Relook at Time Management
In this blog, I will review my time management skills to improve.
Recently, I came across a blog from Harvard Business Review, about time management. The blog title is 3 Practical Ways to Become More Productive by Ian Daley.
Two main points that caught my eye are,
1. Add buffer into your schedule
2. Live by your calendar.
I went ahead to try the suggestions.
In this blog, I will give the pros and cons of adopting the above two strategies in my time management approach.
My time management approach
I plan my day as a routine.
The routine is such that the time is boxed for various activities I want to perform at work and home.
I reserve for the following activities.
1. Family and self-health care
2. 1on1s with team members
3. 1on1 with peer and senior managers
4. Updates and reviews of plans and reports
5. Technical sessions
6. Research and study
7. Responding to emails and chats
The above 7 activities are a routine for me. These activities are time-boxed.
But sometimes, it overwhelms me due to the constant jump from one activity to another. And if the routine gets disturbed, I end up overworking.
Hence, I needed to look for an approach to improve my routine.
What changed after considering the suggestions?
The stress of moving from one activity to another was eased after I adopted the suggestions from the article.
Also, my calendar was better planned.
More details below.
Suggestion#1: Add buffer into schedules
Adding little buffers between the activities helped to catch up on a coffee or talk to people around.
This gave me a break from the stress.
The reduced switching stress helped ease the context-switching pressure, resulting in complete focus while going to the next meeting or activity.
Complete focus, results in better performing the activity and gives that feeling of satisfaction.
Suggestion#2: Live by your calendar
The “live by calendar” means planning your to-do list or activities in the calendar.
Every activity is time-boxed in the calendar so you know when to do certain activities.
Planning some of the tasks in the calendar helps remind me what must be accomplished without fail.
Meetings, to-do lists and small breaks in between, all planned in the calendar, have helped improve my time management.
Final thoughts
Time management is a key skill to have as a manager.
Continuously improving the skill will help to improve productivity. This helps to work on more strategic items.
The two suggestions from the article posted on the Harvard Business Review site have given me a small bump in my productivity.
Out of the two suggestions, my favourite is taking small breaks between activities or meetings as it helps bring back the focus.
So as managers, being in control of the time will help you to plan your day better.
Happy management!
Further reading
- How do I plan my day as a Manager?
- Time management tips for young managers
- 5 Step Framework for Delegation
- Why young managers should focus on building habits?
- Free Udemy Course: New Manager - Learn to Become Successful
