Make Your Time Work For You

     Traditionally, time management is about getting more done in the time blocks within your calendar. In fact, if you look up the word "managing," you'll see terms such as: "to deal with," "to cope," and "to wield." These words suggest a limited way of looking at time -- that it's something to be dealt with, that it's against you, and that you have to contain it.

     The problem is that even if you master the art of time management, you can still find yourself overworked. You spend your days sacrificing your sanity for a neatly crossed off to-do list.

     You have a more powerful option. Instead of just managing your time as if it's working against you, you can maximize it and have time work for you.

     This week, Promotional Consultant Today is looking at three time maximizing techniques. Yesterday we examined the first strategy, "Going To The Calendar." Today we'll review Strategy No. 2.

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TOP SHELF TIP NO. 121

"The most effective way to cope with change is to help create it."

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Strategy No. 2: The Five Ds

     Whenever your time is being eaten up by a stack of e-mails, a stack of paper, a stack of voice mail messages or just stacks and stacks of work, The 5 Ds work especially well. You will drastically cut the time you need to get through the stack, and you can then get to the other high-impact activities that make the best use of your time. The 5 Ds stand for:

·         Do It. Stop pushing around a task and do it now. Use this for any task that takes 15 minutes or less.

·         Delete It. There are some things that do not require your response. Just because someone sent you the message/document/suggestion doesn't mean you have to reply. If an item doesn't advance a relationship or achieve an important goal, get rid of it.

·         Delegate It. As often as possible, pass a task on to someone else who can handle the job. They don't have to do it better than you; they don't even have to do it as fast. They probably won't. But unless it's a top priority or specific result that you and only you can deliver, you're not the right person to do it. Pass it on.

·         Decide On It. No more moving items from one stack to another, telling yourself, "I'll get back to that." Will you attend the meeting or won't you? Will you agree to that request or won't you? Make a decision. Move on.

·         Date It. Choose when you will give big-ticket items your undivided time and attention. Figure out how much time you need and block it out in your schedule. You can forget about it until then.

     The 5 Ds will save you time, and potentially a lot of it. Before you fill up that time with more meaningless tasks, give some thought to the most powerful way you can use the time you save.

     Tomorrow we'll look at Project 123.

     Source: Joelle K. Jay, Ph. D., is an executive coach and the senior managing partner of the leadership development firm, Pillar Consulting. She strategizes with business leaders to enhance their performance and maximize business results. Her clients include Fortune 500 companies. She is the author of The Inner Edge: The 10 Practices of Personal Leadership.