I thought smartphones, Microsoft Outlook and open plan offices were all supposed to save us time and make us more efficient. Yet most of the middle managers I come across seem to be busier, more stressed and consequently more indecisive than ever before.
Perhaps it’s time to challenge the status quo. After all, a packed diary might fool some into thinking we are successful, but in truth it simply says we have no time to seize new opportunities, think creatively or sit down with a colleague in need. I’m always impressed that most CEO’s I deal with can make time to meet within a few days. Not so with the majority of ‘rising leaders’ who can rarely consider scheduling a meeting until “next month at the earliest.”
You might argue that the former benefit from personal assistants to help them manage their time, but I’d suggest it’s a matter of priorities and techniques. Here are 10 of the tricks I’ve picked up from those that seem to have got the balance right:
1. Be clear about your priorities
Know what your role requires of you and where you want your career to go; eliminate any activity that doesn’t relate directly to these objectives
2. Avoid committees
Committees rarely make good decisions; they spend far too much time discussing minutiae, and they steal time from your diary way into the future
3. Learn how to close a phone call
With a few well-chosen phrases. My favourite is ‘don’t let me keep you any longer ’. This way you can politely terminate the call without ending the relationship
4. Don’t get comfortable
Some of my most productive meetings have been conducted standing up and the worst, in unventilated meeting rooms in comfortable chairs
5. Break habits
Just because meetings normally start at 10 am and last for 60 minutes in the conference room, it doesn’t mean that’s the right formula. Try different durations, locations, and times depending on the urgency and desired outcome.
6. Say no if you need to
Say no, not ‘I’ll consider’ it or ‘Come back to me, next week’. Busy fools allow their mouths to operate independently to their brain, just say what you mean.
7. Ignore emails in the morning
At the very start of the day, begin by mapping out what you really need to achieve rather than allowing your Inbox to dictate your day.
8. Improve admin efficiency
If Microsoft Outlook or similar handles your email and diary, then set aside half a day to improve your knowledge of its functionality and the settings you use. Most people don’t use these systems efficiently and an hour invested in training could save you days over the next year.
9. Take action quicker
Reply, file or delete every email and letter at first sight; don’t let them loiter around, take action immediately.
10. Tell the world how you operate
If you find it best to check emails at defined times, say before 10 am and after 4 pm include a note to that effect in your email signature. Do likewise with ‘out of office’ and voicemail.
In the future, there will be yet more gadgets that need our attention; managers must take back control so that the technology doesn’t manage them.
Written by Dan Collins, founder of Fresh Tracks.
