manage your time - thái huy · 10/10/2011 · how well do you manage your time? iv 1 organising...

Manageyour timeHow to work more effectively

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First published in 2004 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Reprinted byA & C Black Publishers Ltd38 Soho SquareLondon W1D 3HB

© Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2004© A & C Black Publishers Ltd 2004

Reprinted 2006, 2007

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A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN–10: 0–7136–8403–8

ISBN–13: 978–0–7136–8403–2eISBN-13: 978-1-4081-0180-3

Design by Fiona Pike, Pike Design, WinchesterTypeset by RefineCatch Limited, Bungay, SuffolkPrinted in Spain by Graphycems

This book is produced using paper that is made from wood grownin managed, sustainable forests. It is natural, renewable andrecyclable. The logging and manufacturing processes conform tothe environmental regulations of the country of origin.


ContentsHow well do you manage your time? iv

1 Organising your time 1

2 Avoiding information overload 12

3 Delegating tasks 21

4 Managing meetings 31

5 Keeping on top of e-mail 45

6 Maintaining a healthy work--lifebalance 59

7 Developing decision-making skills 75

Where to find more help 87

Index 89


How well do you manageyour time?

Answer the questions and work out your timemanagement profile, then read the guidancepoints for ideas on how to make more effectiveuse of your time.

How often do your tasks take longer than expected?a) Hardly ever b) Sometimes c) Regularly

How often do you clear out your desk and e-mails?a) Regularly b) Seldom c) Hardly ever

How would you rate your delegating skills?a) Good b) Average c) Poor

When you plan a meeting do you schedule in extra time incase it overruns?a) Always b) Sometimes c) Never

How often do you work late?a) Hardly ever b) Sometimes c) Almost always

How often do you make commitments that you can’tstick to?a) Hardly ever b) Sometimes c) Regularly

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How often do you say ‘no’ when asked to do things youhave no time for?a) Regularly b) Sometimes c) Hardly ever

When given a task, do you ask for a deadline?a) Always b) Sometimes c) Never

How often do you schedule in time for yourself?a) Every day b) Every week c) Never

How do you react when someone chases you for aproject that you have put on the back burner?a) Explain why I had to prioritise other jobs.b) Feel guilty that it has been delayed and do it ASAP.c) Panic—I had almost forgotten about it.

How do you plan your daily tasks?a) I write out a daily schedule and stick to it.b) I make a list of the most important tasks and hope to

remember the others.c) I tackle jobs as they come up.

What do you do when faced with many projects?a) Get on with the most important ones first.b) Choose the most interesting job and start on that.c) Start several tasks and continue with the easiest one.

How organised is your work space?a) Very. I know where everything is.b) Fairly. I have been known to lose things.c) Not at all. I don’t think about the state of my desk!

a = 1, b = 2, and c = 3. Now add up your scores.

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How well do you manage your time?


Chapter 1 is useful to everyone as it will help buildawareness of the ways in which you spend your time, andof pockets of ‘lost’ time that you can regain.

� 13–20: You manage your time well already, butremember to leave space for self-development, andtime to switch off—it’s possible you have becomeover-efficient or inflexible! Chapter 6 gives you hintson managing your work–life balance. It is alsoimportant not to be too controlling—remember todelegate so others can develop their skills too as wellas relieve the burden on you (chapter 3).

� 21–31: You have a reasonably balanced approach toyour working life, but make sure your good intentionsregarding time management come to fruition.Conduct a ‘time audit’ (chapter 1) and avoidspending long hours at work as this will end upmaking you tired and less efficient. To make the bestuse of your day, manage the time you spend inmeetings (chapter 4) and learn how to keep on top ofthe many e-mails that come your way (chapter 5).

� 32–39: You’re at risk of becoming exhausted anddoing a bad job because your time is being used soinefficiently. You need to make major changes in theway you work. Don’t underestimate how long tasks willtake—wishful thinking means nothing when you’reabout to miss a deadline! Learn to manage bothe-mails and information by reading chapters 2 and 5.Chapter 7 will help you develop decision-makingskills so you don’t waste time procrastinating.

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1Organising your time

Time management is about making everymoment effective by being truly focused and notdividing your energies by worrying about thepast or future. However, it’s still important to beable to keep the past, present, and future inperspective so that you can plan and prioritiseeffectively. In this way you’re able to set tasksin the right context. This gives a sense of order,structure, and security for those who aredependent upon your time managementskills.

In our working lives, time is the one thing thatis in ever increasing demand. Many tools arenow available that offer instant access toinformation and each other, the idea being thatmore time is released for increased efficiencyand productivity. Although these tools aredesigned to save time, they can be so complexthat they use up a great deal of time and as aresult put additional pressures on managers.

Step one: Conduct a ‘time audit’

✔ As a first step towards organising your time well, do a‘time audit’ on your life. What is the balance between the

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demands that are placed upon you at work and theobligations and pleasures that define your privatelife? Does this balance satisfy you, or do you findyourself sacrificing one activity or part of your life foranother?

The key to good time management is being aware of theworld in which you live and the interrelationships betweenthe component parts, then choosing how you divide yourtime between each one.

How to do a time audit1 Take a large sheet of paper and write your name at the

centre.

2 Place words around your name that represent thedemands upon your life. Include contracted workhours, travelling/commuting time, social hours atwork—lunches, dinners, and post-work socialising—and family commitments, remembering that your timedemands are likely to increase according to thenumber of children/dependents that you have. Alsoinclude your wider family and friends, sporting or fitnessactivities, socialising time, and time spent on hobbiesor areas of personal interest.

3 Mark on the sheet the number of hours that arededicated to each of these areas throughout the day.(You may want to use half-hour intervals if you thinkthey’d be more meaningful.) For example, you may

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have: work (8), commuting (2), picking up children fromschool (0.5), and so on. This will graphically representyour life in terms of the choices and trade-offs you’remaking in those areas that are important to you.

4 Ask yourself, ‘Is this how I want to live my life?’ You maysacrifice some important areas of your life in the shortterm, but be aware of what happens when a particularphase of your life comes to an end. How will youmanage this transition, particularly when it’sunexpected or sudden, such as a change in workcircumstances or retirement?

5 Take a highlighter pen and mark those areas on yourchart that need attention. If, for instance, you feelyou’re spending too much time at work, you needto re-establish the objectives of your role and thedemands placed upon you by others. Perhaps it’stime for you to think about requesting flexible workinghours, for example. Evaluate how you’re going toget a better balance. Some of the time managementtoolkits outlined on page 8 will give you ideas on howto do this.

Step two: Make adjustments1 Be aware of your choicesThe desire to improve your time management skills is half thebattle but you need to be aware of the choices you have to

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Organising your time


make. These relate to your overall life balance and the valuesyou hold.

✔ Look at what you’re being asked to do at work and why.Is this because it’s related to your role or because youhold a particular skill or expertise? If you’re being askedto do many things outside your area of responsibility,you may need to speak to your boss to clarify your jobboundaries.

There are always choices to be made. You may find that youcan win more time by avoiding time spent on commutingand working from home. However, make sure that yourfamily doesn’t automatically see this as additional timeyou’ll be able to spend with them. You will need to createboundaries to ensure that your productivity remainshigh and that this new environment does not disrupt yourefforts.

2 Plan for lost time✔ Look at your chart and see the effects of unpredictable

delays and how they can affect the rest of your day orweek.

TOP TIPDon’t make commitments that you know you

can’t meet. If you’re concerned abouta potential time conflict, talk to thepeople involved rather than waste

more time by worrying about it.

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Lost time accumulated over a period has a surprisingly largeimpact on the time available for other activities. You get a‘build-up’ of negative time. If you can, plan pockets of spacein your day to accommodate them. This releases pressureand allows you to get back on track.

3 Be prepared to change behavioural habits✔ Be aware of any patterns that characterise the way you

manage your time. You may find that you’re constantlyoverrunning in meetings (see chapter 4, ‘Managingmeetings’) or that you pick up a lot of spurious workbecause you aren’t assertive enough in saying ‘no’. Boththese consume time that you may not have available.

Dealing with disorganised team membersIn order to run an efficient team, every person in the teamneeds to know exactly what they’re doing and how thatfits into what everybody else is doing.

TOP TIPIf you use any time management systems,

start off simply for a better chance ofsuccess. You may find you have to manage

expectations better. Build in some slackwhen you plan schedules so that you don’t

back yourself into a corner. Sometimeswhen people are aware of your timings,

they build in slack as well.

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✔ If a team member is disorganised, you need toget this person to stand back from what they’redoing and look at the patterns or behaviourthey’re exhibiting and the deadlines they andthe department are working to. How does thisperson’s contribution fit in and what are his orher priorities?

Often time management requires a change in habitualbehaviour. For this reason, you cannot expect to becomea good time manager overnight. Learning the skills is onething, using them is another—it takes time and can onlybe achieved by building awareness, charting a clearroute, and rewarding success.

TOP TIPBe as honest as you can about how long

things take. Overestimating the amount oftime needed can be counterproductive: you

might end up panicking because it looksas if you can’t possibly fit everything in. Butunderestimating can be just as dangerous—you run the risk of feeling that you’re forevercatching up. So get into the habit of jottingdown how long it takes you to do regulartasks. Then when you need to plan yourday in detail, you’ll be better equippedto make an accurate estimate of how

long things take.

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Step three: Prioritise and plan ahead

✔ Look at your workload and categorise your tasks intothose that are important to your overall role, thosewhich will add benefit to your role but may not becentral, and those things that you do that you maybe good at but which are outside your area ofresponsibility.

✔ Set yourself definite and specific goals. What do youwant to achieve in the time that you have? It is best towrite these goals down. Make sure that they areachievable and set yourself a realistic time limit in whichto achieve them. It may help to divide the task up sothat you can take it step by step. This will make thecompletion of the task more rewarding, as you canmeasure your progress on the way.

We often get caught up in responding to others’expectations and sacrificing our own choices. As youundertake your time audit, make sure that you’re notspending time on unnecessary activities that don’t serveyour purpose. Delegate wherever you can but don’texpect others to do what you can’t do or pick up the messyou leave behind you.

The central point is that planning is essential. It will help youprioritise, anticipate problems and potential conflicts, andsee where you’re going. Be aware of time pressures asyou plan. Awareness must always precede action.

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Time management toolkitsThere are a number of time management toolkits thathelp people order their days but they’re only as useful asthe time invested in using them. Many time managementcourses teach you how to use processes to prioritise yourtasks and activities. Remember that your view of what is apriority may be different from someone else’s. In usingthese toolkits, remember to spend some time talking to allthe relevant people involved at work to make sure thatmisunderstandings don’t occur.

