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"I need more time...",

"I don't have time..." and

"Where has the time gone..."

are the challenges of those of us who have more to accomplish than time allows. Some find time just drags on and they don’t know what needs to be done next. The opportunities and benefits of effective time management are clear to everyone. The challenge is to do more of the important things that yield long term meaningful results as opposed to just doing things that need to be done. If it could be just that simple we would not need more time. Someone told me ìI donít need more time, I just need fewer things to do.î What insight I thought to myself as I listened wondering why has life gotten so busy and how Iíve become a victim of time passing me by.

We all have a different amount of time left in our lives. Some will live for a long time to come, others will have just a short amount of time left to live. How do we use our time to achieve meaningful results? I donít know of anyone saying in their final breath ìI wish I had more time at the office.

Addressing the effective use of time is more than improving how we plan out our work day. Because we know if push comes to shove we can bring work home with us. Do we really have a time management problem or a priority problem or a planning problem?

Recently a group of busy managers were discussing their best tips for improving their use of time. They had them all, important things from every time management program going. I wondered why they wanted more on time management when collectively they had excellent tips for improving the use of time? Do they really have a time management problem? Perhaps they do, but letís consider the use of time and what we have to accomplish with a different paradigm. Letís focus on more than doing more in less time. Letís look at what we are doing, why we are doing it and how we can do things more effectively.

In this paradigm letís first define a purpose for what we want to accomplish within a set time period. ‘Purpose’ meaning what is the expected result, what will be the benefits and best possible outcomes for doing something right now. Then without prejudice (thinking we can do it better than anyone else), ask yourself “who else can do it?” Then delegate-it. If there are not sufficient rewards for doing it right now the next question to ask yourself is ìwhat would happen if I just dump-it?î We have developed a sense we must do everything. Really consider the implications before you add it to your pile. When you canít delegate-it or dump-it your last resort is do-it. The first pitfall most of us run into is adding it to our to-do-list. If you must do it do it now! Many people add to their to-do-list until the list of things to do is taking a lot of time to keep current. The habit to develop, to a fault, is ìjust do it—now.î

I ask you again do we have a time management problem or a priority and planning problem?

Stephen Coveysí book First Things First develops a wonderful concept of filling a jar with different size stones, the larger the stone the more important the task. The challenge is to fill the jar with as many stones as possible. The analogy is filling our days with things to do until we have no more time to do anything else. What we learn is to only fill the jar (our day) with the larger stones (the things that must be addressed now to meet deadlines) as opposed to filling every minute with pre-planned work. If we donít leave time for the unexpected, time to think and plan, and time for others we increase our stress. Remember, when we run out of time at work we can always take it home. Isnít this what most of us do? After all the only people who suffer if we donít manage time effectively at work are our families and we count on them to understand. After all weíre just doing it so theyíll have more. Right!

I ask you again do we have a time management problem or a priority and planning problem?

A Time Management Model. The excuse is time management. The reason is we donít set realistic priorities and we donít effectively plan. Thatís why we donít have enough time. We allow others to set our priorities or take up our time. In Coveysí book First Things First he breaks time into four time quadrants. The objective is to focus on activities in the first two quadrants—the important things, the big stones—and avoid working on tasks that can be worked on by others or are quadrant three and four time wasters. Everything we must do should be filtered through the model to determine which quadrant the activity falls into. To use time more effectively work only in the upper quadrants, and keep in mind that effective time management needs to be looked at from your 24 hour clock and not just your working hours. Improving skills in only our work life is not enough. An interesting quotation from the book Live and Learn and Pass It On written by a 51 year old gentleman says ì Iíve learned that being a success at the office is not worth it if it means being a failure at home. For skills to be really effective they must be applicable in all our total lives, not just at work. I hope youíre getting the message. We must plan out our whole day to achieve the best results both personally and professionally.”

Once we establish a tool to measure our priorities we must then focus on the activities that take up time. The truly successful person understands the importance of doing the right things, and doing the right things right. So how do we figure out what are the right things to do? Goal Setting! If we don't take action then we're dreaming. The difference between a goal and a dream is meaningful activity in pursuit of accomplishing something we value. If we do not value it, we're not motivated to perform at our best. We will be functioning in slow motion and wasting time. To perform at our best we must create a personal challenge; make a commitment to your commitment that everything you do will make you proud of your use of time and the results you achieve. For goals to be motivating they really must be written down and reviewed constantly. They must be challenging for us and require us to apply our best effort, otherwise we're just doing what must be done and not what we want to do to the best of our ability. Effective use of time is not trying to do better, it is doing better. We must not think in terms of trying unless failure is acceptable. Most of what we do requires more effort than trying. Would you want a doctor to tell you they're are going to try to save the life of a loved one? In reality the results may not be what we want, but in no case should the effort, skill and desire be anything less than our best. It's been pointed out that it takes more time to fix it than to do it right the first time. We often waste time by not doing our best at all times. This is where planning is crucial. Create a road map detailing your expectation so that you can see what has to be accomplished, by when and by whom. I'm often asked, “Do you really expect people to write out plans for everything?” Yes! Isn't that how we approach getting directions to some place we’ve never been? We write it down. Some can get by referring to the written directions once, others may take several more times, and if we haven't been there in a while we write it down again. Planning is no different in concept, but often what we're planning is much more involved and requires more written details.

Summary. Time management is likely to be the excuse for lacking priorities. Poor planning is the cause of our time stresses. Developing a strategy to use time effectively requires a tool to measure our activities relative to importance and a strong goal setting process to build our motivation and commitment. What we do we do well throughout our 24 hour clock and not just the hours at work.

[Bill Maloney is a partner in OPI, and speaks widely on the topic of time management, planning and personal motivation.]