Since it’s impossible to add another hour to the 24-hour day, I need an alternative. How can I find time to do all the things I need to complete at work? No doubt, many managers/supervisors deal with this challenge. How have you overcome the “I can’t get everything done” syndrome?
— Ed, Manager
Summary of Advice Received
Reclaim Control of Your Job
Turn the undone into ‘Done!’
by Meryl K. Evans, Editor, B2B Social Media Digest
I Need More Time
If the world could magically add more hours in the day, we’d probably still run into this lack of time problem. Having too much to do is one of those vicious cycles that won’t stop turning until we fix how we manage our work.
“Being up against a no-win situation is depressing and demoralizing. You’ve got to take your power back and restructure your work day so you can accomplish something of value to you and your firm,” says Elene Cafasso, founder and president, Enerpace, Inc.
Ready to shuck depression and take the reins back? While this list works as a step-by-step guide to better managing your work, you can skip some or modify it to your liking:
- Make a list
- Dump non-essentials.
- Prioritize the keepers.
- Delegate where possible.
- Prepare ahead.
- Resist distractions.
- Use tools.
Make a list
Stop drowning at the thought of all the things you need to do and make a list of exactly what you must do so you can prioritize tasks. Add everything without judgment.
Meet List Junky Marisha Morris, owner/chief exec designer at Done Beautifully, Inc. “I send myself text messages and use sticky notes, chalk boards and the dry erase board to make my lists.” It doesn’t matter what tool you use, or if you use one or more. Capture those tasks in writing first.
Dump non-essentials
Building habits helps you stick with the program. Yet habits can hold you back as the tasks you do on a regular basis lose importance, such as regularly scheduled meetings and reports.
Brandie Kajino, chief solutionist, SOHO Solutionist, looks deep into the task. Kajino says, “I ask questions, and clarify with people making requests — Is it critical, can it wait or be eliminated? Once in a while, when things get completely out of hand, I sit down and figure out what isn’t helping in the overall picture. Then, I eliminate it.”
“Qualify your sales and think about your bottom line,” says Teri Hurley, owner/operator of Endless Love Travel. “Don’t take on anything that won’t keep you in business, or you soon won’t be. Stick to your area of expertise as you have a better success rate of selling in these areas.”
When someone asks you to do something, and it’s not essential, just say no. Avoid falling into the trap of landing a task you don’t need.
Prioritize the keepers
How do you know where to begin if you don’t know what’s more urgent or has a deadline? Randy Pausch, author of The Last Lecture, shares a simple four-quadrant system from his famous lecture based on Stephen R. Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.
Go through your task list and put 1, 2, 3 or 4 next to each one. Then do the most important things first and plan for when you’ll do the least important tasks.
Delegate where possible
Consider delegating tasks, even if you’re not a manager with direct reports. You may be afraid to assign a task to someone else because you know exactly what you want and need. Do you need to attend all the meetings you have? How about sending someone in your place?
Loretta Love Huff, president, Emerald Harvest Consulting, explains how to transfer a task to someone else. “Figure out who would be the best person to take the task. Document the process you use to complete those tasks. Meet with the person and explain what you want him or her to take over and how it will benefit that person (and you) to start doing the task(s). Ask what questions or concerns staff has about taking on the task, then address the questions/concerns,” says Huff.
Prepare ahead
Now that you have a prioritized task list and have dropped unimportant tasks, let someone else take care of others and stay in control by preparing ahead like Hugh M. Ryan, president of Ryan Wellnitz, does. “Every morning, I write down the three things I must accomplish that day, following General Norman Schwarzkopf’s advice. He says he did this every day throughout his career, and required his direct reports to do likewise. I pick out the task I enjoy least and want most to postpone, and do it first (allowing for client-service necessities, of course),” Ryan says.
Huff adds a way to go home happy so you can relax and not worry about anything until the next day. “Before you leave at night, do two things:
- Straighten your desk up.
- Make a list of your most important items to accomplish the following day.
“When you get in the morning, start working on the list. Don’t open your email. Work on the top two things on your most important list for at least an hour, if not two. If people drop by during those first two hours, unless it’s an emergency (or your boss), ask if you can get back to that person later in the day.”
People have times of the day when they work best and when they don’t work so well. Think about your own energy levels and when you’re most effective with specific types of tasks.
“Arrange activities to take advantage of these rhythms. For example, you might want to return calls first thing in the morning, and catch up on industry news when you have less energy. Creative or analytic work is best done when you’re refreshed and unlikely to be distracted,” says Joellyn Sargent, president, BrandSprout.
Resist distractions
“You’ve got mail.” Ding. New message indicator. Turn off the sounds, visuals, anything and everything that lets you know you have new messages, whether voice mail or email. This works for Daniel K. O’Leary, vice president at LincWare, LLC. “I’ve implemented a system where I only check my email five times a day. I know, it sounds crazy, but it works. I do it at the beginning and end of the day, in the midmorning, after lunch, typically once before going to bed.”
Think about your last few phone calls. During how many of those did you get right to business and hang up as soon as you finished talking business? Of course, you want to be friendly and avoid rudeness. Come up with a few phrases that you can use and make them a habit. “I need to go because I have a meeting to prepare for.” You probably have a meeting to prepare for within the next few months. “Oh, it looks like a coworker needs me. Nice talking to you.”
What about people dropping by your office? Think of phrases you can use for unwanted drop-ins to help you shake the interruption and get back to your task.
Use tools
You may prefer old-fashioned pen and paper, or use an app that synchronizes with your mobile device. Support tools aren’t limited to the list-making kind.
Adding a second monitor can make a difference as it does for your editor. Many do this, including Brandon Laughridge, chief operation officer, RothIRA.com. “Not having to change windows to reference emails or instant messages is a huge time saver. I’m also not afraid to shut off those very nuisances I put on that monitor, things like instant messenger, email, twitter, etc.,” says Laughridge.
You may know about Stephen R. Covey’s book and maybe even David Allen’s Getting Things Done. Writer and Creative Director Kevin Fenton believes that time management issues are procrastination issues in disguise and recommends Neil A. Fiore’s The Now Habit to overcome this.
Chris Curtis, executive director, Web Business Ownership, LLC, automates tasks and uses apps to send stuff to her phone. “Now information is delivered electronically, instead of me having to get it myself,” Curtis says.
Two tools help Akira Hirai, managing director, Cayenne Consulting, LLC, stay organized. Hirai uses Fujitsu ScanSnap, a scanner to convert paper into searchable PDF files, and OneNote, an information organizer.
Do you answer the same questions repeatedly? That sounds like a job for frequently asked questions. Teri Hurley uses the company website to help clients help themselves. The website includes FAQs, testimonials and other resources.
Another way to look at the whole busy, busy picture is to think of it as a mindset. “‘Time’ and ‘being busy’ are mindsets. We are born into these constructs. We’ve made up the notion of time to structure our lives. But since we are defined by two time notations (our date of birth and the date of our passing), we live as if it is real. The key is to establish a more positive relationship with time so you have more of it,” says author Christine Louise Hohlbaum. In other words, “Time rocks!” Now go reward yourself for taking control and go relax a little before you get busy.
About the editor
Meryl K. Evans is senior editor at InternetVIZ and the content maven behind the Connected Digest, B2B Social Media Digest and Professional Services Journal. Follow her on Twitter @merylkevans.