Some commercially available toolkits and techniquesinclude:

� Palm Pilots� organisers� ‘to do’ lists� categorising work according to its level of importance

and focusing only on the essential� aligning tasks to business goals and objectives and

cutting out the ‘nice to do’� shared diaries—team, secretarial, professional

groups

It’s not easy to make the transition from depending on adiary and Post-It notes to organising your life with acomputerised device such as a Palm Pilot.

✔ Plan the time it will take to learn the new technologyand transfer your information. Only allow a month

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during which you use a dual system then throw thepaper diary away.

New technology can be intimidating, but where there’sa will, there’s a way. You will soon find your new systemas convenient as any other you may have used in thepast, if not more so.

Common mistakes✗ You buy a new gadget that you don’t need

or wantIn moments of desperation, people often rush out andbuy the latest time management technology, which canbe both expensive and complicated to use. It is alwaysworth considering what is motivating you to make thatpurchase. You cannot impose a system when deepdown, you’re not completely convinced it will help. Itis much better to take time to get to the root ofthe problem and see what the cause is. Once this hasbeen established, the most suitable approach to timemanagement may be identified.

TOP TIPAlways plan ahead and try to anticipate thepressure of commitments that you make.Make sure that as you plan, you not onlybuild in time for reflecting and learning,

but you build in time for yourself.

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✗ You expect too much of yourself and becomedisenchantedA new environment takes some getting used to. Whenwe try to change too many things at once, pressure isbound to cause us to step back into old habits. While thelogic in time management appears straightforward, thecomplexity of our lives means that managing time is notstraightforward. The answer is to take small steps,heading towards clear goals.

✗ You’re not prepared to break bad habits anddon’t ask for help from family and colleaguesWe all know people who are always late or people whoare always early. The way you plan your life and timerapidly takes on a pattern. Breaking that patterncan mean that we have to change the way we viewourselves, view the world in which we live, and ask forhelp and support from others in making that change.

STEPS TO SUCCESS

✔ Time management is about making the most effectiveuse of your time, both at home and at work.

✔ Awareness is all. Being aware of how you apportion yourtime, and how those around you spend theirs, isessential for good time management.

✔ A good place to start is to conduct a ‘time audit’,which will help to make you more aware of the

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MANAGE YOUR TIME


balance between your work life and personal life,and between the different jobs you do at work.

✔ Remember that there are always choices to be made—and be prepared to make them. Change the habits of alifetime!

✔ Define your goals—this is an essential part of theprioritising and planning process. Make sure they arespecific, realistic, and measurable.

✔ You cannot plan your time down to the last minute. Behonest about the amount of time tasks are likely to take,and set aside time to allow for unexpected delays.

✔ Don’t try to make all the changes at once—you will be farmore likely to slip back into your old habits. Build themup over time and you will soon see the difference.

Useful linksIntelligent Time Systems Limited:

www.intell-time.co.uk

Mindtools.com:

www.mindtools.com/pages/main/newMN_HTE.htm

Time Management Guide:

www.time-management-guide.com

Total Success, Time Management training programmes:

www.tsuccess.dircon.co.uk/timemanagementtips.htm

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http://www.intell-time.co.uk

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/main/newMN_HTE.htm

http://www.time-management-guide.com

http://www.tsuccess.dircon.co.uk/timemanagementtips.htm

2Avoiding informationoverload

The amount of information available to us israpidly increasing. Accordingly, we are allexpected to absorb and respond to moreinformation than ever before. There are a numberof reasons for this.

� The speed with which customers expect tocomplete transactions has increased. Theywork on a just-in-time basis, no longer waitingfor paperwork to pass through several setsof hands before taking action.

� Technology now allows for the instantaneoustransfer of information to everyone’s PC.

� Fewer people are employed to manageinformation. Many secretaries and personalassistants have been replaced by laptopsand PDAs.

� Globalisation and deregulation have givenrise to new opportunities, but they have alsoincreased competition and the need tounderstand the changing market.

� Business structures have changed so thatmany projects are now outsourced,demanding clear and rapid communication.

� There are many means of instantcommunication and data access. The mobiletelephone, Internet, fax, voicemail, e-mail,

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and tele- or videoconferencing have allcontributed to the vast and fast flow ofinformation.

The problem is that we have all had to deal withthis influx without any preparation, training, ortime! Often, we find it difficult to process theflood of information—we feel as though we’redrowning, struggling to find time for moreimportant tasks. The good news is that there aresteps you can take to keep your head above water.

The scale of the problemAlthough information overload is a fairly recentphenomenon, it’s already claimed casualties. Managersoften feel that they have to keep up with the informationflow in order to perform well, yet increasing amounts oftime are required to enable them to get through themassive amounts of data available. This time pressure isresulting in stress and, in some cases, burnout. Aworldwide survey conducted by Reuters found that twothirds of managers suffer from increased tension and onethird from ill health because of information overload.Stress causes:

� increased levels of anxiety� a reduction in decision-making capabilities� problems with short-term memory� a reduced ability to concentrate

Avoiding information overload

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This isn’t a good recipe for management excellence.There are, however, ways you can reduce the burden.

Step one: Take control of the problemInformation management, like time management, is amatter of discipline. You need to set boundaries aroundhow much time you’re prepared to spend processinginformation.

✔ Decide what your limits are and create a personalinformation management system that works for you.This may be setting boundaries around the time youspend responding to e-mails, filtering them throughyour assistant (if you’re lucky enough to have one), orresponding only to those e-mails that hold highimportance for you.

TOP TIPDraw up some criteria that determine whatyou allow through your filter and what you

exclude. This may mean putting priorities onyour e-mails and deleting those that are lowpriority, returning calls only to those peopleyou need to speak to, and only looking at apiece of data once before deciding what todo with it. If you miss something important,

you can be sure that it will come back to you.

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✔ Identify any time-wasting information and eliminate it.Ask to be removed from the list of often unnecessary‘everyone’ e-mails; request a good spam filter fromthe IT department; ask for a summary of overly longminutes or reports.

Step two: Seek information efficiently

✔ Aim for the ‘Pareto principle’ when seeking information.In other words, 20% of what has been accessedprobably holds 80% of the information you need.It’s anxiety that propels people to spend excessivetime wading through every piece of data available.People used to make decisions in ambiguoussituations; it was considered to be a managementskill. Aim for developing your instincts along with yourknowledge.

✔ Find your own preferred places for accessing informationand discipline yourself to go there only. You alreadyknow which are the quality sites for your particularfield of work. Failing this, you could make use of theinformation officers in the library of your professionalbody. They are experienced at finding relevantinformation and can often save you a great deal oftime.

✔ Only look at data that is relevant to your job, the projectyou’re working on, or the decision you’re making. Resistthe temptation to be intrigued by those things that lie


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outside your area of responsibility. Too often, peopleare sucked into irrelevant detail because they don’tknow where to draw the line.

Step three: Learn to say ‘no’

✔ Try not to be the dumping ground for information thatothers don’t want to wade through. Many will try topass the burden on to you if you even hint at beingreceptive to the task. Take control of what passes overyour desk and decide not to be held to ransom by apiece of data.

TOP TIPThe advantage and disadvantage of the Web

is that it’s freely available—anyone can set upa website, whether it’s poor quality or not,

and you can spend hours getting lost inuseless websites while looking for the

high-quality information you need. Beingvery specific in your searches will eliminate

some of the time that you spend lookingfor the kind of information you want, aswill adding the most productive sites to

your list of favourites. Otherwise, you maywant to set time boundaries around your

Web searches, knowing that you willprobably pick up most of the informationyou need in the first ten minutes or so.

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✔ Limit your availability. Leave your mobile phone switchedoff for periods during the day when you can be quietand restful or let your voicemail field calls for you. Thisway you can determine who to speak to and when toschedule the conversations. Anyone who needs tospeak to you urgently will find a way of getting throughto you.

Step four: Regulate information

✔ Learn to throw things away. Have the courage to throwdata away or delete files when you have exhaustedtheir usefulness. You can always access the samedata again and, probably when you do, it will havebeen updated.

✔ Use the principles of time management as these willhelp with information overload. Surfing the Web isincredibly seductive, with each link taking you furtherand further into fascinating but unnecessary detail.Decide how much time you’ll spend in each session,print the information that is relevant, and leave therest in the ether. You often pick up all the informationyou need in a few hits, the remainder being lessfruitful.

TOP TIPIt may seem rather self-defeating to resort totechnology to solve a problem that technology

produced in the first place, but there are


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Common mistakes

✗ You get bogged down in detailGetting drawn into the detail of all the information that’savailable wastes a lot of time. People often fear they’llmiss an essential piece of information if they don’t combthrough every possible source. In fact this rarelyhappens. Resist the temptation to scutinise every singlepiece of information that appears on your screen orarrives on your desk.

✗ You fail to prioritiseBeing able to prioritise information will save you hours.Some pieces will need detailed analysis, others just aquick skim. You may even find that you can delegatesome of the processing to a member of your team,outlining what they should focus on and when theyshould report back to you. Remember to give clearinstructions and to set an attainable deadline.

useful electronic devices that can helpalleviate information overload. Hand-held

organisers are one example. They have manyfunctions that can be accessed while

travelling, making use of otherwise ‘dead’time: you can read your e-mails, edit

documents, plan meetings, write reports,and even read the newspaper. Any changes

can be automatically transferred to yourPC when you get back to the office.

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✗ You never switch offNot being able to switch off from the need to absorb orgenerate information can be tiring and stressful. Bloodpressure can rise, mental faculties can deteriorate,and any patience you may have had can disappearaltogether. Just as the body needs time to relax, sodoes the mind—and not just when you’re asleep.Quieting the mind through techniques such asmeditation or yoga has been proven to increase health,improve memory, and stimulate creativity. It’s also beenlinked to increased productivity and a sense of wellbeing.If this doesn’t appeal, try other recuperative pursuitssuch as listening to music, reading, or taking gentleexercise. Anything that allows the mind to ‘freewheel’will prove beneficial.

STEPS TO SUCCESS

✔ People often feel that in order to perform well they haveto spend more and more time going through the hugeamount of information being passed aroundelectronically. It’s just not true.

✔ Developing a personal information management systemwill help you keep afloat amid the flood of information.

✔ It’s important to be selective in the sources you use.Don’t be drawn into the tangle of irrelevant informationon the Internet—choose your favourites carefully, thenuse them!


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✔ Employ technology to control the flow of information—divert e-mails, use voicemail, and switch your mobilephone off to prevent interruptions.

✔ Remember to throw printouts away and delete files ande-mails when you have finished with them. There is noneed to hoard information—if it’s important it canalways be found again.

