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Managerial Inputs in Development - Command Your Time
“Oh, call back yesterday, bid time
return”.
---Shakespeare, “Richard II”, III,ii
“The butterfly counts not months but moments, and
has time enough”. ---Rabindranath Tagore, “Stray Birds”.
As the pace of life and work
accelerate, it is becomingly difficult to accomplish things on time; the time
available never seems to be enough to get things done. Time is finite,
irreplaceable, un-storable and un-exchangeable. So the secret of managing work is to prioritize and do the
important things, and get them right first time! This means:
·
Time saving
·
Work shedding, and
·
Time budgeting
-
Analyze where your time is going by maintaining ‘time
logs', to pin-point time leakages, and plug them:
-
Telephone interruptions (filter through secretary),
especially concerning work delegated to someone else
-
Drop-in visitors (manage by appointment-book)
-
Open-door policy; fix timings /consultation
-
Handle papers only once
-
Learn to say ‘no' when warranted
-
Plan ahead and do the key things
-
Fix deadlines and stick to them
-
Keep it short and sweet…KISS
-
Exercise self-discipline; avoid gossip/ day-dreaming/ unplanned meetings
/no agenda
This is mostly done by delegating, especially to staff
trained beforehand for just such an eventuality; some
ways to shed / redistribute work:
-
Ensure the staffer has the ability agree required
results and standards
-
Give them power and authority do it in such a way
that staff see it as a means of developing, not handling overdue stuff you've
been sitting on for too long; don't make ‘Dirty Harrys'.
-
Avoid the bug of perfectionism; communication is all
about getting the message across clearly and getting the work done. Reserve your
drafting overkill for the Chairman's Annual Stockholder's Address!!
-
Choose things to delegate, within your own situation
-
Leave yourself to concentrate on 20% of work on which
80% of your effectiveness hinges
-
Evolve simple spreadsheet to follow each delegated job closely;
remember, accountability remains yours!
This involves planning use of your time by:
-
Keeping
time logs, diaries, planners, roll-over' to-do' lists; follow-up things
-
Divide work into easily manageable ‘time blocks'.
Clear objectives save time and confusion.
-
Enlist your secretary's help to control
-
Keep enough spare time for crises, impromptu staff
coaching
-
Keep time for the boss, customers, or net-working with colleagues
Aim at
optimizing the usage of time today to manage tomorrow…and in
developing your people.
QUESTION:
1.
Can we manage to do all our work.. and
more.. within reasonable time available to us? How does one go about achieving this?
2.What are the essential features of
time management? Please list out major time wasters and remedies to ‘save' time.
