What's your most valuable time management advice

What's your most valuable time management advice? When Charles M. Schwab started Bethlehem Steel, he called in a management consultant to determine how management could get more done during the day. The consultant recommend the following: 1. Before leaving, the manager should list the most important things to do tomorrow. 2. Then the list should be numbered in order of true importance. 3. The next morning, item number one is worked until completed. 4. The item two, three, and so on. It's a famous story, and the suggestion earned the consultant $25,000, which was an enormous sum of money in the day. Anyway, what would be your advice today? posted April 12, 2007 in Planning | Closed | Flag question as... Good Answers (70) Kathleen Howard Executive Vice President at NAI Capital see all my answers Best Answers in: Planning (1) This was selected as Best Answer 1. Prioritize - Focus on the big picture. People tend to do the easy things or little items first. Turn that around and do the most important things first. 2. Avoid interruptions - preserve your ability to focus. For Outlook users set your send/receive to manual. That way you can choose when you want to focus on your e-mail. 3. Confirm, confirm, confirm appointments. And on the personal side, I always call a doctor/dentist,etc. before I leave my office to see if they are running on time. About 80% of the time, the doctor et al is NOT and I stay at my desk awhile longer. 4. If you do end up waiting for someone or thing, be sure that you always have some meaningful reading and/or paperwork with you so that the time is not wasted. 5. Let go. There are many things that (in the big picture) do not need to be done. Identify these and let go. Hope these help. posted April 15, 2007 | Flag answer as... Robert Fornal Battalion Applications Trainer at US Army see all my answers Best Answers in: Using LinkedIn (151)... see more, Career Management (7), Customer Service (4), Web Development (4), Staffing and Recruiting (3), Education and Schools (2), Freelancing and Contracting (2), Job Search (2), Internet Marketing (2), Business Development (2), Change Management (2), Organizational Development (2), Planning (2), Engineering (2), Ethics (2), Professional Networking (2), Small Business (2), Blogging (2), Software Development (2), Facilities Management (1), Resume Writing (1), Corporate Debt (1), Treaties, Agreements and Organizations (1), Employment and Labor Law (1), Advertising (1), Graphic Design (1), Customer Relationship Management (1), Sales Techniques (1), Writing and Editing (1), Non-profit Management (1), Manufacturing (1), Retirement and Estate Planning (1), Industrial Design (1), Product Design (1), Professional Organizations (1), E-Commerce (1), Enterprise Software (1), Computers and Software (1), Databases (1), Information Storage (1), Telecommunications (1) see less Focus on the pieces ... a little bit at a time, this way you can jump from project to project without getting totally turned around ... posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Pamela Moore, SPHR Founder, Principal Consultant, Compass Human Resources see all my answers Best Answers in: Personnel Policies (2)... see more, Staffing and Recruiting (2), Certification and Licenses (1), Compensation and Benefits (1), Change Management (1), Career Management (1), Small Business (1) see less I'm a firm believer in lists as reminders, and the advice listed still holds true. Today, technology is our biggest "time suck". If you can tame those interruptions, you will be much more productive. If you have to, schedule set times to answer messages. Schedule time on your calendar to do the things on your list, and stick to it. It's sad that we have to block out time for every activity, but we all have more on our lists than we can possibly accomplish. Blocking out time and honoring it helps you gain perspective and keep things under control. posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... John Weldon Software Developer see all my answers ruthless time tracking. I try to log every 15 minutes of my day, and email myself a report at the end of the day. posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Mark Ley Associate Director, ACIG see all my answers Depending on the organisation size the items on the list should be: 1. Before leaving, the manager should list the most important things to do tomorrow. 2. Then the list should be numbered in order of true importance. 3. Give the list to your next in charge to carry out. 4. Monitor existing improvement strategies. 5. Develop new improvement strategies. 5. Talk to your people. posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Sherie Sloane COO with Successful Start-Up Experience see all my answers 3 Best Practices You Should Start Now: (Based on personal management experience) 1. Consider each task an appointment, do not rely in committing to memory the things you need to accomplish. List it down according to importance & urgency & allot specific time for each. 3. Discipline is the key. Be your own watcher when it comes to keeping track of time spent for each task. Don't overindulge in overdoing something. 4. Be flexible & always ready. Squeeze in reasonable few minutes of "breathing time" in between schedules for unexpected incidents or occurences that might hinder you from accomplishing your next task. posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Cody McKibben // Business Blog Consultant & WordPress Developer \\ see all my answers Best Answers in: Writing and Editing (2)... see more, Freelancing and Contracting (1), Job Search (1), Career Management (1), E-Commerce (1) see less 1. Do EXACTLY what you cited in your description. Charles Schwab was one of the most effective businessmen in American history. 2. For more on ordering your ToDo tasks in order of true importance, read or listen to Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People--with particular attention to the Put First Things First section and his Urgency / Importance quadrants. 3. For follow-through on your ToDo lists, read David Allen's Getting Things Done (GTD) and think about starting a simple "Next Actions" folder. posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Eitan Saban VP, Product Management at Quanis see all my answers I'm a great believer of the 10% rull: Meaning, spent 10% of your work time - ( every day before leaving ) on followup/scheduling/monitor/prioritized your To-do list it will let you plenty of time spending on the other tasks and planning the overall team projects. . . posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Roger Rustad Network / Systems Engineer (and sometimes Linux Hippie - "Make Install, Not War") see all my answers "Don't bother going to meetings that can happen without you." Once I started following that piece of advice, I started seeing myself become more productive! posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Christopher William Young Business aligned IT strategist and senior project manager see all my answers Best Answers in: Mentoring (1)... see more, Career Management (1) see less Time is heavily perception based. We all wake up every morning with the same number of hours as everyone else, yet some people seem to move mountains while others sit on them and do nothing. My recommendadtions are: 1. Set goals 2. Prioritise everything you do. Review its value to you and your day ... if it doesn't help you grow in some way or achieve your goal(s) it can (and probably should) be deleted. 