Spotlight: Time management
Juggling all the balls: Can using time management techniques help your work-life balance?
Synopsis
The spotlight article this month is a complementary article to Janice Blair’s article. The article emphasised the highs and lows of undertaking a distance learning course, with one of the key messages being how to balance the requirements of your working life and personal living. But what tools can help you balance your work and life more effectively?
So, the spotlight this month considers how time management and common sense approaches have helped the authors provide some balance in their working and personal life.
Work-life balance
The thing about work-life balance is that it is a constantly shifting commodity over time. Your professional career and personal life are driven by different aspirations and constraints at different stages of your life. There are times when there is more time available (or you have the energy) for career development, but other times personal commitments seem more important. Using the techniques to help manage your work/life is not always about achieving more. Sometimes managing less and finding your comfort zone can be just as tricky.
Most of us at some point in our working lives may have felt that we have been carried along by the sheer force of events happening around about us and it can seem that there is very little we can do to help us feel in more control of our own destiny. Or sometimes we are just stuck in a rut feeling like we are on autopilot. But the authors believe that even the smallest changes in the management of your time can help you prioritise tasks and goals and show you how to achieve what is important to you at whatever stage you are at.
Tips
Consider the following tips. They are not exhaustive, but try some of them over the next few weeks and see whether you notice any differences in your work and personal life.
Use closed lists
Most of us like lists. But are they effective and do they help us achieve our tasks at the end of the day? From our own experience we are just as likely to add more tasks than to actually cross off completed tasks. Mark Foster’s book (1) calls for the end of “the list” and proposes the “closed list system”. For this system to work you can only itemise activities and events daily which can be realistically achieved in that day. Any unplanned items that arise must be added to the following day’s workload unless they are a real emergency. The principle is that you should always be able to complete your daily list, as it is a realistic estimate of what can be achieved. You can also allocate time for any backlog work you may have, e.g. build in 15-30 minutes per day to deal with backlogs.
Blank spaces in diaries
When you look at your diary do you see lots of blank spaces with no work? So why do we fill up our diary with meetings and events? Use the closed list system to schedule actual work and other events. By going to meetings and events you are actually sacrificing work that needs to be done. We all need to go to meetings and events sometimes, so plan for this in your daily closed list.
Have a “not to do list”
We are all tempted to do things that are time-consuming and generally affect our ability to get things done. Here are some of our “not to do’s”:
· Check emails every time I see one popping into the box.
· Reprioritise time spent on a project for a less important task.
· Answer the phone (especially the mobile): we almost always have an answering service.
· Read every text as it arrives.
· Grab sugar rushes such as a biscuit or chocolate whilst still working. A scheduled break may be better for your energy levels and you will taste more of the chocolate.
We all know our weaknesses, so work out your “not to do” list and see whether it has some surprising effects.
Random factors
By its nature we can’t eliminate randomness, but we can take control of our day a little more by reducing some random events. Just because a colleague needs 30 minutes to speak to you about interlibrary loans now, you don’t have to. Prioritise requests and schedule accordingly using the closed list system. Also ask yourself, “am I the random event”?
Committed or just interested?
We all have goals but sometimes are we just interested? Commitment involves elements of planning to the exclusion of other things. So if you are committed to getting a qualification, getting a new job, or downsizing your work life, then start making plans and deciding what other things will have to be sacrificed. If you are just interested then that’s fine, but don’t expect to gain the same results achievable from being committed.
Plan for non-work stuff
Why not use the same systems for your personal life? Plan holidays and breaks whether you are going away or not. If it’s not in the diary, then it’s not happening. We would all agree that we feel better and work more effectively when we have a break or an event to look forward to.
Poor workspace situation?
Most of us have little funds for having a purpose-built working environment. We may wish for fabulous equipment, great décor, and the best views from the window, but who has funds for “Colin and Justin” or the “Time Team” (choose the most appropriate for you) to come in and clear the decks?
The good news is that we can make an immediate impact on our workspace by clearing clutter. It can be distracting and worrying to constantly look at stacks of “stuff” waiting for action. Using the closed list system, allocate time each day to managing aspects of poor workspace environment. Even 15 minutes a day can help to clear files and scrap paper, organise storage, etc.
Better management of projects and learning
You may want to complete a master’s degree, become Chartered, or improve specific skills. Get a plan complete with clear objectives, outcomes, milestones, and targets. Identify any resources you may need; they are not always financial, but can be people offering support. Monitor your progress, remind yourself that mistakes will be made, and learn from mistakes. Most importantly, use the plan to get you back on track. Remember, focusing on frustrations is most likely to lead to failures, so look for the positives in all you are doing.
Conclusions
There are plenty of time management books out there in the market place and perhaps you have heard some of our tips before, but we have used these techniques and have seen results. Last year Janice completed her MSc degree and Joanna increased her annual turnover by 35%, while both were working part-time and managing households with young children. We both continue to make our work-life balance work for our ever-changing personal situations, which can be challenging sometimes. Work-life balance is not a question of keeping all the balls in the air at the one time. It’s a question of what are the important balls and at what point do they need to go into the air. We would like to know what worked for you.
References
1. Foster, M. Do it tomorrow. Hodder and Stoughton: 2006.
Further reading
Here is a small selection of what is available. Check out any bookshop or online portal for the plethora of books available on this topic.
· Buzan, T. Mind maps at work: how to be the best at your job, but still have time to play. Thorsons: 2004.
· Caunt, J. Organise yourself. Kogan Page: 2002.
· Flemming, I. Time management pocketbook. Management Pocketbook: 2003.
· Foster, M. Do it tomorrow. Hodder and Stoughton: 2006.
· Gleeson, K. The personal efficiency program. Wiley: 2003.
· Righton, C. The life audit. Hodder and Stoughton: 2006.
· Walter, D. The great office detox. Penguin: 2007.
Joanna Ptolomey and Janice Blair