✔ In order to absorb data effectively you must learn to‘switch off’ and give your mind the chance to digest theinformation.

Useful linksInfoWorld business resources:

www.infoworld.com

Microsoft Windows Mobile:

www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/default.mspx

Palm:

www.palm.com/uk

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http://www.infoworld.com

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/default.mspx

http://www.palm.com/uk

3Delegating tasksMastering the skill of delegation will help youmanage your time and therefore give you morefreedom to concentrate on your priorities. Butit’s often when we are most pushed for time thatwe delegate least. It’s easy to panic and to cutyourself off from your colleagues or employeeswhen you need their support the most.

However, delegation isn’t just about making yourworkload lighter by giving tasks to others. It’salso about getting staff to take full responsibilityfor certain key duties. In order for a business togrow and for employees to find new paths ofdevelopment, new people must be employed totake over established functions, releasing othersto develop different aspects of the business.

Benefits of delegation� Time management. You’ll have more time to deal

with the problems and tasks at the top of your prioritylist, allowing you to feel more in control.

� Personal effectiveness. Delegating tasks allowsyou to concentrate on the things you do best, and willgive you the chance to tackle more interesting andchallenging tasks in the future.

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� Growth. Passing tasks down the line is essential ifthe business is to grow. Not knowing how to do thisis recognised as one of the biggest obstacles tobusiness growth, particularly in small businesses.You should have more time available to thinkstrategically about business growth.

� Staff development. If staff are to develop, theyneed new challenges. Delegation helps you testout their ability to increase their contribution to thebusiness. Staff can take quick decisions themselves,and will often have a better understanding of thedetails concerned. Good delegation should improvethe overall productivity of employees and boost theirmorale.

� Management. Dealing with staff may seem adifficult problem, but that is what management is allabout. It is too easy to withdraw into ‘essential’ tasksand not develop relations with staff. The bottom line isthat it’s wasteful for senior staff to spend their timedoing low value work.

Delegation isn’t always the easiest option. But while itdoesn’t necessarily make everything easier (there will alwaysbe other challenges), it does tend to make things moreefficient and effective. It is essentially a more interactive wayof working with a team of people, involving instruction,training, and development. You’ll need to invest some timeand effort to do it effectively, but the long-term benefits willmake it worth your while.

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Step one: Know when to delegateDelegation is fundamental to management, so look foropportunities to do it. These may include:

� when you have too much work to do to complete allyour tasks

� when you don’t have enough time to devote toall-important tasks

� when it’s clear that certain staff need to develop,particularly new employees

� when an employee has the skills needed to perform aspecific task

Step two: Know what to delegate

✔ Delegate the routine administrative tasks that take uptoo much of your time. There may be small everydaythings which you’ve always done, which you mayeven enjoy doing, but which are an inappropriate useof time.

✔ Delegate projects which it makes sense for oneperson to handle. These will be a good test of howa person manages and co-ordinates their work.Give the person something they can do, rather thanimpossible tasks at which others have failed. Thatmight be a damaging experience for the personconcerned.

Delegating tasks

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✔ Delegate tasks for which an employee has a specialaptitude. Make the most of your team’s skills.

✔ Don’t get bogged down in relationship management.Liaising with a particular person or organisation is animportant but often time-consuming task. It can bedelegated.

Step three: Know whom to delegate toStaff development is a vital part of delegation. It is thereforevery important to have a good understanding of the peopleyou can delegate tasks to. The approach should be adaptedaccording to the individual. They must have the skills andability or at least the potential to develop into the role, andthey must also be someone that can be trusted.

✔ Test employees with small tasks to help show you whatthey can do. Do they show good time management skillsthemselves? Do they keep a diary? Do they make notes?Training may be given or these skills developed in theperson through delegation.

✔ The employee must be available for the assignment, andthe people who do effective work should not beoverburdened.

✔ Try to delegate tasks out among as many employees aspossible, and remember to consider the option ofassigning a task to two or more people.

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Step four: Delegate interactively

✔ Think positively. As a manager you have the right todelegate and you must delegate. It won’t happenperfectly first time. Your ability to delegate willimprove with experience. Try to act decisively andavoid prevarication—you may need to learn moreassertiveness skills. A positive approach will also givethe person you’re delegating to confidence inthemselves. It’s important for them to feel that youbelieve in them.

✔ Plan ahead. If you expect the person to be efficient, you’llneed to make sure that you yourself are well organised. If

TOP TIPDon’t delegate a task and its attendant

responsibilities without also givingthe relevant people the necessary

authority to complete the task.Don’t hinder their progress!

TOP TIPBe patient and have faith in the people aroundyou. One of the reasons you’re delegating is

to relieve yourself of stress, not to add toyour burden by constantly worrying aboutwhether the person is doing a good job.

Delegating tasks

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there is no overall plan of what is going on, it will behard to identify, schedule, and evaluate the work you’veasked others to do. Schedule time to develop andassess the person in the job. Do you have a plan fortheir development? Are there notes about how they’redoing? You’ll need to assess the task and then decidehow much responsibility the person should be given.Prepare before seeing the person, but don’t use this asa pretext for delay.

✔ Discuss the tasks and problems in depth with theperson you’re delegating to, and explain clearly what isexpected of them. It’s crucial to give precise objectives,but a manager may choose to encourage the personto seek these out themselves by letting them askhim or her questions. Employees should participatein setting the parameters. They need to understandwhy they’re doing the task, where it fits into thescheme of things. Ask them how they will go aboutthe task, discuss the plan and the support theymight need.

✔ Set deadlines and schedule them into diaries.Summarise what has been agreed and take notesabout what each employee is required to do. If theperson is given a lot of creative scope and is beingtested out, you may decide to be deliberately vague.If the task is urgent and critical, it will be essential tobe specific. If you’re nervous about their ability tohandle the work, make sure they know you areavailable for support (see Step five).

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Step five: Follow up with supportand reward

✔ Back up your employees. The degree of support yougive will depend upon the development of the person,and your relationship with them. In the early stages itcan be appropriate to work with the person, to sharecertain tasks. You’ll be able to back off more as yourunderstanding of their abilities increases. Encouragethem to come back if they have difficulties. While it’simportant to have time to yourself, you need to beaccessible if the person has a problem. But try not tointerfere or criticise if things are going according to plan.

✔ Monitor progress. It is too easy to forget about thetask until the deadline looms. In the meantime, allsorts of things could have gone wrong. When planning,build in time to review progress. If more problemswere expected to arise and nothing has been heardthen you may want to check with the employee.

TOP TIPFocus on results rather than methods. If theperson you’re delegating to doesn’t carry out

the task in the way you would have done,don’t rush to take over or start butting in.Your way works best for you, but it may

not work so well for someone else.

Delegating tasks

27


Schedule in routine meetings. Deadlines and objectivesmay have to be altered as the situation changes.

✔ Review performance. You can discuss careerdevelopment issues in appraisals, and note the resultsof delegated tasks for this purpose. When a task iscomplete remember to give praise and review how itwent. If the person has failed to deliver, this should alsobe discussed.

✔ Reward achievement. If a person’s responsibilities areincreased, they should receive fair rewards for it. On theother hand, there may be limits on what you can offer,so don’t get carried away and promise rewards if theycan’t be delivered. Rewards might depend upon theoverall success of the business

Common mistakes

✗ You doubt your employees’ abilityYou fear that the delegatee will create even more problemsthan they solve. You must learn to trust your team.Even if they make a mistake they will benefit from theexperience in the long run, and therefore so will you.

✗ You think delegation wastes timeIt seems quicker to do the task yourself than to botherexplaining it and correcting mistakes. This may be true,but as you progress up the career ladder, you’ll needto delegate more, so the earlier you start, the better.

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✗ You worry about your statusAn employee who is quick on the uptake and does wellcan take over the role of being the person everyone goesto with their problems. Maybe you feel threatened bytheir competence. They may even find something wrongwith the way you do things. Remember that you do agood job too and have found someone you can rely onwhen time is tight.

✗ You lack confidenceIf problems arise, or if the person fails to discharge theirresponsibilities, you may doubt your own ability toconfront the person about their actions. Break out ofthis vicious circle by making an active attempt toimprove your communication skills.

✗ You neglect staff developmentRemember that delegation not only benefits you byfreeing up some of your time, but will give your staffa sense of achievement by earning your trust anddeveloping new skills. This will improve the effectivenessof the whole team, and so the success of theorganisation.

STEPS TO SUCCESS

✔ Mastering the skill of delegation will mean thateveryone benefits—it will help you manage your timeand it will aid staff development, improving overallproductivity.

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✔ Don’t let tight schedules get in the way of delegation.When you’re under pressure, passing tasks on—to theright person—will save you time in the end.

✔ Remember to delegate interactively—get to know yourstaff, listen to their worries, and discover their strengths.

✔ Successfully passing responsibility down the line isessential for company growth.

✔ Remember to delegate assertively. Your confidence willbe transferred onto the person you’re delegating to.

✔ Don’t forget that when you delegate, you remainultimately responsible for the results of the work youhave delegated.

Useful linksBusinessballs.com:

www.businessballs.com/delegation.htm

iVillage.co.uk:

www.ivillage.co.uk

Mindtools.com:

www.mindtools.com/tmdelegt.html

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http://www.businessballs.com/delegation.htm

http://www.ivillage.co.uk

http://www.mindtools.com/tmdelegt.html

4Managing meetings

Meetings are a necessary evil in everyone’sworking life. Handled well, they can help thosegathered get to the bottom of a tricky situation,agree actions, and do something positive.Handled badly, they can be a terrific waste oftime. Basically, you want to get in and out as soonas possible with the relevant decisions made sothat you can get on with the rest of your day.

This chapter offers advice for anyone who has toplan and chair a meeting. Special arrangementsneed to be followed for large meetings such asboard meetings or annual general meetings, soin this chapter we focus only on the type ofmeeting held most commonly in an everydaywork situation.

Step one: Decide if you really needa meetingIn some cases, meetings are not always a good use ofpeople’s time and effort.

✔ If someone suggests that a meeting be held to discussan issue related to your project, team, or department,

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think hard about whether gathering the attendees in oneplace is really the most efficient way forward.

There may be more time-saving alternatives to gatheringeveryone together for a meeting. For example, you couldtry:

� conference calls or videoconferencing. If you haveaccess to these facilities, or can afford them, they offer agood way of holding a discussion without having todisrupt the attendees’ day too much.

� discussing the issue via e-mail by sending a message toall relevant parties. Your e-mail should set out the issueclearly, ask for a response, and give a deadline—anddouble-check that you have included everyone beforesending it!

