Ten Tipsto Help You

h'fanage Your TirneFew people actually waste time; they just don't

use it properly. But you can develophabits of priceless value

Bv EowrN Br,rss

I- FrRST became interested in theI effective use of time when IL *"r an assistant to a USsenator. Members of the USCongress are faced with urgentand conflicting demands on theirtime-for committee work, floorvotes, speeches, interviews,briefi ngs, correspondence, investi-gations, constituents' problems,and the need to be informed ona wide range of subjects. The moresuccessful legislators develop tech-niques for getting maximumbenefit from minimum investmentof time. If they don't, they don'tretutn.

Realizing that I was not one of

EowrN Br,rss is a management consultantand frequent lecturer m executive timemanagement.

those who use time effectively,I began to apply in my own lifesome of the techniques I hadobserved. Here are ten I havefound most helpful.

Plan. You need to plan yourd^y. Otherwise, you'll allocateyour time according to whateverhappens to land on your desk.And you will find yourself makingthe fatal mistake of dealing pri-marily with problems rather thanopportunities. Start each day bymaking a general schedule, withparticular emphasis on the two orthree major things you wouldlike to accomplish-includingthings that will achieve long-termgoals. Remember, studies provewhat common sense tells us: themore time we spend planninga project, the less total time is

sE arc's oF rxE hil^oErDM," @ 1976 EDnN BK ,,5

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required for it. Don't let today'sroutine work crowd planning-time out of your schedule.

Concenttate. Of all the princi-ples of time management, nofleis more basic than concentration.People who have serious time-management problems invariablyare trymg to do too many thingsat once. The amount of timespent on a proiect is not whatcounts: it's the amount ofminterapted time. Few problemscan resist an all-out attack; fewcan be solved piecemeal.

Take Breaks. To work forlong periods without taking a

break is not an effective use oftime. Energy decreases, boredomsets in, and physical stress andtension accumulate. Switching fora few minutes from a mental taskto something physical-isometricexercises, walking around the of-fice, even changing from a sittingposition to a standing position fora while-can provide relief.

Merely resting, however, is of-ten the best course, and you shouldnot think ofa "rest" break as pooruse of time. Not only will beingrefreshed increase your efficiency,but relieving tension will benefityour health. Anything that con-tributes to health is good timemanagement.

Avoid Clutter. Some peoplehave a constant swirl of papers ontheir desks and assume that some-how the most important matterswill float to the top. In most cases,

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however, clutter hinders concen-tration and can create tension andfrustration-a feeling of being"buried under."

Whenever you find your deskbecoming chaotic, take time outto reorganize. Go through allyour papers (making generoususe of the waste-basket) and di-vide them into categories: 1) Im-mediate action. 2) Low priority.3) Pending. 4) Reading material.Put the highest priority item fromyour first pile in the centte of yourdesk, then put everything else outof sight. Remember, you can thinkof only one thing

^t a time, aud

you can work on only one task ata time, so focus all your attentionon the most important one. A finalpoint: clearing the desk complete-ly, or at least organizing it, eachevening should be standard prac-tice. It gets the next day off to a

good start.Don't Be a Perfectionist.

There is a difference betweenstriving for excellence and strivingfor perfection. The first is attain-able, gratifying and healthy. Thesecond is often unattainable, frus-trating and neurotic. It's also a

terrible waste of time. Why shoulda srenographer retype a lengthyletter because of a trivial error, ora boss demand such retyping fora letter that will be briefy glancedat en route to someone's file cabi-net or waste-paper basket?

Don't Be Afraid to Say No.Of all the time-saving techniques

September

ever developed, perhaps the mosteffective is frequent use of theword ,to. Leam to decline, tact-fully but firmly, every request thatdoes not contribute to your goals.If you point out that your motiva-

; tion is not to get out of work butto save your time to do a betteryob on the really important things,you'll have a good chance of avoid-ing unproductive tasks. Remem-ber, many people who worryabout offending others wind upliving according to other people'spriorities.

