The information in today’s Advisor is adapted from BLR’s 10-Minute HR Trainer® session, “Time Management for Supervisors.”
The first step to tackling more-effective time management is to understand why supervisors have trouble managing their days. Here are several factors that interfere with a well-planned schedule:
- Reacting to others’ demands instead of deciding how your time will be spent
- Putting out fires rather than thinking ahead about how to avoid crisis situations
- Inadequate planning, which means you’re always rushing just to keep up
- Excessive attention to detail, which leaves little time for the really important things
- Trying to do everything yourself instead of delegating
- Failure to communicate effectively, leading to errors, misunderstandings, and other problems
- Lack of clear-cut goals, which can lead you to mistake a lot of activity for results
- Overcommitment, which often means you do too much and accomplish too little
- Indecision—if people wait while you make up your mind, time is wasted
- Poor organization—you often spend more time getting ready to work than actually working
Ask trainees which of these items they can relate to and spend a few minutes defining and discussing the specific issues they are encountering in your workplace.
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Once trainees understand their biggest time management problems, go over the ways they can plan their time sensibly and efficiently. Here are some effective tips for them to follow:
- Set both short-term goals (next few weeks) and long-term goals (next few months).
- Identify priorities at the beginning of each workday and workweek. Focus on getting these tasks done, and then do less important tasks only if you have time.
- Use a calendar and a daily to-do list to better manage your time.
- Allow more time than you think you need to complete each task on your list.
- Be flexible and ready to revise your plans for the day as you go along.
- Organize your office, desk, and computer so you can quickly find things.
- Take advantage of your “prime time” (the time you are most energetic and have the fewest interruptions) to get the most important work of the day completed.
- Schedule meetings only when necessary and keep them short and to the point. Go to meetings only when your attendance is mandatory.
- Plan downtime each day—take a lunch break and refresher breaks occasionally.
Communication time-wasters are a category unto themselves! Give trainees these tips for managing their communications effectively:
- Handle each piece of paper coming across your desk as few times as possible: Act on it, put it aside for further study, file it, or throw it away.
- If possible, let voice mail pick up when you’re busy, and then check messages at set intervals.
- When you do pick up the phone, lead the caller politely but firmly to the point. When you feel the matter is concluded, end the call politely but firmly.
- When making calls, pick a time the person you’re calling is most likely to be in. Jot down the key points and questions you want to discuss beforehand. If the person isn’t available, leave a message indicating the best time to reach you.
- Rely on e-mail rather than the phone for communications as much as possible. Incoming messages won’t disturb you, and you can respond when you have time. Check e-mail only at set intervals, and set time aside then or later to respond.
Worried about ever getting your managers and supervisors trained to be effective leaders? It isn’t easy to fit it in—schedulewise or budgetwise—but now there’s BLR’s Leadership Library for Managers and Supervisors. Train all your people, at their convenience, 24/7, for one standard fee. Get more information.
In tomorrow’s Advisor, we’ll look at handling interruptions and delegating tasks—plus, we’ll check out an interactive, ready-to-use online leadership library that helps you train your supervisors and managers.