101: Time management
For a C-suite executive or business leader, efficient time management does not mean blindly diving in and tackling whatever is in your inbox or on your desk. To manage your time strategically, it could even mean not doing a particular task at all (or at least not that day). Here are some things to keep in mind when structuring your week, day or afternoon.
Prioritize high-payoff activities
Which tasks will get you the most result? Joe Mathews, Don Debolt and Deb Percival of Time-Management-Success.com suggest figuring out those tasks and committing to them. “Focus on the 'vital few,'” when it comes to projects, they say. “People give themselves more work to do when they unnecessarily volunteer ... They say 'yes', based on feelings such as enthusiasm for a project or a desire to impress,” rather than those with the largest payoff. Try and catch yourself when you do that, and refocus.
Visualize goals met
Before you jump on that next call or attend that next meeting, take five minutes to establish what you want to gain from the interaction. Put the desired end result in your mind. “Take five minutes after each call and activity to determine whether your desired result was achieved,” says Entrepreneur.com. “If not, what was missing? How do you put what's missing in your next call or activity?"
Don't forget to delegate
ProjectManager.com's Stephanie Ray points out not delegating tasks sends a bad message to your team. “It's both detrimental to the work and not even feasible,” she writes. Managers will still be overwhelmed with work if they try to do it all. And without delegating, “you're sending a strong signal to your workforce that you don't believe they have the skills and experience to do the job you hired them for. That's a surefire way to erode loyalty and lose talent.”
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