3. Enjoy the doing. I find there is little point in getting to a goal if I don't enjoy the trip along the way. Also I find that some soft skills like NLP actually help because they enable me to reset my persception of time in a more healthy way. posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Ray Schafer Information Technology and Services Consultant see all my answers I think that the most valuable thing that I do with regard to time management is to take the time to stay organized. I make sure that I use a system for keeping my action items and files organized so that I never (rarely) need to look for something. That saves me incredible amounts of time. posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Donna Jones (Zalensas) Sr. Technical Writer at Zebra Technologies, MyLink500.com (open to invitations) see all my answers Best Answers in: Quality Management and Standards (1)... see more, Career Management (1) see less In my case, the most valuable advice comes from Nike: Just do it! Don't put something off if you can finish it now and get it off of your plate. Most unfinished tasks are nowhere near as satisfying as the finished ones, and you free up huge amounts of time when you stop procrastinating. posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Tucker Snedeker Executive Director, Wireless Accounts at Macrovision see all my answers If you use Outlook . . . Franklin Covey Plan Plus software plugin empowers users to do a much better job of keeping todo lists and then properly prioritizing and scheduling tasks. posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Robert Dolezal Executive VP at California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers see all my answers Best Answers in: Writing and Editing (2)... see more, Change Management (2), Planning (2), Manufacturing (2), Starting Up (2), Using LinkedIn (2), Purchasing (1), Mentoring (1), Accounting (1), Compensation and Benefits (1), Internationalization and Localization (1), Advertising (1), Direct Marketing (1), Corporate Governance (1), Supply Chain Management (1), Market Research and Definition (1), Ethics (1), Professional Networking (1), E-Commerce (1), Computers and Software (1), Software Development (1), Web Development (1) see less I'd like to add the commonly practiced idea of setting a specific period of time each day to respond to emails/phone voicemails, etc.) instead of continually breaking up your productive work. Once you make the decision to ignore the alert ding on the computer or send the phone directly to voice mail, you experience a 15-25% lift in the time available to do real work. When I am on deadline for a project, I frequently make my return calls first thing in the morning, at 11:00-11:30, and at 3:00. Only problem is training some of your correspondents to not expect you to be instantly available. I once had a client call me at 2:30 a.m. in Hawaii on vacation because they had come into the office at 8:30 a.m. in New York and needed my input. (I told the hotel operator that all incoming calls should be notified that, "The Coast Guard is still looking for their boat, which was last seen at sunset last night."--that stopped it.) posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Olivier Taupin Global Business Development, Product Management, and Cross-Border Staffing | Olivier@LinkedHR.com see all my answers Best Answers in: Using LinkedIn (4)... see more, Travel Tools (1), Job Search (1), Treaties, Agreements and Organizations (1), Advertising (1), Internet Marketing (1), Business Development (1), Lead Generation (1), Planning (1), Professional Networking (1), Blogging (1), Web Development (1) see less My answer will be short today -- Learn how to say "NO" (politely, I mean!) You could be the most efficient manager in the world, practicing religiously Charles M. Schwab theory on a daily basis, you will still have a huge organization problem if, like me, you have a problem saying "no" to your friends, boss, clients, customers, suppliers, advisers... Have you noticed? their task is always the "most important things to do!” and there is only 24 hours in a day. posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Jerry Linnins Improvement Evangelist see all my answers Best Answers in: Organizational Development (4)... see more, Business Analytics (1), Change Management (1), Quality Management and Standards (1), Career Management (1), Professional Organizations (1), Professional Networking (1) see less Set your personal and professional goals first. THEN, allocate your time and tasks around those. Stephen Covey speaks of "Beginning with the End in Mind." His company has a great book/course called FIRST THINGS FIRST. I highly recommend it. posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Stephen Peacock Head of Worldwide Sales at Emergent Game Technologies see all my answers I find it useful to maintain a list of little tasks that can be done anywhere; Short calls I can make Short emails I can send (blackberry) Short lists I need to write :-) When I get a spare moment waiting for a client, plane or inspiration I like to tick off an item or 3 posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Scott Chin Chief Enterprise Architect at Major League Baseball see all my answers I learned an easy one that I use everyday for over 25 years. Its not really time management as time conservation. Nothing really beats good old planning and sticking to a schedule. 