Time Management: Analysis is the Key to Mastery

If you're like most people, you want to get better at managing your time, whether at work or at home. The question is, do you know where to start?

Unless you have a clear idea of where you are right now, no road map is going to help you get to your destination. That's why, before you can think about managing your time well, you need to analyze how you're using your time today.

Let's backtrack a bit. Have you ever made statements like these?

"I'll come over in a minute."
"Just give me a couple of minutes to get dressed and finish breakfast."
"I'm on my way; I'll be there in two minutes."

If you think about it, all the above statements are probably false. There's no way most folks will get dressed and finish breakfast in two minutes. And arriving at your destination in a minute or two is usually quite unlikely.

Yet we make such statements regularly. That's because we often do not realize the amount of time we actually take to finish certain tasks.

To get a better grip on your time usage patterns, try and estimate the time you take for the following activities.

* Draft a letter to a customer
* Look through a file and sign it
* Have a cup of coffee
* Hold a meeting to brief your team
* Confer with your boss
* Prepare a presentation to senior management
* Lead a seminar
* Chat with colleagues
* Read emails
* Respond to emails
* Read through a one page letter

Feel free to add to the list above. Include activities you do regularly.

Have your time estimates ready? Here's what to do next.

Pick out the three fairly time consuming activities you do repeatedly. Get a stopwatch and time yourself when you do those activities. Take care not to try to speed up those tasks while you're timing them. Just work as usual.

Now compare the results with your estimates. Surprised? Most people are, when they discover that doing certain tasks takes much longer than they imagined.

The previous exercise had one goal -- to convince you that you need to take some effort and find out how you actually use your time.

Your next step is to maintain a running log of all your activities and the start and end times of each. Do this for a full week. Don't stop and analyze your performance in between.

You can get your secretary to help you do this. But it works just as well if you keep the records yourself.

It's not important to get your timing down to the microsecond! Just note down the approximate start and end-times of each activity, in serial order as you do them. The objective is to get a snapshot of what you do and how long it takes you to do them.

At the end of one full working week, sit down with your logs. Make a list of each of the tasks you do. Jot down the amounts of time you took to do them, for each day of the week.

Which are the repetitive activities? Which ones consume the most time? Are the tasks that consume the maximum time also the tasks that contribute the most to your performance? If not, is there any way you can eliminate those tasks -- perhaps by delegating them?

Are you taking on work that is not yours to being with? If so, perhaps you need to say no more often.

Take the time to think through what your log reveals about your work habits -- and about you. By doing so, you've taken a big step towards managing your time excellently. Repeat this process every few months and you'll get far better results that others whose notion of time management is limited to writing a to-do list.

Burt Carlson is a top corporate executive whose passion is helping people get more out of life by managing their time better. He has written on time management and work, motivation, getting organized for better results and many other topics.

---

7 Reasons to Take Breaks at Work

My job in Chicago began with three months of probation.I... Read More

Looking At Time With A Capital T

I keep a fossil on my desk at all times.... Read More

Hey, Free Agent, Did You Eat Your Breakfast Today?

And when you finally sat down to eat breakfast, was... Read More

Having Time on Your Side

Clarity brings accomplishmentOne of the most important things you can... Read More

Career Redesign Tools For Work-Life Balance

Partnering with the University of Pennsylvania Law School and the... Read More

Four Simple Ways To Take Control Of Your Time And Your Life

It's been said, "That no one has enough time yet,... Read More

You Cant Buy Time

Our daily lives are inundated with a crammed to-do list.... Read More

31 Ways to Get An Extra Hour Out of Each Day

How can you get an extra hour out of each... Read More

10 Time Management Tips for Busy Professionals

If you feel like your life moves faster than a... Read More

24 Time Management Tips

Where does your time go? We all know we are... Read More

If Only Your Brain Was the Size Of That Of an Ant You Could Easily Implement Habits

A year and a half ago I was introduced to... Read More

Time Management Mastery

From Potential to PerformanceOne of the great things about life... Read More

3 Ways To Do More With Less Time

We live in a world where more is expected of... Read More

How To Pack 48 Hours Into Your Day

Too much to do, too little time, constant stress. Most... Read More

File It: Boost Your Productivity in Only 15 Minutes Per Week

Despite the best of intentions, most of us don't use... Read More

6 Time Management Tips for Moms

Many of you have expressed the challenge of not having... Read More

Make Procrastination Wait

Reflect on the rewards of kicking the procrastination habit. They... Read More

Time Management: A Non-Renewable Resource

Benjamin Franklin wrote: "If you want to enjoy one of... Read More

Organization Tips That Add More Hours To Your Day

One of the most common complaints that small business owners... Read More

Time Management is Life Management

Many of the clients I work with in success coaching... Read More

Time Management

Isn't it amazing that some people can produce huge results... Read More

How Can I Get Some Time to Myself?

"I never seem to have any time for myself. What... Read More

The 3 Biggest Priority Busters

As a professional organizer, consultant and trainer, I have come... Read More

Time Managements

There are the golden rules that apply to time. If... Read More

Time Management: 11 Tips

Work more efficiently and be more productive using these time-management... Read More

Time Management: Analysis is the Key to Mastery

If you're like most people, you want to get better... Read More

Time Management

Does it ever feel like there is never enough time... Read More

Shifting Priorities Are The Norm

Years ago when I started in this business, it seemed... Read More

Time Management Is Key

Having a home based business can be overwhelming. When you... Read More

Setting Time Aside For Studying And Homework

When trying to achieve a quality education, everybody knows that... Read More

Vilfredo Paretos Principle: The 80-20 Rule: 80% of Results are Produced from 20% of Efforts

Vilfredo Pareto's Principle, or The "Pareto Principle," is more commonly... Read More

Priorities: Dont Dry Your Dishes

Do your dishes really need to be dried, or could... Read More

Time Management: A Fresh View

Last week I had the privilege of spending some quality... Read More