OK I lied.

This blog is about Personal Management – as you can’t manage a constant and time is a constant. Someone who is awesome at ‘Time Management’ has 24 hours in a day. Conversely someone who is woeful at ‘Time Management’ has only 24 hours in the day…..So what we traditionally understand as Time Management is more about managing yourself.

For people who are fans of Time Management: they believe Two Myths.

• At some point in the future they are thinking they are going to have more time – this is the essence of the procrastinator.
• They think that they can save time. Reality is you can’t – you have all the time you are ever going to get right now.

Here is a powerful truth. If you can learn to manage yourself and increase your personal effectiveness – you will get a lot whole more done in your life. Time Management is about you gaining control on how you spend your time – in business hours but also in your personal time. Without some time management skill (sorry Personal Management Skill)  your time will flow to areas that do not contribute to your productivity,

Speaking of that….Let me recommend a great book – Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald. Absolutely Brilliant

 The Top 5 time robbers are

•  Interruptions
• Procrastination
• Shifting Priorities
• Poor Planning
• Waiting for answers

What are some other time robbers – imposed by others?

• Unclear Job description
• Unnecessary meetings
  • Apparently there are  11 million meetings in the US every day
• Too much work
• Poor Communication
• Equipment Failure
• A disorganized boss
• Red Tape
• Conflicting Priorities
• Low Company Morale
• Untrained Staff
• Peer/Staff Demands
• Lack of Authority
• Interoffice Travel
• Mistakes of others
• Revised Deadlines

Time Robbers – Imposed by Self

• Failure to delegate
• Poor Attitude
• Personal Disorganization
• Absent mindedness
• Failure to listen
• Indecision
• Socializing
• Fatigue
• Lack of Self Discipline
• Leaving tasks unfinished
• Paper Shuffling
• Outside activities
• Cluttered Work space
• Unclear Personal Goals
• Perfectionism
• Preoccupation
• Attempting too much

So here are some hints to help you in ‘managing you’ better to increase your productivity:-

1) Find out where you’re wasting time.

Many of us are prey to time-wasters that steal time we could be using much more productively.

2) Use time management tools.

Whatever form that takes….Google Calendar is a good start.

3)  Learn to delegate and/or outsource.

No matter how small your business is, there’s no need for you to be a one-person show.You must use people – Life is a team sport. Use teams in everything you do.

4) Get in the habit of setting time limits for tasks.

Let me go so far as to suggesting you lose perfectionist tendencies. Dare I suggest that sometimes close enough is good enough.

5) Don’t waste time waiting.

From client meetings to dentist appointments, it’s impossible to avoid waiting for someone or something. But you don’t need to just sit there and twiddle your thumbs. Always take something to do with you, such as a report you need to read, some emails you need to answer or just a blank pad of paper that you can use to plan your next marketing campaign or something similar. Technology makes it easy to work wherever you are.

6) Use a time log

I once logged how I spent every 15 minutes of my day for 10 days. I was horrified at the amount of time I wasted or couldn’t account for. This process changed me and the way I work and do life. I recommend you do it. I dare you to try this….

7) Set time allocation according to your priorities

8) Manage interruptions

An hour of uninterrupted work is equivalent to 4 hours of interrupted work

Manage Interruptions

9) Use meetings sparingly

10) Run meetings with a set agenda and a set finish time.

11) Take time out to sharpen the saw

Read the 7 habits of highly effective people. Then you will understand about sharpening the saw…..Its essential.

12) Sometimes you need to say no to the good in order to be able to do the best.

This is a deep and powerful truth.

13) The 80:20 Rule

This is neatly summed up in the Pareto Principle, or the ’80:20 Rule’. This says that typically 80% of unfocused effort generates only 20% of results. The remaining 80% of results are achieved with only 20% of the effort. While the ratio is not always 80:20, this broad pattern of a small proportion of activity generating non-scalar returns recurs so frequently that it is the norm in many situations.

By applying the time management tips and skills in this section you can optimize your effort to ensure that you concentrate as much of your time and energy as possible on the high payoff tasks. This ensures that you achieve the greatest benefit possible with the limited amount of time available to you.

Read this book:

14) Work with blocks of time

 15) Procrastination is the thief of time

We all know this…..Now start to work like you believe it.

 16) Being disorganized is also the thief of time– Keep a tidy desk

My experience is that I spend too much time looking for things that I should never have to spend time looking for

 17) Set goals as they help you contextualize your life

I am a fan of goal setting and also of having a bucket list.

 18) Don’t wait until things become urgent

 19) Back up regularly

How much time is wasted around the world in offices because people lose non backed up work.

Anyway I hope that helps. Now share this with your Social Media friends so they can become better Managers of Time too.

That was a test. Remember you can’t manage time.

Ps Peter Pilt

If you found this blog helpful, informative or inspirational then I encourage you to share it on Social Media. I also invite you to subscribe to my blog so when I post in the future you will receive the blog as an email. I also love connecting through social media so find me on Facebook, Twitter or Insta. (just use my name). 

Categories: Australian, Book Reviews, Church related, Leadership, Life

Tags: 80/20, 80/20 rule, Church Leaders and Time Management, Church leadership, Help me manage time, Help me manage time better, How can I be a better leader, How can i manage time, I am too busy, I have too much to do, Leadership and Time Management, Personal Management, Peter Pilt on Time Management, The Pareto Principle, Time Management