If all else fails, though, and a face-to-face meeting seems tobe the best and least unwieldy way of agreeing action on theissue at hand, prepare as much as you can in advance anddelegate where appropriate.

TOP TIPThink carefully about the type of meeting

you need. Brainstorming sessions orcreative discussions often don’t fit

conveniently into well-plannedtimetables so may be best slottedinto a less hectic part of the year.

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Step two: Do the initial planning

1 Think carefully about who to inviteTo avoid wasting the company time and money, youshould try to limit the numbers by only inviting thosewho really need to be there. These will be people directlyinvolved in the decisions that need to be taken duringthe meeting, those significantly affected by those actions,or those who have some specific knowledge tocontribute.

✔ The most productive meetings are usually those withthe fewest number of people attending. Make sure youkeep the numbers down.

✔ If the agenda is lengthy and covers a variety of issues,there are two options: you could consider asking peopleto drop in and out when their relevant section comesup; or you might want to consider a series of smallermeetings.

2 Give the attendees all the relevant informationin good time

✔ To make sure that all the attendees have a chance toraise their concerns during the meeting, give themplenty of notice of the meeting’s time and venueand circulate a draft agenda outlining the topics tobe discussed and the time limits assigned to eachtopic.

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Time limits create a healthy sense of urgency. By stipulatingthe start and finish time of the meeting, as well as settingtime limits for each topic on the agenda (particularlyimportant if you are holding a lengthy meeting and askingpeople to drop in and out), you will encourage people tostay focused. Sticking to these time fixtures is essential,of course, for this to work!

Other information you should provide your attendees withprior to the meeting includes:

� directions to the venue in case they haven’t been therebefore

� information on who else is attending (this will beparticularly helpful if you are going to be joined by peopleexternal to your company such as consultants orfreelance contributors)

� background information or documents relevant to themeeting. For example, if you are going to discuss along-overdue overhaul of your product catalogue, sendeveryone a copy of your existing catalogue in case theyno longer have copies of the original. You could also

TOP TIPIt is vital that all the attendees are clear about

the purpose of the meeting and why theyhave been called together. The agenda

should set out what needs to beaccomplished between the start

and finish of the meeting.

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include other similar publications whose style you admireto see if anyone can think of new ways of presenting yourproducts.

� your contact details and those of one other person in theoffice (such as your assistant, if you have one) in caseof emergency

3 Think about catering requirements✔ If you think your meeting will take longer than a few

hours or is likely to take place over lunch, remember toask all attendees whether they have any special dietaryrequirements. This will save a lot of time and stress onthe day.

4 Delegate taking the minutesTry to find someone other than yourself to take theminutes. This will free you up to steer the meeting asappropriate.

✔ If the person designated as the minute-taker is new tothe project or issue you’re going to discuss, run throughsome key words or acronyms associated with the task at

TOP TIPResearch shows that the best time to hold ameeting is just before lunch or towards theend of the day. This motivates attendees to

focus on the agenda and keep time!

Managing meetings

35


hand so that he or she is not baffled by the jargon—you and the other attendees may be well versed in therelevant vocabulary, but don’t expect the same froma ‘newcomer’.

Step three: Find and prepare the venue

✔ Once you know that a formal meeting is on the cards,find an appropriate space in which the meeting can beheld. Some companies have a ‘booking system’ formeeting rooms, so give yourself enough time whenplanning the meeting date to make sure that you canget an appropriately sized room for when you want.Don’t assume it’ll just be free as and when you’reready!

✔ Give yourself (or your assistant if you have one) plenty oftime to get the room ready as the meeting gets closer. Inparticular make sure that:

� the room is tidy� you’ve enough tables and chairs to accommodate

everyone� if you’re using one, the flip chart has enough paper

and pens ready� there is enough light, heating, or ventilation for the

time of day and year� there are enough power points, and that they’re in

the right place if you are going to be using anoverhead projector or laptop

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� any equipment in the room is ready to use and isworking properly

✔ Make further catering arrangements once your numbersare confirmed. If your company has a canteen, book inearly for someone to bring tea, coffee, and biscuits to themeeting. If you don’t have a canteen, ask a colleagueor assistant to stay close by at the start of the meetingand to pop out to a nearby coffee shop or café to fetchwhat is needed. Again, this will free you up to attend toother tasks.

Step four: Keep on track

1 Start as you mean to go onOn the day of the meeting, arrive in plenty of time so thatyou can double-check that everything is ready. Once theattendees have arrived, set the pace and tone of themeeting by following these steps:

✔ Begin on time.

✔ Welcome everyone, and briefly explain basic issuessuch as where the toilets are located (particularlyhelpful for anyone who hasn’t been to your officesbefore) and what the catering arrangements are.

✔ Ask everyone to check that they’ve turned off theirmobile phones so that the flow of discussion isn’tinterrupted.

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37


✔ Reiterate the reason the meeting is being held, what youhope to achieve within the meeting, and the time-scaleand finishing time.

✔ Frame each item on the agenda by explaining itsobjectives.

2 Keep a tight rein on proceedingsWhile you need to give everyone an opportunity to contributeto points raised on the agenda, there are steps you cantake to make sure that you keep roughly on schedule(and on topic).

✔ Make sure that attendees keep to one agenda point at atime.

✔ Firmly but politely move the discussion on if a subject hasbecome exhausted.

TOP TIPSometimes meetings aren’t as creative as you

may have hoped, and ideas can dry up. Ifthe focus of your meeting is to brainstorm anidea or problem, you may need to kickstartthe conversation. To do this, call a 10- or15-minute break to allow everyone to get

some fresh air, make the call they’ve realisedthey forgot to make, or just have a change of

scenery. Once everyone has returned, seta revised target of ideas for the session

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✔ Don’t let one person dominate the conversation.Meetings can often be hijacked by one or two vociferousattendees, so in your role as chair you need to havesome strategies to deal with people like this so thatyou can both make sure that everyone has a fair say,but also that you keep on schedule.

Strategies for dealing with difficult people� The talkative—In the case of people who just like

the sound of their own voice, you must be assertiveenough to interject politely but firmly and remindeveryone of the agenda point you’re discussing andsteer the discussion back to it. Also mention yourtarget finish time and how the meeting is progressingin relation to it.

� The passionate—The same goes for dealingwith people who feel very strongly about the issueunder discussion and who may feel that others donot share their interest and commitment. Again,make sure that they get the opportunity to voice

(‘Let’s aim to come up with 10 more by lunch’),remind everyone that at this stage, anything

goes, and encourage what seem likeoutlandish ideas. You’ll be able to refinethese back to something more practical

as the discussion progresses, and peoplewill come up with ideas of their own

based on others’ suggestions.

Managing meetings

39


their point of view, but also that they give othersthe chance to express theirs too. Interject asappropriate and summarise if you sense they areabout to repeat something. Remember that ameeting is a discussion with objectives, not anopportunity for attendees to rehearse an extendedmonologue.

� The angry—If the topic you are discussing isparticularly contentious, tempers may flare. If you feela situation is getting heated and that insults ratherthan well-considered opinions are being traded, stepin to defuse the tension. Suggest a break outside ofthe meeting room for 15 minutes or so, which willgive most people time to calm down and assesswhat has happened. If voices are being raised, matchyour voice to the level of other people’s, then reducethe volume back down to a normal speaking pitch.This will allow the discussion to get back to a morestable footing.

✔ Make sure that there is only one discussion at a time.Meetings often get sidetracked when some attendeesstart their own ‘private’ meeting during the main session.This may range from a few whispered asides, to notesbeing passed around the table, or a full-blown separatediscussion taking place. You’ll never finish the mainmeeting on time if you allow that to happen, so take theinitiative to stop these diversions by addressing thepeople involved directly and asking them if there’s

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something they’d like to raise. For example, you couldsay: ‘I think there may be an issue you’re not happy with.Would you like to raise it now before we go any further?We have a lot to get through today.’ Be assertive, notaggressive, polite but firm.

✔ Summarise at appropriate intervals and restate agreedaction points clearly (the person taking the minutes willbe particularly grateful for this).

✔ Wrap up the meeting by thanking everyone for theirattendance and contribution. If possible, also letattendees know when the next meeting is to be held(should you need one). This will not only save time one-mails and phone calls but by giving a sense ofcontinuity and progress, will encourage the attendeesnot to forget about the topics discussed the momentthey leave the room.

Step five: Make sure everyone is clearon any follow-up action required

✔ Ask the person taking the minutes to write them up assoon as possible so that they can be distributed to allthe attendees promptly.

Bear in mind that most of the attendees will only glancebriefly at the meeting minutes, or refer back to them inorder to locate a specific piece of information. This means

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41


that they need to be extremely concise and clear. The keythings to note are:

� agreed actions� the people responsible for them� deadlines (if appropriate)� date of next meeting if you agreed to arrange another

Common mistakes

✗ You leave preparations to the last minuteYou’re not saving time by leaving the arrangements foryour meeting to the last minute—you’re wasting it. Thesooner you get started the better as it will save youpanicking on the day itself about exactly how manypeople are coming, if you can cater for them all, whereyour laptop can be plugged in, and other myriad potentialnightmares. If you plan in advance, you can make sureeverything is in place early and spend the time you’dotherwise be wasting by rushing about aimlessly doingsomething more productive instead.

✗ You think you can squeeze in taking the minutesYou’re not shirking responsibility if you ask someone elseto take the meeting’s minutes for you. On the contrary,if you are freed up to make sure that the meeting startsand ends on time, is well organised, and achieves itsobjectives, you’ll have made everyone’s life a lot easierand you’ll also end up with a set of minutes (and notes)that mean something.

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✗ You lose track of timeDon’t be afraid to move things on as appropriate if themeeting seems to be getting bogged down in oneparticular area. Everyone else will be keen to finish ontime and get on with the rest of their day, so, in yourrole as chair, shape the discussion and sustain themeeting’s impetus.

STEPS TO SUCCESS✔ Only call a meeting if you think one is absolutely

necessary.

✔ If a meeting does need to be called, give all attendees asmuch notice as you can.

✔ Give yourself plenty of time to book the venue andarrange the necessary catering and equipment.

✔ Take time to prepare yourself properly and look over themeeting objectives in advance.

✔ On the day of the meeting, arrive on time and begin themeeting on time.

✔ Make sure only one discussion is happening at any onetime in the room.

✔ Give everyone an opportunity to get his or her pointacross and don’t let the conversation be ‘hijacked’ byone person.

Managing meetings

43


✔ Recap action points so that the person taking theminutes is able to note them easily.

✔ Keep an eye on the clock and move the meeting on if theattendees are becoming stuck on one particular item.