3Ds Do - Delegate - Destroy This assumes that you are evaluating a list of to-do items; emails, projects, etc. Things that require your attention, action, or decision. Each thing can have one and only one D. Do it (now, today, next) Delegate it to another time (requires discipline; this is NOT procrastination) or someone else's to-do Destroy it because it really isn't important As you get comfortable with it the process becomes second nature. You'll save a lot of time not wading through endless lists of urgent unimportant 'things' and have more time to focus on important things. SC posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Warwick Day Service Delivery Consultant at TRA Group see all my answers Noel, I'd agree with 10-30 minute planning session at the conclusion of each day. To really derive value from this maybe drive home then establish once you have some perspective. Email colaborants (the people you need to work with to succeed) and set agendas and goals. Block time for the list and other items that come up haphazardly, delegate and communicate. In blocking time communicate this and ensure that the team knows what you're doing, use voice mail or divert the phone. Tackle problematic items first! Hope that helps! Lastly a $25 000 consultant would be ridiculous try a $6000 PROPPER business coach. If you want any further information please contact me. warwick@daysolutions.com.au posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Alan Perkins | ASBPerkins@gmail.com Chief Information Officer at Altium Limited see all my answers Best Answers in: Career Management (1) "True Importance". Understanding that is a significant hurdle. Recognising the difference between importance and urgency is crucial. Read Stephen Covey's First Things First - it is even better on this than his 7 Habits. You need to be proactive in driving your agenda. This means subjugating maxims like the customer is always right to second place - you know what you need to do in the best interests of your customer (whoever that is - client, employer, spouse, self). So make sure that you are doing the things that are important - that way you will be focused more on doing the right things and less on doing the things right. Spending time with systems is helpful to reduce the stress (and hence distraction propensity) of trying to know what you need to know while you are working on something else. Simple things like email rules through to more complex time event triggers (and nonevent triggers) are valuable. For example if you are in a customer service or support role, having a trigger let you know when a high-priority customer's high-priority issue has not been "touched" for x hours can help relieve the stress of having to have your finger on too many pulses. posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Jon Baldwin Owner, Circulation Service America, Inc. (and others) Brochure, Newspaper, and Magazine Distribution. see all my answers Best Answers in: Small Business (2)... see more, Using LinkedIn (2), Education and Schools (1), Government Policy (1), Staffing and Recruiting (1), Career Management (1) see less Robert and Donna - I'm with you. anyone operating a multifceted business (or department or project...) is really not in a position to "do one thing" for any given period of time. KNOW your priorities, fit the "fires" in around them, and keep moving. Handle the important parts of the important projects and keep EVERYTHING moving forward. Don't be afraid to have someone take a message, or to answer that e-mail tomorrow. I've found that most of the time that work will still be waiting for you when you have time to do it. If it's not there, then it probably wasn't important enough to do. posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Carole DeJarnatt Alliance Advisors, Inc.--Carole@AllianceAdvisorsInc.com see all my answers My answer would still be the same today as it was when the consultant was brought in on day one for Bethlehem Steel---1.2.3.4. This person gave great advice and was well paid and deserved it as long as they helped the company to follow thru. It works today just as it did yesterday! posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Robert Jaques General Manager - Utilities Program see all my answers Best Answers in: Manufacturing (2)... see more, Supply Chain Management (2), Job Search (1), Compensation and Benefits (1), Direct Marketing (1), Business Analytics (1), Change Management (1), Project Management (1), Quality Management and Standards (1), Career Management (1), Professional Organizations (1) see less I believe the original guru (Peter Drucker) put it well in "The Effective Executive" (although I don't have a copy handy so my memory is probably off a bit). There were chapters on logging your time so you can see where it goes, identify the places you can be effective and ignore the other stuff, etc. The part I remember best is the idea of "chunking" your time - i.e. block out long-ish periods of time in which to accomplish something, rather than flit from one thing to another. I've found that 1-2 hours of concentrated effort on something is a lot better than 6-12 10 minute pieces of time. Another piece of advice I received early in my career - unless you are needed to give input to or make decisions on 75% of the items on a meeting agenda, don't go (the corollary is, if you don't get an agenda in advance - don't go) posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... John D'Alesandro Senior Operations Executive see all my answers Sounds timeless. just a slight up grade, turn off the blackberry when doing high priority things. Can only be a distraction if your turn to your numbered list. posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Lisa Francis Field Development Product Brokerage Internet Marketing see all my answers Here are some ideas that have worked for me over 1. Schedule your out-going calls so they can be taken car of at one sitting. There is less chance of finding busy lines early in the morning or late afternoon. 2. Plan meetings for the beginning or close of the day, not in the midst of work periods. Write out a list of things to discus at each meeting. 3. The best way to stop wasting your life is to plan your time. Plan tomorrow tonight; don't wait for tomorrow morning. 4. Plan your day "tightly". 5. Plan things you can work on or think about while your are in transit or waiting around. Have materials to read or other constructive work handy for odd moments that inevitably crop up. Hope this helps Lisa Franics posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Jai Ganesan Principal Consultant at Keane / Pfizer Inc see all my answers I think for me the two critical success factors for time management are 1. Effective Prioritizing and follow the schedule 2. Eliminate Procrastinating posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Rick McBride Advertising Consultant at Hometown News and Founder, thelittleleaguecoach.com see all my answers From the sales perspective, my best advise is: Let nothing interfere w/ your money hours! 