Effective Time Management Approach
If you are trying to meet collective group commitments and/or wanting to be intentional in your work, you have to ensure your time is being spent in support of key tasks. The only way to do this is by tracking your time.
Step 1: Time Tracking (Week 1)
To begin this process you need to have an accurate reflection of your time. To do this, you need to track your daily tasks for at least one week. Include personal tasks that pop up (e.g. phone calls from family, quick coffee runs).
Your action step:
Track your time for 1 week. Review the time tracking Excel template.
Step 2: Prioritze Tasks (Week 2)
Now that you've tracked your schedule for at least one week, it is time to go through and rate the priority of each task you completed during the week.
Next to each item in your time tracking Excel file, label the task as a 1, 2, 3, or 4 (the image has a definition for each rating).
Your action steps:
- Rate each item using the priority matrix.
- Create a daily percentage for each rating (e.g. on Monday, I spent 23% of my day on 1, 22% on 2, 38% on 3, and 17% on 4).
- Create a weekly breakdown for each rating. If you choose, you can create a pie chart.
- Outline any a-ha moments that arose when reviewing this information and anything you'd like to do differently.
- Consider sharing your time distributions and a-ha moments with your supervisor or a colleague.
Step 3: Time Blocking (Week 2+)
Next step is to time block your schedule.
Your action steps:
- Create & maintain a time blocked schedule. See the example of how one can accomplish this.
- When you are building your schedule, whether it is at the start of each day or for the whole week, prioritize based on highest priority. Ask yourself, what is the level of importance and urgency? Prioritize accordingly.
- When building your schedule, group similar tasks. For example, if you have voicemails to return, group those with other calls you need to make, blocking out time for "Phone Calls."
- When working on a project/grouped items, give your self AT LEAST one hour of uninterrupted time. Spending moments here and there on the same tasks doesn't allow for effective use of time.
- Consider NOT starting your day with emails. Start your day with a Priority 2 task for the first hour +, and then get to emails. Sometimes starting your day with emails can push you into a crisis mode that can linger the whole day.
Step 4: Customize and Revist
Lastly, customize your own tracking and prioritization process. This exact time blocking model may not fit perfectly for you, but what can you glean and apply? What do you need to make it work for you?
Additionally, you ought to revisit your schedule from time to time and make sure you are following your own rules. Some people need to periodically (maybe every six months or even once a year) start from step one to reset their calendaring.