✔ Make sure minutes are circulated promptly after themeeting so that everyone is aware of what is meant to bedone when and by whom.

Useful linksMeeting Wizard:

www.meetingwizard.org

Vista—Virtual Meetings:

www.vista.uk.com

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http://www.meetingwizard.org

http://www.vista.uk.com

5Keeping on top of e-mail

E-mail has completely changed the way we worktoday. It offers many benefits and, if used well,can be an excellent tool for improving your ownefficiency. Managed badly, though, e-mail canbe a waste of valuable time. Statistics indicatethat office workers need to wade through anaverage of more than 30 e-mails a day, whilemanagers or people working on collaborativeprojects could be dealing with a much higherfigure.

This chapter sets out steps to help you managethe time you spend dealing with e-mail so thatyou can get on with other tasks. It offers help onprioritising those incoming messages anddeciding how quickly you need to respond. Ittells you how to file e-mail according to its valueor function and encourages you to clear theinbox regularly. Despite your best efforts,unsolicited e-mail or spam can clutter up themost organised inbox and infect your computersystem with viruses, so this section givesguidance on protecting yourself. It also suggestsalternatives to e-mail that offer the samebenefits of speed, convenience, andeffectiveness.

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Step one: Prioritise incoming messagesIf you are regularly faced with a large volume of incomingmessages, you need to prioritise your inbox. Here is achecklist of tips to help you identify which of the e-mails isreally important.

✔ Check the names of the senders. Were you expecting orhoping to hear from them? How quickly do you need todeal with particular individuals?

✔ Check the subject. Is it an urgent issue or justinformation? Is it about an issue that falls within yoursphere or responsibility, or is it something that shouldjust be forwarded to someone else?

✔ Check the priority given by the senders. Do they reallymean it’s urgent? Remember that some people havea tendency to mark all of their messages ‘important’,even if they’re anything but.

✔ Is it obvious spam? Can it be deleted withoutreading?

✔ Check the time of the message. Has it been in your inboxa long time?

An initial scan like that can help you identify the e-mailsthat need your immediate attention. The others can bekept for reading at a more convenient time.

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Step two: Reply in stagesBecause e-mail is an ‘instant’ medium, it can be tempting toreply immediately but that might not always be necessary.You can reply in stages, with a brief acknowledgementand a more detailed follow-up. If you do this, give therecipient an indication of when you’ll be able to get backto him or her and try to keep to this deadline whereverpossible.

✔ If the e-mail simply requires a brief, one line answerthen by all means reply immediately. For example,if all you need to say is, ‘Yes, I can make the 10.00meeting’, or ‘Thanks, that’s just the information Ineeded’, do it.

✔ If you are unable to reply there and then or choose not to,let the sender know that you have received the messageand will be in touch as soon as possible. This is a usefulmethod of dealing with a query when:

� you need to get further information before replyingin full

� it relates to a relatively complex issue so you needtime to consider your response, rather than givinga rushed answer

� you are angry, upset, frustrated, or confusedabout a message you’ve received and need a‘cooling-off’ period before you make a consideredresponse

Keeping on top of e-mail

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Step three: Set specific times fordealing with incoming e-mailGood time management is essential in all areas of our lifeand e-mail is no exception. If you are completelyoverwhelmed by the volume of messages in your inbox,dedicate a certain amount of time each day to sortingit out.

✔ If you don’t work in a traditional office setting you mayhave ‘dial-up’ e-mail where you contact a serviceprovider to check your inbox. Set a pattern for dialling-inthat fits in well with the type of work you do and theamount of e-mails you expect, and stick to it.

✔ If you have a broadband connection that is ‘always on’,your computer will let you know when you receive anew message. Think about whether to review the newmessages immediately or wait till a pre-determined time.For example, if you have preferred working patterns

TOP TIPTaking a staged approach is a useful techniquethat allows you to maintain contact while not

interrupting other work that may be moreimportant. It also gives you a bit of breathing

space if you are feeling under pressure orworried about the issue under discussion.

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or core working hours—times when you need to beavailable for contact with overseas clients, for example—you may decide to dedicate a certain portion of the dayto dealing with your e-mail.

Step four: Use a filing system tomanage your messagesWhat do you do with incoming messages once you’veread them? If the information is important, you may want tokeep it for future reference. However, hoarding all yourmessages in no particular order will not only slow youdown when you are looking for information, but is alsolikely to make your computer system unwieldy and likelyto crash.

✔ Check whether your company has a policy for retainingand storing e-mails. Archiving may be essential forlegal reasons and if there is a policy in place, you mustcomply with it. Your company may have a central facility

TOP TIPIf you spend a lot of time in meetings, you may

find that you have short spells betweenmeetings (say 10 or 15 minutes) that would

otherwise be wasted time. Use thesebreaks to catch up with your e-mail so

that you don’t have a flood of themwaiting for you at the end of the day.


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for storing or accessing archived e-mails so investigatewith your computer officer or helpdesk, if you have one.You’ll be making their lives easier as well!

If you have a lot of important information you need to hangon to (deals done over e-mail for example, or sign-offs frompartners), create your own filing system. For example, youcould sort messages into folders arranged by:

� customer or supplier name� project name� date of receipt� research topic

Use subfolders: for example, for each project it may beuseful to subdivide everything into monthly or yearly folders.This will also make it easier to see what should be archivedand when.

TOP TIPTo save space in your inbox, you might want tocopy important e-mails relating to a specific

project or programme into other applications.For example, you could create a Word

document called ‘project communications’,in which all relevant e-mails or messagesare held centrally. Everyone will then beable to access the information if you areaway for any reason and you will all be

able to find what you need quickly.

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Step five: Practise good housekeepingIf you don’t file your incoming messages as describedin Step four, make sure you comb through your inboxregularly. If your inbox is chock-full of every messageyou’ve received during the course of a working week, asimple search for an important message could take anawful lot of time.

✔ Set time limits for keeping messages in your inbox.

✔ File or archive any messages that you need to keep.

✔ Make sure that you have replied if a response wasnecessary.

✔ Keep any valuable information, such as contact namesor phone numbers.

TOP TIPUnless you need to keep messages for legal

reasons, it’s generally good practice to deletethem regularly. Regular ‘pruning’ will help you

keep on top of things. To help you do this,some e-mail applications offer an option thatasks you if want to empty your deleted items

folder every time you exit the application.This useful option will ease you intogood e-mail management practice!


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✔ Send unwanted messages to the ‘deleted messages’section of your e-mail system, but check again beforeyou finally clear that section.

Step six: Make arrangements fore-mails when you’re awayOpening your inbox after a holiday or a few days awaycan be an intimidating experience. ‘You have 90 newmessages’—where do you begin? Step one, ‘Prioritiseincoming messages’, is a good starting point, but a fewminutes spent making arrangements before you leave theoffice will save you a lot of time on your return.

✔ Leave an ‘out of office reply’ on your system. Thisresponds automatically to incoming e-mails, telling thesender that you are away and will deal with the messageon your return. It will not stop the first message from aparticular sender, but it may prevent further material ormessages from the same person asking why you haven’treplied.

✔ As part of your ‘out of office reply’, state when you areback in the office so that your correspondent has arough idea of how long you’ll be away. If you areexpecting a lot of messages or are at a crucial stagein a big project, ask one of your colleagues if you cannominate them to be an alternative point of contactduring your absence, and if your colleague agrees, give

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his or her e-mail and telephone number in your ‘outof office reply’.

✔ Alternatively, ask a colleague to check your inboxregularly for particular types of message and eitheracknowledge them or deal with the issue, if possible.This will make sure that urgent items receive the rightlevel of attention.

Step seven: Offer alternativesto e-mailAlthough e-mail is one of the most popular and convenientways of communicating quickly, there are practical andeffective alternatives:

� instant messaging, which allows short messages to becommunicated between connected computers on anetwork. This is ideal for brief communications, suchas ‘meeting changed to 11.00’, or ‘send me the latestsales figures’.

� voicemail, which again allows the caller to leavemessages that you can respond to when you’reready

� teleconferencing, where a number of people can join ina telephone discussion and make decisions withoutlong e-mail chains

� introduction of informal meeting areas which promotereal collaboration


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A good deal of e-mail communication comes from externalsources, but think about how many e-mails you sendeach day to your colleagues in the office, or receive fromthem. Are they all absolutely necessary? If not, why nottake the initiative and ask whoever is responsible forcompany-wide e-mail management to instigate somebasic rules that will cut down on internal e-mails? Thepolicies could cover:

� mass copies of e-mail to recipients who don’t reallyneed it (for example, sending an e-mail about a projectto everyone in the business when only a small group ofpeople need to be kept informed)

� personal e-mail� limits on the ‘thread’ of a discussion which covers every

point made by every recipient

Step eight: Protect against spamSpam or unwanted e-mail, like the unsolicited direct mailthat comes through your letterbox, is a tremendous wasteof time and can clog up your e-mail system.

It’s a real and growing problem for businesses in the UnitedKingdom: in December 2003, the Institute for Enterprise andInnovation at the University of Nottingham found that UKoffice workers spent up to an hour per day deleting spamfrom their inboxes. That hour could be very well spenttackling other items on your to-do list, so think aboutthe following ways to limit or prevent spam:

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✔ Use a filter supplied by your Internet service provider.This blocks e-mails that contain certain terms or otherattributes that identify the message as potential spam.

✔ If it’s practical, set rules for your incoming e-mail. Somerules block all incoming e-mail except messages fromaddresses you have nominated. This is helpful to acertain degree, but can cause problems for newlegitimate contacts or organisations that have changedtheir addresses.

✔ Unsubscribe to any services or newsletters that you donot wish to receive. The incoming e-mail should provideyou with details of how to do this.

✔ Use a separate e-mail address for newsgroups asspammers use these addresses for their mailing lists.

✔ Do not give permission for your e-mail address to bepassed on to other parties when you subscribe to orregister for a new service. At some stage in theregistration or subscription process, you should beasked whether or not you give permission for this tohappen, normally in the form of a short statement plus apreference box that you need to tick. Read any suchrequests very carefully.

✔ As a last resort, change your e-mail address. It might takeless time to send a new e-mail address to everyone onyour contact list than it does to delete your daily spamload.


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Common mistakes

✗ Reacting immediately to every e-mailLike a ringing telephone, it can be hard to ignore a newincoming message. It takes discipline to wait for aconvenient moment or scan the message and reply later,but once you have decided on a new approach todealing with e-mail, stick to it.

