20 Tips for Highly Effective Time Management
THE PARETO PRINCIPLE
The Pareto Principle is a famous performance rule that most successful people follow. It says that you get 80% of your results from only 20% of your activities. The trick, of course, is figuring out which 20% will get you the results you want.
If you can say the 20 statements below, then you are a highly-efficient person who is already using the Pareto Principle, whether you knew it or not. If you can’t say them, not to worry. Not a single one of these statements applied to me five years ago when I first came across them. But, I worked hard at it over the years until they more or less became my habits. Slowly, I went from being an average employee to a rising star among my peers. In fact, I became so self-disciplined, organized, and focused that I finally realized I could succeed in business for myself!
Whether you want to become a superstar employee at your company or eventually start your own business, it pays to master these 20 statements first.
20 TIPS FOR HIGHLY EFFECTIVE TIME MANAGEMENT
1. I have a clear idea of what is important to my boss and I make sure to include them in deciding what to focus on at work. For me, as a lowly associate in a law firm full of office politics and big egos, this meant: Never miss a deadline. Keep all the bosses and clients happy. Give them whatever they want as soon as possible. Do quality work, even if it takes longer. Learn the subject as quickly and as thoroughly as possible. Become self-sufficient. Push the cases toward resolution. Establish goodwill with everyone without alienating anyone.
2. I keep my “to do list” on a chart that indicates High/Medium/Low priorities. I do the H’s and M’s first. I kept my list on a step pad and reviewed them frequently and revised them as often as needed.
3. I frequently check with others to make sure my assumptions about what is important matches theirs. Ask your colleagues what they’re working on during lunch or over drinks after work. Take the pulse of the office regularly. You don’t even have to ask. Just listen. And be careful not to add to the gossip or spread it.
4. I set aside specific times throughout the day for voicemail, inbox and email checks and don’t interrupt other tasks to respond immediately. Obviously if the email is from your boss, you’d better respond immediately.
5. I set aside “an appointment with myself” each day for thinking. I pick the time of day that I am most alert and creative. I keep this appointment as though it were as critical as an appointment with my boss or a client.
6. I have a set of performance goals that my supervisor and I have both agreed to. When in doubt about where to focus my energy and time, I consult these goals for guidance. My boss at the time told me (in his inimitable curt style) that these things were important to him: Generate paper. Build the box. Proactive defense. Demand expert exchanges and set depositions early to secure priority. Obtain documents, then depose witnesses. Keep track of documents. Solve problems. Do not make excuses or pass your off work to others. I added this one for good measure: Do whatever the boss asks or be prepared to quit.
7. My workspace is organized so that I can get to documents and information quickly. To accomplish this, I wrote these instructions to myself: Periodic reorganization of office as needed. Take good notes of all meetings, telephone calls, document review and analyses. Print and save emails. Keep frequently used numbers and addresses at hand. Bill immediately after each task. Report all important developments to partners, carriers and clients immediately.
8. I have a plan for each month, week and day to permit sufficient advance time for important deadlines and projects.
9. I prepare a PERT chart (i.e., count backwards from a deadline estimating how much time each step in the process will take) for each important assignment. PERT stands for Program Evaluation Review Technique. It’s a project management tool for scheduling, organizing, and coordinating tasks within a large project. I wrote the following example of a typically big project for any lawyer, the preparation of a motion for summary judgment:
a. Prepare final draft of motion for summary judgment (4 hours)
b. Get edits and input on draft (6 hours)
c. Prepare first draft (5 hours)
d. Investigation from relevant sources (25 hours)
e. Preliminary thinking and research from relevant sources (10 hours)
TOTAL = 50 hours.
Now count back from the deadline to figure out how much time you can dedicate each day toward this project until your deadline. If you are already in trouble, now is the time to extend your deadline or decide what other tasks you must delegate.
10. I have learned how to delegate tasks in ways that get the job done and make people feel happy to be included in the process. Part of managing is following up on delegated tasks to ensure that they are being properly handled.
11. When a task my supervisor wants done seems inconsistent with the firm or client’s overall goals or conflicts with my more pressing goals, I am able to bring the discrepancy to his/her attention for discussion without alienating him/her.
12. I seem able to prioritize multiple tasks by asking a few questions about how they relate to the overall goals of the firm at any point in time. Hint: using the H/M/L list over time helps with developing this ability.
13. I maintain strong relationships with other people and work groups to help me know what the competition and others are doing, in order to have better information for prioritizing my tasks.
14. When I’ve decided to “deep six” a project or relegate it to the back burner for lack of importance or time, I don’t worry or feel guilty about it. I simply know I’ll be able to defend the action if I’m ever asked about it. Chances are, if your performance is generally excellent, you never will be asked about it.
15. I make judgments about what to do first based on what’s most important to my overarching goals, not on who’s complaining the loudest.
16. I have a clear calendar that I follow every day, with “contingency time” built in for the day’s emergencies and glitches.
17. I stay alert and able to think clearly by maintaining a regular “cognitive fitness” routine, preferably with time built into each day for at least 30 minutes of exercise, 30 minutes of “meditative time” and 30 minutes of “being real” with another person.
18. I maintain a stringent practice of “just say maybe” – never agreeing to take on an optional task or commitment without first seeing how it fits into the rest of my immediate and long-term schedule.
19. I get enough sleep each night.
20. I control others’ access to me in my work space by using such strategies as standing up when people enter, screening calls, keeping my door closed except for designated hours, telling people at the beginning of a call or visit how much time we have, and scheduling time for regular communication with others so as to discourage random visits and to encourage them to be fully prepared to discuss what’s on their minds with me.
CONCLUSION
A lot of this is counter-intuitive, which makes these tips hard to follow at times. If they don’t feel comfortable to you, it’s only because you’ve never tried it. But, the more you try it, the more natural these new behaviors will feel. When they finally feel natural to you, your new hyper-efficiency and super-productivity will catapult you to the top of the curve. You will stop wasting time on endless tasks that take you nowhere. You will instead focus your precious time and energy where it makes the most difference to your future success. Be awesome! Be your own hero!
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[For “Get a Handle on Procrastination,” click here.]
[For “7 Quick Tips for More Time and Less Stress,” click here.]
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[For “How to Wake Up Early, Refreshed, and Excited!,” click here.]
[For “Success in the Corporate World,” click here.]
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May 5th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Shanel, That’s a great list.