Time Management: Which Advice to Follow?
There are so many books on Time Management published every
month that it is difficult to find the time to read and digest
them all. What happens to most people is that they buy a book on
time management, read it, decide that some parts of it may suit
them, but then fail to adequately integrate the system into
their lives. This is partly due to inadequacies in the system
itself, and partly due to the inherently difficult nature of
learning a new system - the equivalent to learning a new habit.
What the books don't tell you is that each different time
management system is not necessarily suitable to all people or
for all uses for which people need them. Finding the right
combination of the basic methods is entirely individual
depending on both the nature of the tasks that are required to
be done and the nature of the individual who is implementing the
strategy.
This is where an overview of the basic systems is useful. There
are few books that give such an overview, but one that does is
Get everything done and still have time to play by Mark Forster.
After outlining the basic methods, he goes on to describe one
system that may be useful to some - but is rather complicated
and which would not suit everyone.
Basic Time Management Systems
1. To-Do Lists - write a list of things that need to be done and
then do them in that order. They can be distinguished from
Checklists that are wonderful for breaking a project down into
smaller tasks that can be ticked off regularly (which boosts
motivation). Pros: can be used for many different types of tasks
Cons: not useful if you have a schedule to keep to; can
proliferate rapidly causing overwhelm
2. Prioritisation. This is pretty simple - you write down the
list of things you have to do and then put them in order of
priority. Then you do them in that order. Pros: very good for
office tasks, home chores, emergencies Cons: can become
cluttered and disorganised unless you make separate lists for
different projects
3. "Do it now". A favourite with people who handle a lot of
paper - this is basically a preventative measure for
procrastination. If you need to do action something, you do it
now. Pros: Very good for procrastinators, and also for spring
cleaning (of both the office in tray or your home), routines and
tasks which are vital for function (e.g. filling the car with
petrol) Cons: Not useful for a multi-faceted life where there
are a lot of different aspects which need equal attention, as
here you can end up spending all your time on one area as you
have to "do it now"!
4. "Do the thing you fear most first". A form of prioritisation,
this is also good for procrastinators as it has a great kernel
of truth in it, in terms of the fact that once the most-feared
thing is done, the rest will be easier in comparison. Pros: Good
for personal growth and conquering fears Cons: can mean that
NOTHING gets done if the fear of the first thing is very strong.
5. Scheduling. Again, pretty simple - you put things in your
list with times attached and then you action them according to
the time. Pros: actions where other people are involved such as
meetings, or picking up the children. Cons: Can be difficult to
estimate the exact length of time something will take, and
doesn't take interruptions, delays and other unexpected issues
into account.
While all of these are very useful in particular situations, and
for particular people, they often work best in conjunction with
each other. Individual tools just don't work on a consistent
basis. If they did, time management books would not be
commissioned any more.
The Human Variable - Attention
So why are these tools not working? There is something which
underlies the whole issue of time management which makes any
solution you apply the equivalent of a plaster on an otherwise
untreated wound. Time is not the variable here - there is the
same 24 hours in every single day. Human attention is the vital
variable - focussed attention gets things done, while
distractions and poor organisation fragment attention so that
tasks do not get done. Remember days where a lot gets done, and
remember days when you just couldn't concentrate on any single
thing long enough to get it completed? This is down to your
attention span. It changes from person to person, but research
shows that the average person can concentrate fully for about 20
minutes at a time, before the attention starts wandering.
Improve Your Attention Span
While your brain and its functions can be improved by improving
your diet (fish and vitamins, along with a steady sugar level
are the absolute basics for feeding your brain), often the case
is that you are allowing yourself to be interrupted which is
causing the distraction (even if it appears to be in the job
description that you must down tools when the boss calls). You
can still put systems into place to ensure that you don't get
distracted - and get a block of time available to focus your
attention in. Even a response to the person at the door of "just
a second, let me just finish this bit off" can mean that you
don't waste the first five minutes after a distraction trying to
remember where you were.
Choose the right system for you
Look at the list above and decide what your main tasks are which
match what each system is best suited for. Then implement a
combination of them. Often all you need to do is integrate your
priority list with a scheduled list (by using a diary with a
loose piece of paper as your priority list of unscheduled items
- just remember to allow time in your schedule to complete the
unscheduled items).
Many people swear by the Stephen Covey time management system
that is similar in layout to a diary layout but adds space for
unscheduled items as well as things that aren't too specific
(such as spend time with your children/work on the novel etc).
You can find it in his book First Things First. You can even buy
fillers for your filofax based on that layout, so that you have
it all to hand whenever you need it.
Give it some time
Learning and implementing a new time management system is like
learning a new habit - and just as difficult as it is something
extra to remember. It can take up to 12 weeks to be sure that
the new habit is learned, at which point it will be second
nature to use your system. If it doesn't work for you, just
modify it a bit and try again - it can be something as simple as
buying a larger diary so that you can use just one item to
record your tasks, meetings etc.
Distraction Management
Locate your regular distractions and set up a plan to minimise
them (I deliberately didn't say remove them - that would be
rather difficult, unless you moved to the North Pole). This can
be through implementing a system where you are not available to
be distracted at work for a set amount of time, on the premise
that you will get back to them with an actual answer to their
problem the moment you are able to. While this may not be too
popular with some of your co-workers (because you are not
available at the drop of a hat), the fact that if you are able
to be more productive during normal working hours, you will
actually be able to leave work on time a bit more often. Make
sure though that when you do get back to people after a
no-distraction period, that you answer their question/query
fully and swiftly.
Time management is not difficult; it is the various things that
are fundamental to them being able to work that are the
complicated parts. So long as you are able (both physically and
mentally) to focus your attention you should find that time can
be managed better. Remember though that there is no one-size
fits all in the world of time management systems - you will need
to try out one or two before you find the perfect one that works
for you. Just make sure you choose the ones that are suitable
for the tasks that are part of your daily life