✗ Not clearing your inbox regularlyThe list of incoming messages can very quickly grow tounmanageable proportions. Clear the inbox regularly

TOP TIPNot only does spam e-mail clog up your inbox,

but it can pass on viruses that may spreadthroughout your computer system. You

should immediately delete any e-mail thatyou are suspicious of and then empty your

‘deleted items’ folder. Most companieswill have invested in the most up-to-dateanti-virus software they can afford, but if

you work from home or are self-employed,it’s up to you to make sure your machine isvirus-free. Scan your computer regularlyfor viruses and make sure you have therelevant software and security patches.

The links at the end of the chapterwill help you find out more about this.

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or develop a filing system that allows you to respondappropriately and retain useful information.

✗ Not protecting against spamSpam doesn’t just waste your time and fill up your inbox,it can also introduce harmful viruses into your computeror your company network. Make sure you are protectedagainst unwanted e-mail and seek advice from yourcomputer helpdesk team or Internet service providerif you have any concerns.

STEPS TO SUCCESS

✔ Prioritise your incoming messages—not every e-mail isurgent or important.

✔ Reply when you are ready—an instant medium doesn’trequire an instant response.

✔ Choose a convenient time to deal with non-urgent e-mail.

✔ Develop a filing system that allows you to retain and usevaluable information.

✔ Clear your inbox regularly to prevent your system frombecoming unmanageable.

✔ Make arrangements to deal with e-mail when you’reaway from the office so that you don’t return to amountain of messages.


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✔ Consider alternatives to e-mail such as instantmessaging, voicemail, or face-to-face contact!

✔ Protect yourself against spam by using filters orimposing rules on incoming mail.

Useful linksBBC Webwise:

www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/askbruce

McAfee antivirus software:

www.mcafee.com

Norton antivirus software:

www.norton.com

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/askbruce

http://www.mcafee.com

http://www.norton.com

6Maintaining a healthywork--life balance‘Time flies when you’re having fun’ goes theadage. Time also flies when you are very busy—but rather than having fun, you can soon findyourself stressed in a way that affects not onlyyour mental and emotional wellbeing, but yourphysical health.

When there isn’t enough time in the day,something has to give: but is it to be your workor your personal life? Achieving a balance hasbecome one of the burning issues of the day.

Here are some of the main reasons why more andmore people are addressing the topic of work–lifebalance:

� More women joining the workforce meansmore demands on parents to juggle job andfamily.

� More people living longer means moreworkers with the care demands of elderlyrelatives.

� More pressure and longer hours at work onaccount of modern technology (for example,overflowing inboxes, Internet informationdeluge, and ringing phones) mean people‘burning out’ younger.

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Government figures show that Britain has thelongest working hours in Europe, although ourworkforce is not as productive as those in somecountries with shorter hours. So while peopleare spending more time at work, they are notnecessarily achieving more.

The broad argument for greater balance andflexibility at work is that greater satisfactionamong employees will lead to fewer stress-related illnesses, less time taken off forsickness, lower staff turnover, and higherproductivity. People with a good balancebetween their work and other responsibilitiesand interests tend to be more motivated andproductive: in other words, happy peoplework better.

Step one: Understand what work--lifebalance isWork–life balance is about modifying the way you work inorder to accommodate other responsibilities or aspirations.It doesn’t only apply to parents of young children or peoplewho need to care for dependents. Quality of life is becomingan issue for everyone.

Thankfully, growing numbers of businesses are becomingaware of the importance of allowing their employees to strike

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a balance between their work and personal lives. Flexibilityin the workplace, moreover, is being driven by businessneed—working cultures and attitudes are changing inmany parts of the world, and many employers see theneed to adapt to this if they are to recruit and retain thebest people.

Step two: Assess your work--life balancePlanning is essential in order to gain a perspective on howyour current lifestyle fits in with your ambitions andrequirements inside and outside the workplace.

✔ Reflect on your work situation—where you are in termsof your career, how fulfilling you find it, how much ofyourself you put into it—and then set yourself somecareer aims, giving yourself a realistic time scale inwhich to achieve them.

✔ Consider your personal life. What are the most importantelements? Who are the most important people to you?How much are you getting out of it? By asking yourselfthese profound but crucial questions, you can work outwhat is lacking in your life and what are unwelcomeinfringements upon it. Decide what you want to spendmore time on, what you want to spend less time on,and then plan how to do it.

It is only once you have established what your aims are andthe length of time needed to achieve them, that you can

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Maintaining a healthy work--life balance


address how changing your work patterns may help youget there.

Step three: Be aware of the optionsFind out what your rights are and make sure you’re aware ofall the choices available to you. Employees now have theright to take periods of paid maternity, paternity, andparental leave, as well as the right to take time off (eitherpaid or unpaid, depending on circumstances) to care fordependents. There are, however, several other key areas inwhich you can address your work–life balance needs andpreferences. These are:

1 Flexi-time workingPeople working on flexi-time schedules are able to vary theirstart and finishing times, providing they work a set amountof hours during each week or month.

Flexi-time is not only great for parents trying to manage ahousehold as well as a job, but for anyone who finds workingwithin a strict and continuous routine depressing anddemotivating. Everyone’s energy levels fluctuate during theday, but not necessarily at the same time, and so flexi-time isa good strategy for making sure people always work at theirpeak. Another great advantage, particularly for city-workersand commuters, is that flexi-time gives you the opportunityto avoid rush-hour—probably one of the most time-wastingand stressful parts of the day.

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2 Part-time workingEmployees with a part-time arrangement may decidebetween working fewer days each week or fewer hoursa day.

This option also works well for people with parental or caringresponsibilities. The other people who benefit greatly frompart-time working are those returning to work after lookingafter young children, recovering or suffering from illness,and people who are trying to pursue other interests orcareers.

3 Job sharingThis involves two people dividing a full-time workloadbetween them, with each working on a part-time basis. Thisis beneficial if you want to maintain something of your careerwhile being able to spend more time with your children orpursue other interests outside work.

TOP TIPPart-time working should be attainable

without becoming side-lined in theorganisation or losing benefits, such as sick

pay and holiday pay. If you are concernedabout this, you can find out more about yourrights as a part-time employee in the EqualPay Act 1970, and get advice from the Equal

Opportunities Commission (www.eoc.org.uk).

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http://www.eoc.org.uk

4 Home working or telecommutingMany jobs now involve computer-based activities that canbe done as easily from an Internet-linked PC at home or in aremote (telecommuting) facility. This style of working benefitsnot only parents and carers, but can help many peoplewithout those kinds of domestic responsibilities to workmore productively, especially in tasks that require a greatdeal of concentration, and uninterrupted peace and quietaway from colleagues, phones, day-to-day admin, and worke-mails. It is unusual for someone to work from home orremotely full-time, but some employers do find it a costadvantage to themselves through the reduced need forfixed office space.

5 Term-time workingThis option allows employees to take time off work duringschool holidays in order to look after their children. Thistime off is usually taken as unpaid leave, although the salarycan be paid evenly across the year. The sorts of employersmost likely to operate this scheme are those in industriesthat experience seasonal peaks and troughs.

6 Other optionsThe variety of opportunities being adopted by organisationsto help you achieve the right balance does not stop there.The Department of Trade and Industry website has a fairlycomprehensive list (see Useful links at the end of the chapter).In addition to the options outlined above, it includes:

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� Staggered hours: staff work to different start, finish, andbreak times.

� Compressed working hours: staff work their total weeklynumber of hours over fewer days.

� Annualised hours: staff have more flexibility about takingtime-off as working hours are calculated over the yearrather than by the week.

� Shift swapping: staff negotiate their working times andshifts between themselves.

� Self-rostering: staff state their preferred working times,and then shifts are organised to accommodate as manyof those preferences as possible.

� Career breaks: as well as paternity, maternity, andparental leave, staff may also be allowed unpaid careerbreaks and sabbaticals.

� Time off in lieu: staff are given time off when they haveput in extra hours at work.

� Flexible and cafeteria benefits: staff are offered a choiceof benefits so that they can pick those best suited tothem.

Step four: Make an application forflexible working hours

1 Find out how the processes work✔ First of all, make sure that you qualify for flexible working

arrangements. Most people apply for flexible workingbecause of their family situation. As of April 2003 and

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under the terms of the Employment Act 2002, parentsof children under the age of 6, or of less abled-bodiedchildren under the age of 18, may request flexible workinghours, but they need to have completed six months’continuous service at the company or organisation inquestion before making that request. Someorganisations may also consider flexible working if youneed to care for a dependent adult, such as yourspouse, partner, or parent.

✔ Check the employees’ handbook or with your humanresources department (if you have one) to see what thepreferred method of application is. The DTI has somebasic forms that may be customised, so your companymay be using these already. If not, most companieswould expect a request for a change in working hoursto be made in writing. This should be followed up within28 days by a meeting between you and your manager.Bear in mind that only one application can be made inany 12-month period.

✔ Do some informal research. Once you’ve checked outyour company’s policy, speak to friends or colleagueswho have applied for flexible working hours or whoare already working under a new arrangement. How didthe successful applicants approach their request? Arethey finding it easier or harder than they’d anticipated towork in a new way? Bear in mind that if your workingarrangements are changed, these changes arepermanent unless otherwise agreed between you andyour employer.

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2 Make a persuasive case✔ Prepare your case and try to anticipate the questions

your manager may ask you when you meet to talkabout your application. Requests can be turneddown because managers fear that flexible workingarrangements may affect the business, so beprepared to give well-thought-out, positive responsesto questions such as:

� Will you still be an effective team member?� How would a change in your working hours affect

your colleagues?� What will be the overall effect on the work you do?� How could a change in your working hours affect

the business positively?

✔ Think about when you would want any new arrangementto start and give your company as much notice as youcan. This will convey the fact that you are still committed

TOP TIPBe realistic and also be ready to compromise.

A popular way of approaching negotiationsof any type is to draw up a wish-list for yoursuccessful outcome that contains an idealsolution, a realistic one, and an absolute

minimum. If you show that you are preparedto be flexible, your manager may be willing

to meet you half-way.

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to the company and are thinking about how the potentialchanges to your working life will fit in overall.

✔ Stress that the quality of your work and your motivationwill not change, even if your working hours do. In fact,you’ll be more productive as you’ll suffer from lessstress and will need to take fewer days off sick to lookafter your children or dependents when they are ill.You could also explain that as part of a reciprocalarrangement whereby all parties benefit, you’d bewilling to work extra or longer in times of heavy demand.Finally, but no less importantly, explain how muchknowledge and expertise you have built up while youhave been working there and how much the companybenefits from it.

3 Follow upAccording to the DTI guidelines, you should be informedabout the outcome of your application within 14 days ofyour meeting.

TOP TIPMany companies or organisations will allow

you to bring a union representative with you toa meeting to discuss your application. If youdo invite one along, make sure he or she has

read a copy of your application and anyrelated documents from your place ofwork so that he or she is up to speed.