10:30-3:30. posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Nathalie Himmelrich Grad Dip Counsellor, Cert Trainer and Master Practitioner of NLP, Senior Accredited Journey Therapist see all my answers Best Answers in: Using LinkedIn (5)... see more, Business Development (2), Ethics (2), Customer Service (1), Advertising (1), Events Marketing (1), Professional Networking (1), Small Business (1) see less Noel, Good question – good story, and definitely a simple but effective way to do things Personally I feel overwhelmed when I fail to follow some kind of structure. I’m a fan of listing the things and then thinking about them in term of 4 categories (that I’ve picked up somewhere along the way): ~ 1. Important and urgent ~ 2. Not important, but urgent ~ 3. Important, not urgent ~ 4. Not important, not urgent And that’s the order in which they have to be done to avoid stress and/or disappointment… Nathalie posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Tathagat Varma (TV), PMP GM at NetScout India see all my answers Best Answers in: Personnel Policies (1)... see more, Staffing and Recruiting (1), Offshoring and Outsourcing (1), Inventory Management (1) see less In addition to what has been shared by others, here are some that I find very effective: 1. I find working within self-imposed time constraints (as in not working beyond 6pm unless there is a nuclear war) the best way to manage your time. Sounds counter-intuitive, but when you work within fixed / limited time, you tend to prioritize things better and get more done and tend to spend less time on non-value adding tasks, socializing at workplace (not all of it being bad, though), etc. compared to people for whom time is a stretchable concept, and hence no task ever gets done on time ! 2. The other personal favorite of mine is "work hard when you have to, and take is easy when you can". And when you are taking it easy, make sure to reconnect with family and friends so that they will be more than willing to support you when you have to work hard the next time ! 3. Of course, a lot depends on people whom you work with. If they tend to procrastinate, then you want to tell them firmly "Lack of planning on your part doesn't constitute emergency on my part". To most of us, that just doesn't happen in real world, but I still think this is a skill that can be acquired and used very effectively. Yes, it takes time, but then, who ever said Rome was built in a day. 4. Finally, the most important advise to a people managers: don't judge the 'commitment' of your team members by the timestamp of their emails, especially the ones that read 2:35 AM. You could be rewarding them for a wrong behavior and mutating the genes of your team permanently for bad time management. posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Bob Syslo-Seel Data Architect at All Star Directories see all my answers Best Answers in: Resume Writing (1)... see more, Business Plans (1) see less Time management is an attitude more than anything. "If you don't take time to do it right WHEN will you find the time to do it over?" In the long run that attitude will pay off. Example, sort your mail on the walk from the mailbox to the house. Drop the junk in the recycling right away. Don't put it down, you will just have to touch it again. That mindset applies to critical path thinking. What is the REAL problem we are trying to solve here? Solve that and many of the resultant problems go away. Ten minutes of preparation for a meeting can save everyone from wasting an hour. posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Good Answers (70) Joe Matthew aka SeoJoe Online Sales Accelerator ► Ringer of Internet Cash Registers ► MyLink500 ► LION see all my answers Best Answers in: Internet Marketing (2)... see more, Staffing and Recruiting (1), ECommerce (1) see less Three principles that I have found work the best are – 1. Knowing why you are doing something and how it ties back to your long-range goals. 2. Manage to outcomes/results and develop multiple ways to reach desired outcomes 3. Leverage wherever possible and track, track, track Some of these principles can be found here http://www.timethoughts.com/time/timemanagement-system.htm A really excellent tool to track and manage your time can be found here – http://www.effexis.com/achieve/planner.htm I am not associated with this software group. The important thing is the principles. The tool allows you to track all this in Outlook and has a 30 day free trial. Let me know if I can be of any assistance. Joe Matthew Linkedinmatthew@gmail.com posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Hemant Karandikar Strategy advisor & CEO Coach see all my answers Best Answers in: Business Development (1)... see more, Business Analytics (1) see less All answers I have read so far are valid but in a limited way. The biggest, the most pernicious, and the most invisible reason for wastage of managerial capacities is inadequate management of business processes. The visible symptoms are reminders, rework, exception approvals all too familiar. This work then ends up on those long evening and morning lists! So if you are in any position of responsibility and authority, I recommend you to take process improvements in your area. Better results of course come by taking up end to end business processes. I promise you, this will throw up a lot of issues which were swept under carpet and with which everyone was living. My form provides process improvement services based on process measurements and diagnostics. You can reach me on hemant.karandikar@exponient.com for one-to-one discussion Hemant Links:   http://www.exponient.com http://exponient.wordpress.com posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Lionel Spearman Owner, Spearman Enterprises see all my answers Best Answers in: Business Development (1) simply make a list of things you want to accomplish that day - works for me. posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Dheeraj Akula Business Consultant - Retail and CPG see all my answers Plan your schedule in advance Retrospect your time spent at end of every day posted April 12, 2007 | Flag answer as... Chris Barlow Executive Business Coach at Shirlaws see all my answers A great tool that i was introduced to many years ago and that i still pull out and review regularly is the Time Mastery Profile by Inscape. It allows you to self-assess and identify your current time management effectiveness across 12 key areas - attitudes; - planning; - paperwork; - goals; - scheduling; - delegation; - priorities; - interruptions; - procrastination; - analyzing; - meetings; and - team time It also helps you understand the importancy of each area as they relate to your perception of manging your role successfully, and provides you strategies for improving your mastery of the 'need to have / important to be successful' areas in your role that you can implement immediately. The reason i am an advocate for it was when it helped me identify that in my previous role as CEO i need to devote more time to my team of people than i had been, or even realised i need too! And the same applied to my team, each believed they where time poor, until they recognised they where focusing on 'improving' the areas that had the least impact on them successfully doing their job. Thus it helped create clarity around where we all needed to be spending our time, as it