. Don't Procrastinate. Procras-

" tination is usually a deeply rootedhabit. But we can change ourhabits provided we use the rightsystem. \William

James, the fatherof American psychology, discus-sed such a system in his famousPrinciples of Pslcbology, publishedin 1890. It works as follows:

1) Decide to start changing as

soon as you finish reading thisarticle, while you are motivated.Taking that first step promptly islmpofranr.

2) Don't trv to do too muchtoo quickly. Jnrt force yourselfright now to do one thing youhave been putting off. Then, be-ginning tomorrow morning, starteach day by doing the most un-pleasant thing on your schedule.Often it will be a small matter:an overdue apology; a confron-tation with a fellow worker; anannoying chore you know youshould tackle. Whatever it is. do

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it before you begin your usualmorning routine. This simPle Pro-cedure can well set the tone foryour day. You will get a feeling ofexhilaration from knowing thatalthough the day is only 15 min-utes old, you have abeady ac-complished the most unPleasantthing you have to do all daY'

There is one caution, however:Do not permit any excePtions.William James compared it torolling up a ball of string;

^single slip can undo more thanmany turns can wind uP. Betough with yourself, for the firstfew minutes of each day, forthe next two weeks, and I prom-ise you a new habit of pricelessvalue.

Apply Radical Surgery. Time-v/asting activities are like cancers.They drain off vitality and have a

tendency to grow. The only cureis radical surg€ry. If you are wast-ing your time in activities that boreyou, divert you from yout realgoals and sap your energy, cutthem out. once and for all.

The principle applies to personalhabits, routines and activities as

much as to ones associated withyour work. Check your appoint-ment calendar, your extracurricu-lar activities, your reading list,your television viewing habits, andaxe everything that doesn't giveyou a feeling of accomplishmentor satisfaction.

Delegate. An early example offailure to delegate is found in the

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Bible. Moses, having led his peopleout of Egypt, was so impressedwith his own knowledge andauthority that he insisted on rulingpersonally on every controversythat arose in Israel. His wise father-in-law, Jethro, recognizing thatthis was poor use of a leader'stime, recommended a two-phasedapproach: first, educate the peopleconcerning the laws; second, se-lect capable leaders and give themfull authority over routine matters,freeing Moses to concentrate onmajor decisions. The advice isstill sound.

You don't have to be a nationalleader or a corporate executive todelegate, either. Parents who don'tdelegate household chores are do-ing a disservice to themselves andtheir children. Running a BoyScout troop can. be as time-con-sumlng as runnrng a grant cof-poration if you try to do every-thing yourself. One caution: gi-ving subordinates jobs that nei-ther you nor anyone else wantsto do isn't delegating, it's assign-ing. Learn to delegate the challeng-ing and rewarding tasks, alongwith sufficient authority to makenecessary decisions. It can help tofree your time.

Don't Be a "Workaholic."*Most successful executives I knowwork long hours, but they don'tlet work interfere with the reallyimportant things in life, such asfriends and family. This differen-

*Sec "Are You a Wortaholic?', RD, April 1977

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tiates them from the workaholicwho becomes. addicted to workiust as people become addicted toalcohol. Symptoms of work addic-tion include refusal to take.a holi-day, inability to put the office outof your mind on week-ends, abulging briefcase, and a wife, sonor daughter who is practically astranger.

Counselling can help peoplecope with such problems. Butfor starters, do a bit of self-coun-selling. Ask yourself whether themidnight oil you are burning isadversely affecting your health.Ask where your family comes inyour list of priorities, whether youare giving enough of yourself toyour children and spouse, andwhether you are deceiving your-self by pretending that the sacri-fices you are making arc rcallyfor them.

Anovn all else, good time ma-nagemeflt involves an awarenessthat today is all we ever have towork with. The past is irretrieva-bly gone, the future is only a con-cept. British art critic John Rus-kin had the word "ToDAy" car-ved into a small marble block thathe kept on his desk as a constantreminder to "Do It Now," Butmy favourite quotation is by ananonymous philosopher:

Yesterday is a cancelled cheque.Tomorrow is a promissory note.Today is ready cash. Use It !