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✔ If all goes well and an agreement is reached, your newworking arrangement and an agreed start date shouldbe set down in writing and copies given to all relevantparties (you, your manager, and the HR department orrepresentative if you have one).

✔ If your request is not granted, you may appealwithin 14 days of receiving the decision. See theDTI website (www.dti.gov.uk) for further advice onthis issue.

Step five: Set up a flexible workingsystem in your organisationIf you are an employer or manager, be prepared for someextra administrative costs involved in, for example, settingup IT equipment at home for employees. It’s important toremember though, that the benefits of retaining skilled andexperienced staff should outweigh these costs, not leastin reducing the expense of recruiting and trainingreplacements for dissatisfied employees who havechosen to leave.

1 Think about the needs of the businessStart by clarifying the most important needs of yourbusiness. Flexible working will only be sustainable if it doesnot hinder your business’s ability to perform efficiently andprofitably.

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http://www.dti.gov.uk

✔ Speak to your staff to find out how many of them areinterested in exploring flexible working arrangements.

✔ Engage staff in thinking about how flexible arrangementswould affect the business and customers. Discuss whatsort of re-organisation might be involved in new workingarrangements.

✔ Ensure that your staff understand what the businessneeds from them, so that they do not make unrealisticrequests about working flexibly.

2 Develop and implement a policy✔ Formulate a policy on how your business views flexible

working. Discuss these ideas with staff as you formulatethem, so that they see the policy developing and feelthey have been consulted in the process.

TOP TIPIf you’re an employer worried that yourbusiness won’t be able to cope if all the

employees decide they want to work flexiblehours, you can relax. The evidence so farsuggests that only a small proportion of

people adopt flexible working arrangements.By consulting with your employees beforenew arrangements are introduced, you can

avoid resentment developing and ensure thatflexibility works to everyone’s advantage.

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✔ Write down a procedure for how you will deal withrequests for flexible arrangements, and how staffperformance will be monitored. Make sure everyoneis aware of these procedures.

✔ Implement your plans over a trial period.

✔ Together with staff, review how well the process works,and assess the impact of flexible working on thebusiness.

✔ Make necessary changes to your policy or practices;monitor and review these regularly.

Common mistakes

As an employee:✗ You don’t prepare well enough

As with all types of negotiation, you need to make surethat you’ve done your groundwork when you make an

TOP TIPAs an employer, the key to making flexible

arrangements work is setting and monitoringthe workload and tasks for employeesworking from home. If proper trust is

established and workloads or tasks areagreed and monitored, there should be no

need for direct supervision.

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application for flexible working hours. First, be awareof your rights by researching the issue: you might wantto visit the DTI website which sets out the rights andresponsibilities of both employers and employees.Second, check your company’s stance on the issue,and make sure you follow the procedures properly whensubmitting a written application. When you meet yourmanager to discuss the application, stress that yourcommitment to your role and the company will notchange, and think through questions he or she mightask you about the effects of flexible working on yourworkload and that of your colleagues.

✗ You aren’t flexibleBear in mind that the legislation relating to flexibleworking hours gives you the right to request them: itdoesn’t mean that your company will necessarily agreeto your application, although they have a responsibilityto consider it reasonably. If you are flexible when youmeet with your manager and open to compromise ifyour ideal scenario is not possible, then it’s more likelythat you’ll end up with a result that suits everyone.

✗ You don’t think through all the financialimplicationsDon’t forget that when you reduce your hours, it’snot just your salary that may be affected. Pensioncontributions and other benefits may change too. Besure that when you take the decision to apply for flexibleworking hours, you’ll be able to cope financially if yourapplication is granted.

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As an employer:✗ You try to implement change too quickly

Moving towards a work–life balance, and bringing abouta cultural change, doesn’t happen overnight. Striveinitially to create an environment of openness and mutualrespect, where individuals gradually feel a sense ofsupport and trust. From there you can move towards abalance between the demands of your business and thepersonal needs of your employees.

✗ You begrudge employees who want flexibleworking arrangementEmployees who make choices that support a work–lifebalance shouldn’t feel a sense of disapproval, nor thatthey can no longer expect to progress within yourorganisation. Be inclusive and avoid alienating peoplewith particular personal needs.

✗ You lose touch with out-of-office staffStaff who aren’t in the office regularly may start feelingisolated. Try to avoid this by planning regular feedbackmeetings in the office, and organising social events tobring staff together.

STEPS TO SUCCESS

✔ When assessing your work–life balance, decide uponyour career aims and personal ambitions and how longyou think you need in order to achieve them.

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✔ Find out about all the various flexible working optionsavailable. Consider which one would suit the needs ofyour desired lifestyle best.

✔ An application for flexible working needs to be wellresearched. You should prepare your case thoroughlyso that the employer feels reassured that you have thebusiness’s best interests at heart as well as your own.

✔ Employers should take a planned approach toimplementing flexible working arrangements, involvingconsultations with staff to decide on the best policy.

✔ Flexible working policy should be implemented over atrial period, and followed up with a review of how it isworking and adjustments to ensure that the businesscontinues to function efficiently.

Useful linksDepartment of Trade and Industry:

www.dti.gov.uk

Employers for Work–Life Balance:

www.employersforwork-lifebalance.org.uk

Flexibility.co.uk:

www.flexibility.co.uk/issues/WLB/index.htm

iVillage.co.uk:

www.ivillage.co.uk/workcareer

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http://www.dti.gov.uk

http://www.employersforwork-lifebalance.org.uk

http://www.flexibility.co.uk/issues/WLB/index.htm

http://www.ivillage.co.uk/workcareer

7Developing decision-makingskills

Some people are naturally more decisive thanothers. For them, it’s relatively easy to respondto a situation, weigh up the pros and cons ofvarious ways of tackling the issue, make thedecision, and move on. For the indecisive, though,the process can be nightmarish, stressful, andeat up an awful lot of valuable time. The trickhere is to find a decision-making style thatmeans you spend enough time on a decision tomake sure it’s a good, well-considered one, butthat you cut out the procrastination. Avoid thetemptation to make knee-jerk judgments: youmay think you are creating a good impressionby looking decisive, but it’s the quality of thedecision that counts in the end.

This chapter sets out to help you if you finddecision-making a challenge. While you may notalways be able to predict or control the everydaycircumstances that you face, and, clearly, somedecisions are a lot easier to make than others,there are skills you can learn that will improvehow you respond. As you practise these skillsand habits, they will gradually become secondnature. The result will be less stress, moredecisiveness, less time wasted, and more focusin your working life.

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To make the best decision possible, be clearabout your goals, the problem in question, theoptions open to you, the possible consequences,the timescale, and the outcome of previousdecisions on the matter. The process combinesyour intuition (to initiate your response and comeup with innovative options) and your analyticalability (with which you scrutinise and quantifyyour options).

Step one: Understand what you wantyour decision to achieveWhen you are faced with a difficult issue, try to look pastyour immediate objective and take in your longer-termgoals as well. For example, let’s say you work in salesand have dealings with a wide variety of customers. Ifone of your customers wants you to drop your price to anuneconomical level, think about how important the sale isin the long run. If that customer does not feature in yourbusiness priorities, then you might only damage yourreputation among competitors and other customers bydropping your price too low. On the other hand, if thecustomer is in a sector that you want to break in to, then alow-margin sale may give you an important foot in the doorfor future business.

✔ Once you have defined the objectives of your decision,then you are in a position to determine its level of

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significance. This is important for deciding the amountof time and resources you should spend in making theright decision.

Different decision levels1 StrategicDecisions about strategy are concerned with long-termgoals, philosophies, and the overall scheme ofmasterminding the future direction of the business. Theytherefore tend to be more theoretical than practical,more unpredictable in outcome, and more risky. Thismakes them of great importance.

2 TacticalTactical decisions are concerned with short- tomedium-term objectives, and usually involve theimplementation of strategic decisions and planning.The long-term risks are fewer and the significance,therefore, more moderate. However, as tacticaldecisions turn strategic decisions into reality they aremore likely to involve the overseeing and handling ofbudgets, people, schedules, and resources, whichrepresents a considerable responsibility.

3 OperationalOperational decisions are concerned with day-to-daysystems and procedures and so tend to be morestructured—to the extent that they can be routine orpre-programmed. As the third level down in the decision

Developing decision-making skills

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food chain they are used to support tactical decisions.The outcomes of operational decisions therefore tendto be immediate to short-term, and involve few risks. Nevertheless, a series of decision errors can havea knock-on effect, with repercussions far beyond thepurely operational sphere.

Step two: Find the informationyou need

✔ Give yourself as much time as you can to research theissue surrounding the decision you need to make. Try toresist as far as possible the temptation to promise aquick decision.

✔ Identify which sources of information you will needand make sure that they can be accessed quickly andeasily. Get advice from experts or colleagues, and behonest about those areas where you do not have theanswers.

✔ Wherever possible, cut out assumptions: check yourfacts. This might look like an extra hoop to jumpthrough, but it is a valuable one. If you base a decisionaround a factor or number of factors that actually turnout to be unreliable, you’ll have wasted hours of workanyway.

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Six thinking hatsThis powerful technique, developed by lateral thinkingpioneer, Edward de Bono, will help you to look atdecisions from many perspectives.

✔ Allocate each individual—alone or in a group—aseries of imaginary hats, which represent differentoutlooks, according to colour. This forces people tomove into different modes of thinking.

� White hats focus on the data, look for gaps,extrapolate from history, and examine futuretrends.

� Red hats use intuition and emotion to look atproblems.

� Black hats look at the negative, and find reasonswhy something may not work. If an idea canget through this process, it’s more likely tosucceed.

TOP TIPAsk for help from your colleagues or manager

if time is very short or you’ve reached animpasse—a brainstorming session is often

a good idea and often people who arenew to an issue may see a solution that

you’ve overlooked as you’re so close to it.


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� Yellow hats think positively. This hat’soptimistic view helps you to see the benefitsof a decision, providing a boost to thethinking process.

� Green hats develop creative, freewheelingsolutions. There is no room for criticism in thismode; it’s strictly positive.

� Blue hats orchestrate the meeting—you’re incontrol in this hat. Feel free to propose a new hatto keep ideas flowing.

Step three: Outline the alternativesand their consequences

✔ Get a few options down in writing, then explore thepositive and negative consequences of each; givespecial attention to the unintended consequencesthat might arise, especially if you are considering acourse of action that you have not tried before. Youmay find it useful to list these in columns alongsidethe options.