related to each of our roles. posted April 13, 2007 | Flag answer as... Per Kristiansson Director Services Marketing Alcatel-Lucent Europe & North see all my answers A manager said to me once when I was swamped with work: "You will only be able to do about 25% of what set out to do. Make sure to do the right 25%" This rule has made my life a lot easier. And very few notice the 75% that never gets done. posted April 13, 2007 | Flag answer as... Sergio Coelho IT Project Manager at Grupo CS see all my answers Best Answers in: Organizational Development (4)... see more, Customer Service (1), Business Analytics (1), Career Management (1) see less I would say: save time for yourself and you will have time for everything else. That time for everything else you can manage according to Charles M. Schwab recommendations. In my country there is a saying that goes like this: "Don't leave for tomorrow what you can do today!". Regards! posted April 13, 2007 | Flag answer as... Murat Atici Sales and Marketing Director at Bimsa see all my answers Hi Noel, Here is my advice list for time management: 1. Develop a general NOT-TO DO list. Depending on your work & life priorities identify time wasting activities in general in your daily routine. Get rid of those activities one-by-one. 2. Think about how valuable your time is. Focus on estimating how much value you create for you, your company, partners, family and your society. Then make rough calculation about value of your time. In doing that you can also consider how that value can be increased as well. Focus on doing them step-by-step. 3. Since you have a rough figure about value of your time. You are ready to consider opportunity cost for using your time as the way you are doing now. You can think about new opportunities to invest your time. Be open and flexible for change. 4. Identify how you can enrich yourself more. How you can use your time in the best way for your happiness, well-being and personal economy. Do you like your life, work, yourself? Use your time in building a life that you like. Use that to work in a job that you like. Consume that for identifying/knowing you more. 5. Live with purpose. Set various goals for yourself in your life, work, family and society. Each day make another step in reaching your targets. 6. Do you like learning? Learn new things each day. Think about how you can improve your existing status in every dimension that you can think of. 7. When taking others time do it with respect because you are taking the most precious asset of theirs. 8. Simplify your life. Get rid of unnecessary complexities 9. Good time management does not mean living fast. Think, plan and then act. Be selective in planning your activities. 10. Enjoy your time. Share it with your family and friends. Share good moments with others. posted April 13, 2007 | Flag answer as... John Havens VP, Business Development at Blog Talk Radio see all my answers Best Answers in: Professional Organizations (1) Not to sound morbid, but one thing I ask myself if I have a task (onerous or otherwise) that I have to get done in a certain time frame is, "what if I HAD to get this done in two hours or (insert unpleasant circumstance here)?" When you think about accomplishing a task or tasks in those conditions, you find out what you can really do without the baggage of apprehension or procrastination. Links:  http://www.pvandv.com posted April 13, 2007 | Flag answer as... Maarten Meijer Eclipse RCP consultant & owner FOLD Systems see all my answers If you're an Eclipse user: start using Mylar If you're not: pary that someone will port its ideas to Notes and Outlook ;-) Links:  http://www.eclipse.org/mylar posted April 13, 2007 | Flag answer as... M. Prabhakar Rao Green Building Designing / LEED Certifications, CDM&Carbon Trading (CERs/VERs),Renewable Energy Solutions-Toplinked see all my answers Best Answers in: Using LinkedIn (7)... see more, Government Policy (2), Business Development (2), Ethics (2), Customer Service (1), Travel Tools (1), Education and Schools (1), Freelancing and Contracting (1), Mentoring (1), Occupational Training (1), Accounting (1), Corporate Debt (1), Corporate Taxes (1), Mergers and Acquisitions (1), Staffing and Recruiting (1), Exporting/Importing (1), Internationalization and Localization (1), Organizational Development (1), Manufacturing (1), Market Research and Definition (1), Career Management (1), Professional Networking (1), Small Business (1), Biotech (1), Wireless (1) see less Dear Noel, For any reason, beyond my control, I am going to my first date of the day late, I would apologize to the first and proceed ahead with my other appointments, so that I need not make everyone feel I am a late-comer & take them for granted. posted April 13, 2007 | Flag answer as... Ana Bercebal (abercebal@gmail.com) Estudiando... at Instituto de Empresa see all my answers Best Answers in: Ethics (1) Aprende a diferenciar lo inmediato, lo urgente, lo importante y lo banal. Reserva la última media hora de la tarde, antes de irte, para hacer un resumen de lo pendiente, separado en esas cuatro cajas. Reserva parte de la tarde del viernes para hacer balance de los proyectos a medio y largo plazo. Acompáñate siempre de un pequeño bloc y un lápiz para hacer esquemas, dibujos, anotar tus pensamientos e ideas repentinas... posted April 13, 2007 | Flag answer as... Masood Sayed Director: Business Operations see all my answers Dont try to manage time, Manage your work. Keep buffers but dont rely on them posted April 13, 2007 | Flag answer as... Monica Awasthi Strategic Account Manager at Xerox India Limited see all my answers There are couple of more things one can do to manage time, in addition to the Time Management Matrix (listing 'things to do'in order of importance- prioritization).These could be(a) Hours of the day divided in the most productive hours and not so productive hours. The manager could chose to the most profitable/important tasks in the most profitable hours and the admistrative tasks in the not so productive hours. (b) The manager can finish similar tasks at one go like answering emails, writing proposals etc. (c) Prepare the list before the end of the day, for the next day. MA posted April 13, 2007 | Flag answer as... Ron Hurst Manager, Teacher, Coach see all my answers Best Answers in: Career Management (8)... see more, Organizational Development (7), Mentoring (4), Change Management (4), Business Development (1), Corporate Governance (1), Manufacturing (1), Project Management (1), Quality Management and Standards (1), Supply Chain Management (1), Ethics (1), Professional Networking (1) see less I see that a number of previous respondents have referenced the work of Steven Covey. I too will draw upon his work to answer your question. My advice is to take the time to do the deep inner work of knowing who you are. What is your purpose in life? What