Time Management for Managers: Is It Important, or Just Urgent?

Time management for managers often comes down to an ability to distinguish between tasks that are important, and those that are merely urgent. Why does that matter?

To answer that question, I posted this video on YouTube. Here’s the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uP7O3a8ANk

Watch the video, take a good look at your To Do list, and take action!

You’re new to this, so cut yourself some slack!

Here’s a video I recently posted on YouTube, advising new managers (like you!) to be patient with themselves instead of expecting to learn everything at once. It’s great advice for new managers!

Is It Important, or Just Urgent?

New managers often tell me they seem to spend their time “putting out fires”; in other words, everything seems to be urgent and need attention right away. This is, in fact, a major cause of stress for managers at all levels, but particularly for new managers. So how can you deal with all these emergencies and still get on with the work you set yourself to do at the beginning of the day?

In Steven Covey’s classic book, “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, he divides tasks, challenges, decisions etc. into four quadrants, which he describes in the following diagram:

Think about an item that’s on your “to do” list right now. Which quadrant would it fall into?

For example, finishing your report for delivery at a high level meeting tomorrow: Q1

Planning a staff training program for next year: Q2

Answering a colleague’s question about where to make a lunch reservation: Q3

Answering an e-mail that should never have come to you in the first place: Q4

Now look at all the items on your current “to do” list, and consider which quadrant you live in most of the time in the course of your job. Most stressed new managers find they work predominantly in Q1 and Q3, because they automatically react to the urgent, never stopping to consider whether it is important or not.

Steven Covey changed a lot of lives by recommending that we move as much as possible into the items that belong in Q2: important but not urgent. Using my examples above, planning your staff training program is important, but it’s not urgent because it is for next year. Why is that good? Because it gives you time to do the job well without panic! The key here is not to procrastinate, but to block off time over a certain period to do the job before it becomes urgent. This is an automatic stress reducer.

So what about the other three quadrants? Q4 is a no-brainer: if it’s not urgent and not important, why do it at all? Get rid of these items.

Q3 items are not important, so why is it urgent that you do them? Often these items become urgent because other people having procrastinated about asking you for information, and now they need it right away. That makes it their problem, not yours. Help them out the first time, but make it clear that in the future you can’t be interrupting your schedule to deal with items that would not have been urgent had they been dealt with earlier.

Finally, Q1 items must be done urgently because they are also important. Your task as a manager is to come up with solutions so that these particular items don’t become emergencies in future. The best way to do that is to handle them before they become urgent — in other words, move them over to Q2.

The Covey Quadrant is one of the most useful tools you will ever come across as a manager. Take some time to put it to work, and work as much as possible in Q2. You’ll be amazed at how much important work you get done, and how much less stressful your day becomes.

Quiet Please, Manager Working

Interruptions are part of a manager’s day, as you’ve probably discovered. On another day I’ll write about how to handle constant questions and requests for information on a normal day, but for today I want to offer a specific tool that has helped me complete many an important task on time and with less stress.

It’s the quiet time.

You have a report to write, and the deadline is looming. You’ve made several starts on it, but never seem to get a big enough chunk of time to complete it, and all those distractions make it difficult to get your concentration back to the job at hand. OK, how much time will you need to finish the job? An hour? Two hours? Half a day? Decide this first, then block off that amount of time on your schedule.

So now you know you’ll be busy on the report during that time, but you need others to know so that they will respect your quiet time. Simply send out an e-mail saying, “I need quiet time on Thursday from 9 – 11 a.m. Thank you for co-operating.” In case you get a visit from someone who didn’t see the e-mail, hang a sign on your closed door with the same message. Most people I talk to about this don’t expect it to work, and are amazed to find that most of the time it does. The reason is that other people wish they had thought of it too!

Now of course some people will ignore your message and barge right in. If that happens, don’t even look up from your desk or your computer. Simply concentrate even harder on what you are doing to make it obvious. If your fingers are hovering over your keyboard, type something — anything. You can always take it out later if you typed nonsense, but it sends the message that you really are working. When the person speaks, unless it is the President of the company or your immediate boss, don’t respond. Keep typing! Eventually they will get the message and say something brilliant like, “I see you are busy.” Look up at that point, agree that you are under deadline and this is not a good time to talk. Ask if you can call them when you are finished, and usually that will take care of things.

Since interruptions are often cited as a major cause of stress in the workplace, it’s in your own interests to figure out ways to deal with them that work for you. I strongly recommend quiet time. However, this is one of those tools that shouldn’t be overused or it will lose its effectiveness, so reserve it for times when you really need it and it can be one of the most valuable tools in your management toolbox.

Leading Meetings: an Essential Skillset for Managers

Monday morning meetings, client meetings, problem solving meetings, staff meetings, regular meetings — just too many meetings! That’s a common problem for managers at all levels, who feel they can’t get on with the work of their department for attending or leading meetings. For new managers, it’s just another layer of added stress!

Meetings are a fact of business life, and while technology can cut down on the number of face-to-face meetings, there are still times when that’s the best way to deal with issues. So whether you are a new manager or a seasoned manager, you’d do well to learn to run effective meetings.

Here are Helen’s 9 Rules for Meaningful Meetings:

1.    Call only necessary meetings.
Could a teleconference, a series of phone calls, an e-mail or a memo serve the same purpose? Develop a reputation for calling meetings only when necessary, and people will be more willing to devote their time to them.
2.    Invite the right people.
Invite people who have something to contribute or who need to be involved in the discussion. Don’t invite people just because they are at a certain level in the organization. Busy people appreciate your consideration of their time.
3.    Distribute the agenda before the meeting.
People should receive the agenda a week or so before the meeting. This lets people know what will be discussed and gives them an opportunity to gather information they will need and prepare their input. Receiving an agenda as you arrive at a meeting is almost as bad as not having an agenda at all — and that’s bad!
4.    Start and finish on time.
Don’t wait for latecomers—they shouldn’t be rewarded for upsetting everyone else’s schedule. Allot a time to each subject on the agenda and stick to it. You will finish on time—and people will love you!
5.    State the objective at the start of the meeting.
State an objective that is results-oriented rather than discussion-based. e.g. “We are meeting this morning to approve the final budget for next quarter.” This is a measurable objective, towards which you can work during the discussion.
6.    Keep the meeting moving towards its objective.
Don’t let people drag the discussion off track. Keep reminding them of the objective and redirect the discussion back when they stray.
7.    Don’t just sit there—say something!
Having something to say and saying it is the only way to contribute to someone else’s meeting. Do your homework in advance and you will know what you want to say.
8.    Arrange for appropriate notes.
If it’s your meeting, arrange for a support staff person to take notes. The note taker should not be a participant, since it is difficult to participate and takes notes at the same time.
9.    When the objective has been accomplished—stop!
Finish early and you’ll be a hero, so don’t spoil it by starting to discuss other issues. Congratulate participants on a successful meeting, and let them get back to their day.
We don’t spring from the womb knowing how to run effective meetings — we need to work on the skills! That’s why The Manager’s Journey includes a whole stage on both leading your own meetings and making the most of the time you spend at other people’s meetings. Learn these skills now, right at the start of your management career, and you’ll save your company money and yourself a whole lot of stress.