✔ Make sure you analyse all the main alternatives and theirconsequences in this way. Your analysis at this stagemay prove valuable further down the line when youmight have to justify why you chose one course ofaction over another.

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Step four: Judge each alternative byyour goals

✔ Go back to what you wanted your decision to achieve;that is, remind yourself of what your priorities are inthis situation. This forces you to always consider yourlonger-term goals when making your shorter-term

TOP TIPForce field analysis is useful for examiningpros and cons. By looking at the forces thatwill support or challenge a decision (such as

finances or market conditions), you canstrengthen the pros and diminish the cons.

Draw three columns, and place the situationor issue in the middle. The pros push on one

side, and the cons push on the other. Allocatescores to each force to convey its potency.

This allows you to measure the overalladvantages and disadvantages of any

given action. SWOT analysis is anotherhandy grid technique that works by

identifying the strengths and weaknessesof a decision, and examining the existing

opportunities and threats. You canfind more information on thesetechniques online (see Useful

links at the end of this chapter).


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decisions, and ensures that they are ‘pointing in thesame direction’.

✔ Measure the merits and problems in each alternative—this may be a case of estimating financial costs andbenefits, or it may involve less tangible factors likegoodwill or publicity. This involves a forward-thinkingprocess of predicting what will happen as a result of yourdecision. Make a note of these expectations, as they willbe important when you review your decision later on andjudge with hindsight whether it was a good one.

✔ Compare the alternatives to each other, and decidewhich one comes out best in the light of the informationavailable.

TOP TIPDecision trees are a great way to help you

examine alternative solutions and theirimpact, especially when decisions arerequired in situations where there is a

great deal of information to sift through.Start your decision tree on one side of a

piece of paper, with a symbol representingthe decision to be made. Different lines

representing various solutions open out likea fan from this nexus. Additional decisionsor uncertainties that need to be resolvedare indicated on these lines and, in turn,

form the new decision point, fromwhich yet more options fan out.

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Step five: Take the decision, andimplement it

✔ Make sure that everyone involved is informed about thedecision you have taken; the value of a good decision isoften undermined if your staff or colleagues hear aboutit through inappropriate channels. You will normallyneed to inform the more senior people first, but speedis often of the essence when letting people know; planyour timing carefully and control the process firmly.

✔ Explain the reasons why the decision was made,especially when the decision is contentious. Outlinewhat benefits you expect as a result, as well as anyother implications that the business needs to anticipate.

✔ Get the right people onto the job of implementing thedecision, so that it gets the best possible chance ofsuccess.

Step six: Review the consequences ofyour decision

✔ Decide how long it will take before the decision willhave an effect, and plan an assessment at that timeto review how well it went. Make sure that somemeasurement is being made that you can use later to


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help in your assessment. If it’s a decision to send outa promotional mailing, for instance, then ensure thatsomeone is collecting information on the impact of thatmailing on daily orders.

The review should be a learning exercise—not just for youbut for everyone concerned with making the decision andimplementing it. Try and get as many of these people aspossible involved in the review process. This will help themwhen a similar decision needs to be taken next time; itwill also advance their own decision-making skills andenhance their value to the business.

Common mistakes

✗ You put off making a difficult decisionProcrastination will seldom lead to a decision becomingeasier to make. Give the decision some thought as earlyas you can, and give yourself a deadline for making it—based on how long you think you need to gather thenecessary information and input, and how importanta decision it is.

✗ You make snap decisions under pressureMaking any decision without enough thought is risky;if you are in a pressurised office situation and time isshort, there is the added danger of not being able tosee the whole picture. In a quick decision, you mayneglect to think through important consequencesof your actions.

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✗ You don’t consult those who will be affectedNothing is quite as demotivating for staff as feelingthat their input is not valued or their feelings are notrespected. Before you begin to address a decision,think carefully about each of the people who are—orcould later be—affected by the outcome of yourdecision. Make sure that you include them—notnecessarily all of them at every step, but leave them inno doubt that their input is appreciated.

✗ You let your bad decisions overshadow yourgood onesNo one can get it right 100% of the time, and there arebound to be occasions when your decisions do nothave the effect you’d hoped for or intended. Try not tobe too downcast by this, and see bad decisions aspart of the learning process, not as indications of failure.If you learn from a bad decision, that in itself is a goodoutcome. Don’t be too hard on yourself.

STEPS TO SUCCESS

✔ Clarify why you want to take the decision, and whatbenefits you expect to flow from it.

✔ Get others involved in making the decision if they will beaffected by it, to contribute information and alternatives.

✔ Consider using a range of established techniques likesix thinking hats, force field analysis, decision trees, and


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SWOT analysis, to help you cover all the options andassess their likely effectiveness.

✔ Plan what needs to be done in implementing thedecision fully, so that everyone involved feels part of it.

✔ Make time to review the decision and make changes ifthe outcome is not what you had hoped.

Useful linksbusinessballs.com:

www.businessballs.com/problemsolving.htm

Mind Tools:

www.mindtools.com

Time Management Guide:

www.time-management-guide.com/decision-making-

skills.html

Virtual Salt:

www.virtualsalt.com/crebook6.htm

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http://www.businessballs.com/problemsolving.htm

http://www.mindtools.com

http://www.time-management-guide.com/decision-making-skills.html

http://www.virtualsalt.com/crebook6.htm

Where to find more help30 Minutes to Manage Information OverloadJohn CauntLondon: Kogan Page, 199964pp ISBN: 0749429801This is a brief but useful source of help for anyone feelingoverwhelmed by the amount of information he or she needs tomanage at work. Covering both traditional and online information,this book offers practical hints on reviewing the way you workcurrently and processing and storing information more efficiently.

Downshifting: How to Work Less and EnjoyLife MoreJohn D. DrakeSan Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 2001136pp ISBN: 1576751163This is a thought-provoking book aimed at anyone unhappy withtheir current work–life balance. It offers advice to those thinking ofchanging their life to a less work-centred one but also gives time-management help to readers coping with long working days.

Get Everything Done and Still Have Time to PlayMark ForsterLondon: Help Yourself Books, 2000208pp ISBN: 0340746203Based on the author’s view that time can’t be managed, but thatyou can change the way you focus on tasks so that you make thebest use of time available, this book offers advice on how toprioritise, plan, allocate time-slots to different activities, andovercome your natural resistance to some of the demands on yourday-to-day life.

The One-Minute ManagerKenneth Blanchard and Spencer JohnsonLondon: HarperCollins Business 2000112pp ISBN: 0007107927Kenneth Blanchard has written many books based on the

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perennially popular idea of the one-minute manager. This accessiblebook aims to help anyone fix goals and objectives so that they canorganise their lives better, work more effectively, and live with othersmore harmoniously.

Manage meetings positively: How to take chargeand come up with resultsLondon: A & C Black, 200696pp ISBN: 0713675233Are you meeting-phobic? Spending hours of your precious timelocked up in pointless meetings can be a nightmare. If your jobmeans that you have to chair meetings, you’ll need to know how tocontend with difficult situations too. Whatever your meeting-relatedworries, this book will help you get to grips with them. It covers arange of key issues, from the basics, to coping with fraughtdiscussions, meeting with people from other business cultures,and getting the best from virtual meetings.

Time Management from the Inside OutJulie MorgensternLondon: Hodder & Stoughton, 2001239pp ISBN: 0340771380This is a thorough, accessible guide to creating a time managementsystem that works for you and your personal situation. The authorsets out to give sound advice that can be customised across arange of lifestyles.

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MANAGE YOUR TIME


agendas, meetings 33–4

angry people, managing meetings

40

annualised hours, flexible working

65

appraisals 28

archiving e-mails 49–50, 51

brainstorming sessions 32, 38–9, 79

career breaks 65

catering requirements, meetings 35,

37

communications, and information

overload 12–13

compressed hours, flexible working

65

computers:

home working 64

instant messaging 53

viruses 45, 56, 57

conference calls 13, 32, 53

confidence, and delegation 29

de Bono, Edward 79

deadlines, delegation 26, 27–8

decision-making skills 75–86

decision trees 82

delegation 21–30

diaries 8, 26

e-mails 12–13, 45–58

after holidays 52–3

alternatives to 53

dealing with 48–9, 56–7

filing systems 49–50

filtering 14–15

internal e-mails 54

organisers and 18

‘out of office’ replies 52–3

prioritising 46

‘pruning’ 51–2

replacing meetings with 32

replying to 47–8

spam 45, 54–6, 57

family life, work–life balance 59–74

faxes 12–13

filing systems, e-mails 49–50

finances, and flexible working 72

flexi-time working 62

flexible working systems 61, 62–74

force field analysis 81

goals:

decision-making 76, 81–2

planning 7

hoarding:

e-mails 49–50, 51–2

information 17

holidays, dealing with e-mails after

52–3

home life, work–life balance 59–74

home working 64, 73

information:

decision-making 79

information overload 12–20

instant messaging 53

Internet, information overload 12–13,

16, 17

job sharing 63

lost time 4–5

lunch meetings 35

maternity leave 62

meetings 31–44

Index

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messaging, instant 53

minutes, meetings 35–6, 41–2

mobile phones 12–13, 17, 37

‘no’, saying 5, 16–17

operational decision-making 77–8

organisers 8, 18

Palm Pilots 8

parental leave 62

Pareto principle 15

part-time working 63

passionate people, managing

meetings 39–40

paternity leave 62

performance reviews 28

personal life, work–life balance 59–74

planning 7–9

delegation 25–6

meetings 33–6

work–life balance 61–2

prioritising 7, 18, 46

procrastination, decision-making 84

quality of life 60

relaxation 19

rewards, and delegation 28

rights, flexible working 62, 72

routine tasks, delegation 23

saying ‘no’ 5, 16–17

self-rostering, flexible working 65

shift swapping, flexible working 65

‘six thinking hats’ technique,

decision-making 79–80

spam e-mails 45, 54–6, 57

staff development, delegation and 22,

24, 26, 29

staggered hours, flexible working 65

status, and delegation 29

strategic decision-making 77

stress 13–14, 60

switching off 19

SWOT analysis 81

tactical decision-making 77

talkative people, managing meetings

39

teams, disorganised members 5–6

technology:

information overload 12, 17–18

time management 8–9

telecommuting 64

teleconferencing 13, 32, 53

term-time working 64

‘time audit’ 1–3

time off in lieu 65

‘to do’ lists 8

toolkits, time management 8–9

venues, meetings 36–7

videoconferencing 13, 32

viruses, computer 45, 56, 57

voicemail 12–13, 53

Web searches, information overload

16, 17

work–life balance 59–74

MANAGE YOUR TIME

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manage your time - thái huy · 10/10/2011 · how well do you manage your time? iv 1 organising...

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