are your values? How do you live these values day to day? Knowing the answer to these questions will allow for an effective process of prioritizing. Since there are always more priorities than time to complete them the ability to say no politely is crucial to effectiveness. Saying no requires an understanding of what is important. Armed with this you can say no with resolve and accept the consequences with grace. A regular process of evaluating tasks and projects against what is important with an eye on your goals will allow you to be truely effective. I also find that the use of visual clues Outlook tasks, Whiteboard bullet point lists and PDA reminders is highly effective when caught in the heat of the daily battle. Ron posted April 13, 2007 | Flag answer as... Megann Willson Customer Understanding Connector, Moderator, Consultant and Facilitator see all my answers Know your priorities. Work your priorities. It really can be that simple, but if someone at work is being a squeaky wheel...some great advice I received about scheduling deliverables for a number of colleagues, each of whom believes his/her project is most important: 1. Ask them if their project is really more important than the boss' project 2. Have them clarify their real drop dead date 3. Suggest they go to the colleagues who are ahead on the list, and negotiate a new deliverable date directly (they are unlikely to engage in a negotiation or confrontation for something that is unimportant). This gives both of you time to consider what is truly a priority, and allows each person to employ creativity instead of reactivity. posted April 13, 2007 | Flag answer as... Susan O Sr. Technical Writer at Carl Zeiss Meditec see all my answers This is really hard to do, but it works: Only check e-mails and messages at set times during the day, and have all your phone calls go to message. In your message, tell people what times you check your messages. This eliminates constant distractions. If someone stops by to talk and you are busy, request that they come back at a later time. If you don't practice these, then you will spend your entire day answering the phone and e-mail, and nothing will get done. posted April 13, 2007 | Flag answer as... DR Father, Husband, Philanthropist, Author, Visionary, Educator, Philosopher, Investor, Credit Guru see all my answers Best Answers in: Equity Markets (1)... see more, Wealth Management (1), Professional Networking (1) see less Office Policy on paper handling. "Touch it only once if at all possible" If you pick it up.... 1. Delegate it now 2. Handle it now 3. File / Scan / Tickle it forward to another day. 4. Shred / Trash it Never handle the paper again if at all possible. We LIVE this policy in my office and it REALLY works well. I'm open to connect with you. druiz#homesolution#com posted April 13, 2007 | Flag answer as... David Macdonald Financial Problem Solver & Systems Thinker see all my answers Noel, This is a great question. I recently came across an article in the recent release of Reflections published by the Society for Organizational Learning out of the US. I've attached the link below but you need to be a member of the organization to join. I joined last week and it was $135USD. I seriously consider it a solid investment and recommend it if you feel you can leverage it. Cheers, Dave Links:  http://www.solonline.org/reflections/journal/ posted April 13, 2007 | Flag answer as... Martin Naskovski Sr. Software Engineer at RAF Technology see all my answers 1. Everything gets done in a “now” 2. Schedule a now (or series of nows) to do it when you give your word - By the way, if you don’t give a date with your word you have only had a social conversation, not a promise. 3. What about the stuff you can’t schedule? - Create a “Not Doing It Now” list - Can’t be longer than you could schedule in your normal planning horizon 4. Put on the “Never Doing It Now” list the things that as of now you are never doing (now) - Notify each person who cares that you are never doing that now. Puts you back in integrity. 5. Now at any moment in life you have nothing to do but what you are doing! posted April 13, 2007 | Flag answer as... Terrence Seamon Facilitating Change - Achieving Results see all my answers Best Answers in: Organizational Development (26)... see more, Change Management (4), Staffing and Recruiting (2), Professional Networking (2), Occupational Training (1), Personnel Policies (1), Corporate Governance (1), Manufacturing (1), Project Management (1), Ethics (1) see less Ask yourself: What is the best use of my time right now? I learned this tip from consultant Alan Lakein (author of How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life) many years ago. Very helpful way to decide on time usage as aligned with your priorities, values, and goals. Links:  http://www.amazon.com/Control-Your-Time-Life-Signet/dp/0451167724 posted April 13, 2007 | Flag answer as... Len Porzio Software Architect and Business Analyst see all my answers Truly effective time management can only be achieved by those that have a clear vision of their domain. When your vision lacks clarity you either spend time doing the wrong things (which are usually habit based) or you realize you haven't a clue which leads to paralysis. Anything we can do to gain knowledge of a situation translates to better decisions. Good decisions make the most effective use of time. Great decisions give us a strategic advantage which equate to suspending time. Of course we can't know everything about everything. Knowing our own limitations is the other side of this coin. Finding those who can fill our knowledge gap must be a priority. If you follow these 4 rules, time will be your friend: • Know your domain. • Find those you can trust to fill your knowledge gaps. • Continuously invest in activities which multiply efforts (e.g. good tools, pyramids, self correcting systems, automation). • Above all, take time to relax and reflect. Only a mind which slows down long enough will allow the answers to catch up. posted April 13, 2007 | Flag answer as... David Greenberg Experienced executive-level management see all my answers Best Answers in: Computers and Software (1)... see more, Information Storage (1) see less I tracked my time, in-depth, for a week. I discovered that much of my time was eaten up by dealing with emails that really had nothing to do with me. People were cc'ing me on items that I didn't need to be cc'd on. I was also spending entirely too much time in meetings that weren't productive because they had no agenda, weren't planned, or well-executed. To solve the email issue - I called the worst offenders and explained the situation to them. I told them that I'd hired them because they were qualified, and that I trusted them to do the job. I said "if you need my help, or advice or if something requires my attention - by all means, let