ask “will something terrible happen if I don’t do this?” If the answer is “no”, don’t do it.
•Close the door to your office. Tell others you will not be available at certain hours. Keep your door closed and do your “A”´s without distracting yourself. For some, a half-hour is enough. For others, maybe two hours are necessary. It doesn’t matter, do it.
•Don’t worry about your “C”´s. Forgetting about these projects will take a load off your back. You can to this without guilty feelings if you follow Pareto´s Law of 80-20. According to this law, 20% of all things account for 80% of their value.
•The 80/20 rule, suggests that in a list of 10 activities, doing two of them, will accomplish 80% of their work. Find these two, classify them as “A” and do them. The rest can be left as they were because, after all, they represent only 20% of the total value.
•Frequent ask yourself, “What is the best use of my time at this moment?” If it isn’t the activity you are doing at that moment, change your activity.
•If you finished an important task, give yourself a reward. Think of the reward before doing your “A”s.
•Manage your meetings. If you called the meeting:
1.Minimize the number of participants.
2.Let everyone know the organization and objectives of the meeting.
3.Don’t let ideas get on the wrong track.
4.Summarize each point after it has been discussed.
5.Set goals and deadlines to finish before calling the next meeting.
6.Program your meetings as close as possible to quitting time. The meeting room should have, if possible, uncomfortable chairs.
If you were invited to the meeting:
1.If possible, don’t attend.
2.If the meeting looks disorganized, try to control it.
3.Prepare yourself before attending.
•Control your telephone. For incoming calls:
1.Let your secretary filter them.
2.Say “no” if you are not the indicated person to deal with the request.
For outbound calls:
1.Group your calls at a certain hour.
2.Don’t make calls on impulse. Have on hand all the information you will discuss.
3.Shorten friendly, but unproductive conversations.
•Keep your desk clear for action. Place at the center the most important papers. Once you have finished the activities, remove all the papers related to it. Start the next activity with clear mind and desk.
•Answer your emails the first time you read them. Copy only those persons who need to know.
How well you manage your personal time may determine how successful you are. It reflects on how many important things you are able to do.
Parkinson’s law says work expands to fill the assigned time. Dare against this law. You know the techniques, the following step is yours.
About the Author
Militza Basualdo is a Six Sigma consultant (www.iesixsigma.com). Ms. Basualdo holds a Six Sigma Master Black Belt and received a Bachelor´s degree Summa Cum Laude in Mathematics and a Master´s degree in Computer Science from Texas A&M University in Kingsville. Ms. Basualdo completed all courses towards a Ph.D. in Engineering - Operations Research. Ms. Basualdo has held Information Technology and Six Sigma positions for two Fortune 50 companies
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