Five Time Management Tips for Leaders

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Time management is a subject that seems to get considerable attention from management gurus, efficiency experts, and productivity pros. In fact, if one doesn’t manage one’s time well, studying time management can eat up a good portion of it. This is certainly a subject that a leader must take very seriously, but also must approach with a certain amount of caution.

I like to have beginning leaders do an exercise that asks them how much time they spend at work, commuting to and from work, and sleeping. Adding those together gives them the amount of time they have for other things like family, recreation, and meals. When completing this exercise, most people are a little surprised to see in writing, something they really knew anyway; there aren’t enough hours in the day and those they have should be better managed.

I’ve had some instruction in time management and something that always struck me as a little odd was the insistence on controlling your calendar. The experts tell us we must restrict who has access to us and when. That’s probably possible if you’re self-employed, but is nothing but a dream if you work in a company of any size. In fact, I found that as I rose to higher leadership positions, I actually had less control of my calendar, not more. So, what’s a leader to do?

Understand what’s important. A career is important, but there are other things that are important as well. A leader who can’t balance them will not be a great leader.

Take a look at the calendar for a typical week. It has meetings, appointments, projects, etc all over it. Look at the time that isn’t committed though. It may only be 15 minutes here or 30 minutes there. Sometimes even less, but when you add it all up, it probably comes to a couple of hours a day. Use that time wisely. I used to think senior leaders were rude when they wouldn’t “fit me in” when they had a little time. Experience has made me understand how valuable those little bits of time are.

Understand what wastes your time. In today’s world the two biggest time wasters are the computer and the smartphone. More specifically, the email and messaging they allow. I suggest you turn off all the little sounds that notify you when email or other messages appear. Set times when you’ll check for them, then avoid the temptation to constantly look. You may have to train others that you aren’t constantly on the lookout for their next message, poised to respond.

Use your people! No, I don’t mean that in a negative sense. I mean, take advantage of their talents and expertise. Leaders who try to do everything themselves will fail in the end because no one can do everything. Use them! That’s why they’re there. And here’s an added tip. They want you to use them.

There’s one more thing I think is critical. Take time off. Some leaders wear unused vacation time like a badge of honor, but they come to regret it later in life. Everyone needs a little time off occasionally to decompress and recharge. In fact, time off will make you more efficient when you return to the job.

Most leaders can’t control a lot of what happens to their time. But, by a little behavior modification, they can be much more efficient with what they do control.