me know. Otherwise, just handle things as they should be. I don't want to be a micromanager and don't need to be cc'd on everything...". Once they realized that I trusted them, and they didn't need to cc me on everything just so they could cover their tails, life was much easier. As for the meetings - I ask for an agenda before I attend any meeting. If one isn't forthcoming, I prefer not to attend (well, unless it's MY boss or boss's boss...). Also, I prefer that meetings not be more than 30 minutes at the most. Get to the point, make it fast, let's exchange the information we need and move on. Anything we can't resolve at that point, and which doesn't require the attention of EVERYONE in the meeting goes into a "parking lot" to be handled off-line. Beyond that - pick ONE method to track your calendar. Unless multiple methods are all synchronized, you'll get off track... posted April 13, 2007 | Flag answer as... Wendy Petric Staffing Consultant at American Express see all my answers My best time management advice is to refuse to procrastinate handling issues, address one issue at a time trying not to get distracted, and make sure that you don't allow others to get you wrapped around issues they are working on. Below is a website from a company that may be able to help. I recommend the 7 habits of Highly Effective People. Links:  http://www.franklincovey.com/fc/get_organized posted April 13, 2007 | Flag answer as... Mike de la Hoz Product Management, MDH Consulting and Managing Partner, MDH Properties see all my answers On occasion, it's okay to say 'no'. posted April 13, 2007 | Flag answer as... Martin Jacobs Director, Distribution & Sales Operations at Actel Corporation see all my answers - Monitor what you do on a daily basis for about 1 week. - Create categories for reoccurring tasks like: answer emails, tactical task 1, etc. - take another week and record how much and when you spend time on each category - analyze the data and restructure your day to regroup all tactical tasks as closely together as possible. - Schedule a time when tactical tasks are least like to be interrupted. - Complete tactical tasks as efficient as possible AND MOST IMPORTANTLY - spend the majority of your time on strategic tasks and relationship building. posted April 13, 2007 | Flag answer as... Thomas Kutschi Manager at BearingPoint INFONOVA GmbH see all my answers 2 things: Start your meetings on time (no matter if all participants are present already, they will learn to be on time). End your meetings on time (if there are open items, call another one). Firstly you don't miss the start time of your next meetings, second you will learn to estimate how much time it will take. This is just about meetings but saved ages of my time. Have fun! posted April 14, 2007 | Flag answer as... Govindrajan Iyengar govindarajan.iyengar@gmail.com Head: marketing & finance at Bcoz India see all my answers Best Answers in: Certification and Licenses (1) Do what you feel.... according to the circumstances...of market, company and as personal situation. Clarification added April 14, 2007: Your problem is completely situational and situation changes day to day. So it is not necessary that you should be following the rule of thumb. posted April 14, 2007 | Flag answer as... Yiannis Lagos Executive Director at Global Eye Investments see all my answers I will tell you something that you may not like or understand but still...i will share it with you. I am open to share more if you are interested. Forget anything you know about time management. It is was invented to serve in the previous era, it is the old paradigm. In our world today, it simply does not work. Today, no matter what you do, how hard you try, how good software that you use is, it is impossible to fit in your schedule "everything", the totality of what you want to do during your day. If you can leave with this you are ready to move into the next step. If not..."good luck". Take care; I hope you find this useful. Yiannis posted April 14, 2007 | Flag answer as... Doug Page Director of Sales at Cellebrite USA see all my answers make sure to test multiple techniques and find out what works for you. posted April 14, 2007 | Flag answer as... 1. Get clarity on the outcome/objective/goal that you are trying to achieve 2. Communicate it clearly to your people. 3. Evaluate everything on whether it makes progress towards the outcome and ditch anything that doesn't 4. Delegate everything that is left unless you are the only person wo can do it. 5. Do what is left in the sequence of Payback (i.e. how much it contributes to achieving the desired outcome) posted April 14, 2007 | Flag answer as... Pasquale Mazzuca Co-Founder and Director at Hamilton Davenport partners see all my answers Time management is a realtive concept. What may seem really urgent today, suddenly becomes less so in the future. I'm a true believer in letting things unravel themselves. There is a time for managing time and a time for procrastination, Just as in the example cited of Charles M. Schwab, a list is a great starting point, giving us something to focus on. But then again it allows very little flexibility for unforseen events that could disturb this list. We all strive to make time managment somthing that allows us to be more productive and effecient - in fact giving us more time... posted April 15, 2007 | Flag answer as... Cristina Dima Travel Writer at BootsnAll Travel Network see all my answers Best Answers in: Economics (1)... see more, Employment and Labor Law (1), Writing and Editing (1), Labor Relations (1), Organizational Development (1), Software Development (1) see less i don't know if it's the best advice BUT: 1) i write my to do list at the beginning of the week 2) each day i add new items if necessary 3) each morning, after i check my emails i write the most important 3-5 things to do that day and start working on them. if anything else comes up and is more important than what i am working on, i attend to it. 4) at the end of each day i asses whether there is something left to do the next day. posted April 15, 2007 | Flag answer as... Erik J. Zwilling, CFP® Financial Advisor at UBS Financial Services see all my answers Today, too many people feel obligated to answer emails during the day. I turn off the Blackberry and Outlook while I'm working my 'to do' list. Clients can call me at the office or cell phone, and if it's urgent they will. Email is for non-urgent items, and I see many sales professionals responding to issues that don't deliver exceptional service or add value to the client experience. These same professionals are usually the ones who ask successful people, "how do you do it?" Prioritize your day: if it doesn't put money in your clients pocket or yours, it can wait posted April 15, 2007 | Flag answer as... Chris Long Software and Usability Scientist and Engineer see all my answers