5 Things Every Leader Can Do to Manage Time Better
By far the number one question, topic, obstacle, or concern I hear from retail leaders of all levels is related to time management. None of us believe we have enough time. Think about how many times you have said or thought, in just the last week, if I only had more time. I bet I have thought it no less than ten times in that period. Yet we all have the same number of hours in a week. The problem really isn’t time. I am not even sure it is truly about time management. It is a function of planning and prioritizing. Constantly.
I have no shortage of articles written on the topic of time management, but because it is so important, I will continue to revisit it. Productivity in general is a topic that I find fascinating, and believe that most people are eager to learn more about how they can feel more product and get more things done. Errr, let me correct that, get more of the right things done. That is ultimately what we are talking about here. You’ll see some familiar recommendations here, hopefully with some new twists and ideas on how these might work for you. At the bottom of the article, I have links to some other articles I have written, as well as a few that I have leveraged in the past from others.
1. Two-Minute Rule
David Allen mentions this in his book Getting Things Done, and most people who have written about time management or productivity have anchored to it ever since. For good reason—it makes a lot of sense. The basic principle is this: anything you can do in two minutes or less, get it done right then. That may be a quick sort of a longer list of things, but it will make a difference. If that email can be resolved in less than two minutes, resolve it. This eliminates future touches, reduces decision fatigue (see below for more), and allows you to cross things off your list (good for your brain).
2. Protect Time
In a world where interruptions are the norm, having time for yourself can seem impossible. We have emails, text messages, Teams or Slack items, the occasional phone call, plus in-person interactions all happening simultaneously. With that, how can you get anything done? The only way is to ensure you dedicate time for you to get your work done. This must be your most protected time of the week. Schedule it, have it on your calendar, and know that it is the block of time that you protect at almost any cost. Even if you change the purpose of that time each day, knowing you have it to use however you want will make a huge difference. Use it wisely.
3. Master Your Decision Diet
What the heck is a decision diet, you ask? The decision diet is all about identifying low-stakes decisions that you can either delegate or automate, freeing up mental energy for more critical choices. We all make hundreds of decisions each day. For example, food: what you consume and in what quantity can have a lasting impact on your body. Making decisions exacts a toll that few of us realize until we reach a point where we feel like we cannot do anything else. Having a way to manage those low stakes decisions will free up more time and energy for the ones that make a bigger difference in your life and business. Steve Jobs famously selected jeans and black t-shirt as his uniform. This was in an effort to eliminate what could be multiple decisions each day related to “what should I wear?” Take an inventory of decisions you find yourself making frequently and which of those could be delegated, automated, eliminated, or built into some other routine.
At a minimum, ensure that lower stakes decisions are made when you are using low energy to free up high-energy times for the more important decisions.
4. Batch Stuff Together
Batch working is a tremendous time saver. It is harder than it seems. I always find when I batch like work together, it goes so much quicker. Email is the best example. I always find batch managing the inbox multiple times more productive than managing it as it trickles in. Why I cannot build a discipline is even harder for me to understand. But I keep trying to get to the point where email gets managed a few times each day, instead of trying to keep up in real time. This can be true for many work items as well. Doing all your follow-up items together may be another example. Need to have one-on-one calls or discussions with your team? Do them back to back batching that time together. There can be many benefits by staying in the same frame of mind and even carrying key points from one discussion to the next to share ideas and knowledge. Batching works.
5. Self Care
Taking care of yourself should probably be first on every list that connects to time management and productivity. If you are running on empty, you will not be efficient or as effective as you could be. Period. Building a routine that allows for enough sleep, exercise, and healthy eating habits will fuel options for you to work at your best. It can be easy to shave a few minutes off your sleep each night in an effort to “create” time. However, that equation never works out. The seven plus hours of sleep you should be getting each night must remain a non-negotiable for building a schedule for yourself. As mentioned above, sleep is protected time. Eating healthy, reducing sugar, and having more substance to your diet will give you more energy and keep your brain working at its peak. Again, short-changing yourself here only hurts you in other areas later, both from a productivity and personal health standpoint. Start with self-care, it makes the other options possible.
The list of options to try or explore is endless; these are some ideas that may work for you. Combining some or even all of these can also be an excellent way to understand how your time is being spent and where you can make adjustments. It is hard to classify any one item (listed above or not) as most important, but in context, and used at the right time, that could be the most important option for you. If there is one that stands out as a non-negotiable, it is the self-care element. You can have the best ideas, be committed to planning and prioritizing, but if you do not have the physical or mental energy to activate the ideas, it will not matter. It begins with taking care of yourself first, it will always come back to that. Serve yourself, so you can be (effectively) in service of others.
How can you use these tips to help you on your time management journey?
Other Resources:
5 Time Management Tips for Every Retail Leader
Managing Your Energy: 5 Ways to Improve Your Time Management
2 Things You Can Do to Manage Your Energy and Outcomes
Five Time Management Tips For Retail Managers
10 tips for mastering time management at work
Effective Time Management for Leaders
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