I've seen lots of good stuff I agree with on this thread. I also like structure, and like the 2x2 Importance vs. Urgency matrix. My biggest problem with it is that in order to have time to do the #3 tasks (important, but not urgent), I need to NOT do some #2 tasks (urgent, but not important), and I find that really difficult. I've had trouble with procrastinating sometimes, and I found this advice helpful: "Do the ugliest thing first." I often have more than one task of the same relative urgency & importance, but for whatever reason I am dreading one of them. I've found it's much, much better to do that "uglyiest" one first than to put it off, which is my natural inclination. I also second the advice a few people have given to not respond to email and the like when they happen. I turned notification off for my email, so I check it and respond to it when *I* want to. (I don't get enough voicemail or in-person visits for that to be a drain on my work, so I haven't had to take any steps related to that.) posted April 16, 2007 | Flag answer as... Tom Del Otero, PMP President, MIS4IT LLC (formerly Key Solutions Corporation), an IT Project Management and Services Consultant see all my answers Best Answers in: Business Analytics (1) Do not procrastinate!! I find that most people react to issues rather than tackle them at the appropriate time. As a PM, I review my project plans as needed (usually daily) to ensure that the critical path in my projects is in order, and use this information for my to-do list. I tackle the tasks in priority order and review future tasks to ensure that my resources have everything they need to perform their work without delay. posted April 16, 2007 | Flag answer as... Kris Rackham Project Manager at DreamDivision see all my answers Best Answers in: Facilities Management (1)... see more, Direct Marketing (1), Internet Marketing (1), Using LinkedIn (1) see less From David Allen's GTD method (which I use myself and highly recommend to others): If something can be done within 2 minutes, do it! If not, plan it! Links:  http://www.davidco.com/ posted April 16, 2007 | Flag answer as... Tony Lotts QA Team Lead at Turbo Squid, Inc. see all my answers I prefer the Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology over any other. The GTD methodology was developed by David Allen. Major proponents of GTD, are Merlin Mann, and Gina Trapani of Lifehacker. Some GTD resources: Getting Things Done, book by David Allen 43 folders, blog by Merlin Mann lifehacker, blog by Gina Trapani and others at Gawker. Links:    http://davidco.com http://www.43folders.com http://www.lifehacker.com posted April 17, 2007 | Flag answer as... Greg LeGore DDG-1000 Deputy PM, SW Integration Management see all my answers 1) Continually assess and prioritize your efforts 2) Ensure that team members act on and make decisions to sustain and accomplish the organization's top priorities 3) Find ways to say "thank you" every day - not just the "generic" thank you but one based upon specific excellent performance and tied to organizational success/outcomes 4) Relentlessly say "no" to time wasters 5) Continually strengthen your team - ensure that people are in roles that fit their strengths and passions. 6) Ask the tough questions - don't stop at the convenient but incomplete answers. Good luck! posted April 17, 2007 | Flag answer as... Kamil Sobócki IT Consultant, Software Engineer at Capgemini Poland (Nearshore Center sd&m) see all my answers Spend more time on active working - spending all the day on planning what to do brings you not any closer to the end of the work. posted April 18, 2007 | Flag answer as... More Answers (4) Devesh Dwivedi Let's grow together... see all my answers Best Answers in: Using LinkedIn (32)... see more, Starting Up (14), Small Business (5), Web Development (5), Career Management (4), Education and Schools (3), Certification and Licenses (3), Staffing and Recruiting (3), E-Commerce (3), Customer Service (2), Job Search (2), Business Development (2), Professional Networking (2), Business Plans (2), Franchising (2), Occupational Training (1), Event Marketing and Promotions (1), Accounting (1), Economics (1), Compensation and Benefits (1), Offshoring and Outsourcing (1), Property Law (1), Internet Marketing (1), Public Relations (1), Search Marketing (1), Change Management (1), Futures Markets (1), Inventory Management (1), Manufacturing (1), Packaging and Labeling (1), Market Research and Definition (1), Professional Organizations (1), Incorporation (1), Computers and Software (1), Computer Networking (1), Software Development (1) see less I need an hour everyday or a day per week to organize/ plan my next day/ week and not just at work but in personal life as well - I consider myself to be the same mind and body irrespective of my position so I need it both places. I call it "me time" and to tell you a secret "my girlfreind hates it when I call it so" - my two cents. Devesh devesh.dwivedi@gmail.com posted April 13, 2007 | Flag answer as... Kim Rippere, MBA Executive see all my answers Best Answers in: Commercial Real Estate (1)... see more, Business Analytics (1), Labor Relations (1), Packaging and Labeling (1) see less Bite off small pieces of your projects and accomplish them. HBR did a sidebar a few years ago about the best way to accomplish goals . . . and it was having accountability and making small consistent progress. I also manage my day so that I accomplish lots of these small tasks and take care of all incoming requests, phone calls, etc immediately! Things do not sit on my desk - unless they have to turn into a project, which are divided into small tasks. And FINALLY, I delegate everything possible and then train and manage those I work with . . . I don't keep the fun parts - I train my team to be able to do all my responsibilities (that I can given privacy and confidentiality issues) . . . when they are trained up - I get to do new stuff! posted April 13, 2007 | Flag answer as... Maria Marsala Business & Marketing Consultant / Professional Speaker / Planning/Systematizing Expert see all my answers Best Answers in: Starting Up (4)... see more, Small Business (3), Customer Service (1), Freelancing and Contracting (1), Mentoring (1), Writing and Editing (1), Market Research and Definition (1), Pricing (1) see less I don't beleive that a person can manage time. However, I can set life and professional priorities and spend my time doing things that will help me get where I'm headed. Maria Marsala Business Strategist-Coach http://www.ElevatingYourBusiness.com posted April 15, 2007 | Flag answer as... Gina Zarna HR Consultant at Ascent Group see all my answers There are two indicators to be taken into consideration in time management matter: important and urgent. So the tasks that are both important and urget have clear priority. posted April 17, 2007 | Flag answer as...